February 2011 Blog Posts (17)

Newbie here.

I see that Stew-Mac charges about $100 for their fret saw & miter box. Yikes! Does anybody know if you can use a regular miter saw & glue w/ "jumbo" sized fret wire stock? Alternatively, I have a jeweler's saw, which I see are sometimes called fret saws. Can I use that to slot for frets? How?

Thanks in advance!!

My grandmother bought me my first guitar when I was 4 or 5, a cheapo department store acoustic jobbie.  I started taking lessons at home when I was 8 or 9 from our school music teacher who was a nice hippie lady that lived on the dirt road way back around the way from our house on another dirt road.  I remember learning "Shake Rattle and Roll", "Monster Mash" and some other cool easy tunes.  My sister and I played once or three times in front of our church congregation.  It was easy to get…

Before Fleetwood Mac became the 7o's hit radio powerhouse of the 70's they were an innovative blues band, the instrumental "albatross" has haunted me for years (in a good way) here's a stunning live version played by Rick Vito. Talk about tone and control with a slide bar!!!

Oh well, back to the drawing board!. Started having all types of problems crop up, starting with gluing the box shut when I still needed to access the insides, problems compounded from there. Well suffice to say I made some quick changes and completed a fretless three-string CBG.  The box was too thin for good acoustics, but is ok for The Beast (my 2 1/2 year old grandson) and his friend JoJo (6 years) to play around with. I gave JoJo a similar fretless 3-string CBG the other…

Building a four string cigar box guitar (part 2)

So I'm building a three string electric CBG.  Don't know much about electric guitars, so I picked up a second-hand guitar for $30 (had access to an amp) and I've been fooling around for a couple of days with it. I still don't know much about it but I'm having fun!

As for the build, I'm sure I'll have a bunch of questions, especially on the wiring!

Hi all thought this may be of some use heres a link to a free fret calculator nice easy one to use 

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/fret_calculator.php

So, following my break/holiday it was back to work for a fortnight of difficult (and long) shifts.

However, I did manage to fit in a couple of open mic sessions. One was the monthly 'jam night' at the Plough where, having arrived late after a long shift, I played my cigar box fiddle performing (for those that know or care) "Lincolnshire Lads", "Fanny power"…

Well I have been kinda in a state of suspended cbg building and playing this year.

Seems as though every time I get an Idea something comes up that is more important.

Back in April I rescued a baby raccoon and we have been raising him to be released this spring. He is like having a 2 year old again , into everything but he has been a fun and learning experience. I love nature and all of God's critters.…

Besides CBGs, I have taken to buying el-cheapo plywood Les Paul Jr. copies on Craigslist and modding them up.  They're easy to work on because the wiring's simple and they have a bolt-on neck.  Here's one I got for $80 including the case:

First thing to do is properly route the pickup cavity for a…