Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by SlowHound on May 8, 2012 at 7:36am

I always thought the bigger the better but I've been getting some great sounds from a small thin box recently 7x5x11/4.  It's been an eye opener for sure.   

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Permalink Reply by Don Barnhill on May 8, 2012 at 10:23am

SlowHound,

What kind of pick ups do you have in it?

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by SlowHound on May 8, 2012 at 10:33am

I'm just using a clip on pickup with the one I mentioned. I've used it it the last 4 videos. I've been on a "get back to the basic and simple side of things" lately.

As for mag pups, I love my Harrison Art Deco. Unfortunately I can't build at the moment but I received a few Elmar Flat pups about a month ago. Can't wait to try them. They may end up being used to mod old piezo builds which they almost seem to be made for.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Don Barnhill on May 8, 2012 at 11:24am

Thank you SlowHound :D

I hava piezo beer cap pickup I bought years ago, maybe I should try it. The Elmar Flats look cool!

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Permalink Reply by thikwater on May 9, 2012 at 9:24am

Ideal box size. How long is a piece of string? I've made cbg's with various box dimesions and each of them have their own sound which is of course very subjective to the listener. Just speaking about the ones I have built myself. I have found that a  8"x6"x3" box to be acoustically louder but with a  more percussive banjo like sound than say a 9"x7"x1.5" box, with the 9" box being a little smoother losing that percussive edge. However, there are so many variables unique to each individual builder that it will never be an exact science. What I will say, in my own experience, if unplugged volume is your main quest, then the most important box dimension is the depth, greater box depth = volume. Also, the smaller the box length the longer the scale length. Typically, with a 8" box I will use a scale length of 25.5" but with a 9" or 10" box I will use a 25" or 24 3/16" scale length but this is subject to where I like to place my bridge on the box top, usually between 1/4 to a 1/3 of the way up the box and then trade that off with the amount of frets. Bearing in mind musically, you need a minimum of 19 frets installed to give you two full octaves of the blues (non slide) in any given open tuning. I'm not saying I'm right, just some of my obversations of building these things.

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Permalink Reply by Don Barnhill on May 9, 2012 at 11:19am

Thank you thikwater! Very useful information on deciding scale length when considering box size. Good point on the minimum amount of frets.

I want to be plugged in but woundn't mind a sweet tone (not necessarily volume) when not. One of my main concerns was fitting/locating everything on the top, bridge, pups, switch, volume knob, etc. and how comfortable they are to hold and play while standing for awhile. Tone (how long is a piece of string) LOL!

I may be wrong but I seem to be able to coax a soulful tone out of everything, plugged in or not., humbucker or not. Instrument or not. Maybe my ears are plugged.

Thanks for your response,

Don

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Permalink Reply by thikwater on May 9, 2012 at 1:13pm

Hi Don, regarding  tone. One of my most recent builds was built around a solid cedar box and it has a tone to die for plugged or unplugged which also brings into play another variable, raw materials. Some timbers are just sonically better suited to building musical instruments than others. Regarding fitting hardware to your box you could always consider putting the vol/tone knobs on the side if you don't have a lot of room on the top to play with. You can also hedge your bets tone wise by spending a little more time on the mundane tasks like removing all the glued down paper from the box interior, especially from the top and making sure your glue joints are all nice and secure. Then there's nut and saddle materials. At the moment I'm favouring wood which is just what I'm liking at the moment. I also love the sound of bone and will be using it again in the near future. That's the beauty of the cbg world, there are no rules. Of course, you will get some folk that will dig their heels in about certain things in a blinkered fashion. The trick is to plan your builds well and take a little bit of what makes sense to you from everyone. Anyway, its bedtime in the UK, goodnight all!

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Dave on May 11, 2012 at 12:14pm

I am curious about this too.  I usually try to use deep boxes, but I recently used a skinny Padron box that sounds good acoustically.  I have a number of large, skinny (1 1/2") Arturo Fuente boxes that I have been holding off on using.  Does anyone have experience with these?

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Permalink Reply by thikwater on May 11, 2012 at 1:31pm

Hi Dr Dave, I may be wrong, but if the boxes you're describing are approx. 11"x6"x1.5"  then yes, I have had good results with boxes of this size. Here in the UK, most boxes of this size come in solid wood which is an added advantage. Just make sure you plan your scale length before reaching for the saw.

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Dave on May 13, 2012 at 9:29am

Mine range from 10 to 12 inches long, and some are almost square.  I have attached pictures.

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Permalink Reply by thikwater on May 13, 2012 at 12:27pm

Hi Dr Dave, I misunderstood what you meant by skinny, for some reason I was thinking  width rather than depth. With  boxes in the  10-12" range I tend to use a slightly shorter scale length, 24 3/16" or 25" as it suits where I like to  place my bridges and they turn out sounding and playing just fine. Trev

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Permalink Reply by wormil on May 14, 2012 at 8:42pm

What do you guys think about small boxes? I have a Vegafina, paper covered wood but solid, 6.5 x 6.5 x 2.5 inches. I only paid 50 cents for it and it's a handsome box, would like to do something with it.

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