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First timer here, with a six string.

Hey there everybody, I've got a few questions and since I'm brand new here I thought I combine them with an introduction.

First time I saw a cbg on youtube I knew I had to build one. So I just about completed my first cbg. A six stringer to boot(Why build a neck when you have one laying around?). Cannibalized an electric guitar of mine for most of the parts. Bolt on neck, bridge, volume & tone knobs, 3 way switch, and one pick up. Then wired a piezo into the mix. So now I can choose one or the other, or both!

I just finished putting it all together and tested out the electronics. Everything seems to be in pretty good working order.

So my questions,

1) So far I've just put three strings on it. Fearing it's going to just destroy itself when I put on the full six. Does anyone know the correct way to "bolt on" a neck? (I've just used the original screws and attached the neck to a 2x4 which runs along the bottom of the box and out the back). I'm also just using some old Ernie Ball Slinky's I had laying around. Should I try other lighter strings?

2) I've read here, that to reduce feedback on a piezo some people will sandwich it between two pieces of wood. Well since I have a wooden cigar box, is it necessary to put wood on both sides when my lid would work just fine as one side?

3) Speaking of feedback, my piezo seems to go crazy when I add distortion to it. As in straight up full throttle constant squealing. The actual pick up works great, but I don't get that awesome/shitty tone as I do with the piezo. So would the above "sandwich" method fix this? Or should I invest in copper/foil shielding?

Thanks for your time and consideration for all who read this far, haha. And I'll get some pictures posted up as soon as I can for anyone interested.

All I can say is that this was one hell of a learning experience.

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Permalink Reply by Doc Oakroot on June 4, 2009 at 1:43pm

1. That will work fine and your neck should be able to take 6 strings at full tension. (The top of your box may not, so go slow and see if you need additional bracing.)

2. I don't subscribe to the sandwich technique, but the idea is to isolate the piezo from the top. Feed back happens when a surface susceptible to sympathetic vibration, cause the piezo to vibrate in time with it's own signals. The top of your guitar is the most susceptible such surface. Best thing to do is isolate the piezo in the bridge (with or without a sandwich).

For me, that's too much work - I just stick it to the inside of the top under the treble foot of the bridge, except...

3. ...if you play with distortion, the inside the top will feed back and there's not much you can do about it. Shielding is necessary for electro-magnetic pickups and completely useless for piezos. If you want to play with distortion, build the piezo into the bridge. And you may want to brace the top to limit vibration there too.

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Permalink Reply by Slug on June 4, 2009 at 2:01pm

THANK YOU! I've been siting at this damn computer all day waiting for someone to respond to this. Your help is greatly appreciated.

I'm in the process of retooling some things on my cbg and I will definitely implement some of the things you have brought to my attention.