Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Uncle John on June 5, 2014 at 9:55am

Would be good on a tee.

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Permalink Reply by smilingdog1 on June 5, 2014 at 9:11am

I remember back when the site was one page blog with a basic how to build a CBG. I became a member a couple years ago here on the nation when a lot was already going on. I have seen it grow each year. More people will learn about our culture and some will join. It's become much easier for the beginner to build and play. While I receive positive feedback and others are willing to explore new concepts in music, I'm planing on sticking around. My work pulls me away at times, yet here I am piping in on break from building down stairs getting reading for #2 St. Louis CBG festival. Weather looks like thunder & rain, but we will press on and adapt because as they say, the show must go on. It should prove interesting Saturday.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on June 5, 2014 at 9:56am

Have a great fest, Steven.

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Permalink Reply by Mr.C on June 5, 2014 at 10:52am

I think its moved to Facebook and local groups regular suspects still around

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Permalink Reply by Nigel McTrustry on June 5, 2014 at 3:45pm

The CBG world is on the rise! No doubt. Especially in this part of it.

Facebook (don't know if it was mentioned before) has a lot of cbg action and groups and things so maybe more activity there has taken some people away from the Nation.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on June 6, 2014 at 12:15am

Yup, seems to be big in Australia.  Seems you have more young ones and females to.  And yet you like them good ole blues just like me.

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Permalink Reply by MattCrunk on June 5, 2014 at 5:05pm

Many years ago when I was a teenager, my first paying job was airbrushing tee shirts at fairs festivals and flea markets. It was the hottest thing since sliced bread. People would often buy a shirt just to watch it being painted, and there was always a crowd gathered whenever I was working on something.  It was so  popular because it was something new, something people had never seen before. Those days are now long gone. Nowadays airbrushed shirts are nothing special. Some might even say they're passe. We've all seen them. Many of us have owned them. As they say, we've all "been there, done that, and got the shirt" . . , literally. As soon as the novelty wore off, airbrushed apparel went out of fashion. Today, unless it's a really outstanding, amazingly complex work of true art, an airbrushed t-shirt won't turn many heads. 

I feel the same thing is probably starting to happen to the cigar box guitar right now. The novelty is wearing off. People have now seen it, heard it, played it, even built it, and are starting to get bored with it. About the only thing that will continue to turn heads at this point are the truly amazing instrument builders and the most outstanding players.

Personally, I'm kinda glad to see it. What's so special about a CBG if everybody plays one?

Also, although I don't want to slight anyone who builds and sells cigar box instruments or kits for a living, but hasn't the whole commercialization of the instrument kinda gotten out of hand?  Isn't buying one pre-made or building from a kit kinda defeating the whole purpose and spirit of the instrument? I mean, wasn't the initial CBG appeal to have something different and unique that could be built for cheaper than the cheapest imported guitar?

Buying from an assembly-line maker, whether as a finished instrument or parts kit,  gets you neither.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on June 6, 2014 at 12:13am

Hmm.   You make some good observations.  

We are a bunch of different cats. I would rather play one of my own C+ or B- builds than a top notch builder build. 

First thing about what you said- the airbrushing.   Man, you could do some cool thinks to cigar boxes.  I am going to see if you have photos.

 

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on June 6, 2014 at 2:25am

well ,U John,already made a comment and thought that was it,in theintervening? time,things have occurred that put a different slant on my view,firstly your good friend ,and i hope mine,Patrick,has suffered severe tribulations of a climatic nature,simultaneously with  Darren having his physical challenges,Big Kenny has been severely impacted by ill fortune,common to all is the groundswell of support we have all witnessed,,if THAT was all we had we,d be doing ok,but,fortunately we have a group,community who as a whole go far beyond that.and with it,s chrome heart shining,long may it run

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Permalink Reply by smilingdog1 on June 6, 2014 at 4:13am

As far as the commercialization of the CBG getting out of hand, this would apply if we were cornering a market and fighting over patents. Instead we have a community that shares all it's secrets, swaps parts and CBG's, giving to those who are learning and those who simply want to play or display. As far as everyone having one, we're no where close to that yet however it's all in your own perspective. As far as the novelty wearing off, the crowd always follows the trends. I never follow the crowd so that doesn't effect me, I still love coffee & tea houses although they have been compared to trends, they have actually been the center of commingle for hundreds of years in many cultures. An old beat up brand less guitar by a campfire never wears off, yet many of them set in a corner gathering dust. So it's not if everyone has one or not that makes it special, the question is what makes you special. Because any object in the right hands can entertain a crowd.This community is so buzzing, I'm blown away. This years festival, I have Dozens CBG's, hand wound pickups, gorgeous necks, slides, CD's T-Shirts, and loads of other memorabilia sent from all over the world to join in this event for free. If that doesn't rock your socks, I don't know what will. There is no other event in town that can claim that kind of international involvement that I'm aware of. So just get as much enjoyment as you allow yourself from a CBG my friend :)

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on June 6, 2014 at 3:02am

MattCrunk, there are builders because they're needed. Folks like me need them. I'm not a builder. I've tossed two guitars together. Took forever and still working out bugs on both. Builders help to get these instruments into the hands of players. The more players that take these instruments seriously the less novel they become. The idea that these guitars were only used to play the blues is novel. Truth is, like guitars today, they were used to play the popular music of their time.

I remember the t-shirt age. Seeing hundreds of iron-ons in comic books. Even going to the store and seeing them on a spinning stand up rack. Got a few myself. This evolved into custom one of a kind air brushing. Like you said, the novelty wore off. Like any other one dimensional or one use idea it becomes a fad and fades away. The only thing that would endanger the CBG movement would be to keep it as a one sound only instrument. Gritty sounding, one dimensional, one sound only. This would only appeal to a small number of the over all population of musicians. Thus become a fad and fade away. The more diversity that's shone with these instruments the less chances of that happening. They are real guitars. The musical potential is only limited to the player.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 6, 2014 at 3:41am

Cause the Blue rat, you make a good point about the need for builders, but I think you are missing the point of CBGs. The sound will never be like a high dollar "real guitar" and it's part of what makes them what they are. The beauty of the cigar boxes is that they have their own sound and that's what makes them unique. If you want something that sounds like a Martin of early Gibson you wouldn't take a banjo and try to get that sound and the same applies to a CBG. many musicians have a wide variety of instruments that they play for the different sounds that they have and that is the point of CBGs, they have a different sound. I have a friend who plays locally who has 2 Fenders (a Stratocaster and a Telecaster), 2 Collings and a beautiful Greenfield that sounds absolutely amazing and he also has one of my three string fretless CBGs. He makes beautiful music with each of them, but they all have their own voices and that's why he has them all. If you could get all the sounds out of one instrument, what would be the point of having more than one?

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