This site is great.   I just made my first 3 string fretless CBG and everything looks great.  My question is that the string height seems awfully high 1/4".  I am temporarily using a bolt and the nut and am using a plastic chop stick as the bridge. I would like to eventually use of these same chop sticks as the nut.  The strings make a buzz when I press down on the string and attempt to play a chord.  When I apply pressure on the string behind the nut (bolt) this buzz is reduced.  Do I need…

Well everybody, I've just spent a week or so away at my parents and I suddenly realised how tired and fatigued I was. Dad got himself a cymera (or something like that) which is a trapezium shaped stringed instrument with each string tuned in a diatonic progression. It sounds really tuneful and would be great with a pick up and a bit of distortion.

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If anyone wants to catch more of what I do, that never gets posted here,...please do go to youtube and search cinderellalifestyle . lots off vids, uke specials, national steel guitar,...nature walks and my rambles , which a basically 

instrumental ditties put to pics, usually short and sweet...

if you want to look a vintage junque, or find my CD, that's here:…

Just had an interview published in THE Philadephia Examiner online..it will also be on www.nodepression.com later this week....i mentioned this CIGARBOX nation because its been a core of inspiration for me for the last year...if youre  interested in reading...here is the link

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So I've been able to enjoy my holiday break and get back into shape before any serious work begins again. I've really enjoyed strumming my new toy. I practiced the simple one string scales that Shane presented in his instructional videos and got a good feel for the sound of my guitar. My wife loves to hear me just play around making up some tunes (I must say I've impressed myself) just playing intuitively. I think she is living her dreams of dating a musician as best she can, so yes a CBG…

Well there we are, another Christmas gone. There seems to have been so many.

I got an invite to play at a local pub (bar) on new years eve as part of their festivities. I played a selection of 1960/1970s English pop classics with a 4 string baritone tuned guitar. One of mine.

Songs included 'Honkey tonk angels', Honkey Tonk Women', 'The Ballad of Lucy Jordan', 'Memphis', Brown eyed handsome man' and 'Promised Land'. Things went well and the Landlord and family…

To everyone who has been a friend and to all who have been customers of mine at Back Porch Mojo I want to thank you all for a great 2010!! it was a great year for making guitars and new friends!! it had its ups and down as any year will, I had a number of health issues and the tendonitis problem (from building too much!!) and the new year will begin with a corrective surgery to get me back on the building path, but pain free!! Wooo Hooo!! I am excited to begin a new year and see what the CBG…

You seem to be having problems with too much sensitivity and possibly too little gain.

TO DECREASE SENSITIVITY AND NOISE, you could switch from three 1M resistors to just one. If the change helps, then you're ahead. If you still have too much sensitivity, you can drop the resistor value down even more, say to 470K or 220K. With magnetic pickups, the concern with dropping the input impedance is loss of high frequencies. With a piezo pickup, we have more highs. Maybe reducing…

Headed off to Home Depot to check out materials and supplies. Of the wood available there was the 3x1 and 2x1 poplar, 3x1 and 2x1 red oak. I will be using the poplar for my first build and red oak on my second 'proper' build. I then headed through the isles just looking at what was around and what I could incorporate into my build. I found some interesting things that I believe is what others might use, and if not I hope it is a working cheaper alternative.…

Went on ebay to find a nice body. Although I think a box 2" x 11" x 8" this Arturo Fuente will fit the bill. Perhaps I can source one from the local shop.

I also came across this…

Well, although the weather has been awful, it's been a good week.

The fiddle has been finished with a new bridge and several minor adjustments. I'm slowly getting used to the instrument as it is a bit different from a 'traditional' acoustic violin and it balances a bit strangely when compared to my factory built electric fiddle.

I have also been delighted to see that my cigar box Christmas tune 'Silent Night' was included in the Christmas download for 2010 and I received…

Note: I realized after posting that the links will take you away from this page.

Hey there! This is the first post in a blog I will be keeping to document my first CBG build. As many of you reading this from Cigar Box Nation have been through this process many years ago I thought it would be fun to include you in my account of earning my 'strings'. (hahah.. strings, wings,that was good right?) Hopefully I can show other new comers that anybody can indeed build something that…

So it has been a couple of days since I have fallen into the wonderful rabbit hole that is Cigar Box Nation and 3-string guitars and it's been a pleasure. In my past I have picked up a couple of instruments only to lose interest and move on to the next best thing. I began my degree in the wood shop, learning the skills necessary to craft custom furniture. But like any dream my reality started to creep in and I joined the military for a better future for my family. But I never put down that…