Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on December 26, 2016 at 6:18am

Where do you have this information from?

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on December 26, 2016 at 8:34pm

Moritz, CBG's showed up in the 1840's to the 1860's. All were hand built by poor musicians up until the last 20 years or so. I would think to say that is proof enough to back up what I said about classical luthier's frowning upon or totally ignoring CBG's.
So my info comes from History.

Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on December 27, 2016 at 4:09am

More beef please, Wayfinder [and all the other incarnations of your split personality], and less advertising, self-promotion, and moderation on a site which is not your own...

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on December 27, 2016 at 8:14am

More Beef? I'm sorry that the fact that no luthiers built any Cigar Box instruments for 150 years of their known existence is enough for you.

I'm not knocking any luthiers or their practices,I'm not knocking any instruments.
Some rules exist and ignoring them is folly.

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on December 25, 2016 at 9:07am

Exactly all of what you said Way. You have to be a little bit of it all and maybe a little bit crazy..

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 25, 2016 at 2:29pm

Hi guys, just read this thread so far and there's a couple of comments I would add. Firstly when I first saw a cigar box guitar photo I thought that's a good idea, I'll build one. I did not look for any building info but just started to build. How could i do this? Well, for many many years prior to this I had built, repaired and modified countless stringed instruments, I had a firm understanding of what works and why, and what does not work and why, a set of rules if you like.

Over time I would think we all create rules or guidlines or procedures for ourselves, I see it as a way of trying to be consistent in my work, a way of being able to reproduce a certain feature or quality and knowing how to do it, but equally important knowing how not to repeat it if it is unsatisfactory.

I build cbg's mainly as a release from the demands of building serious acoustic guitars ect. But I have developed a new series of rules, guidelines or procedures for use in CBG building, ones that works for this style of instrument. Although we can see that not two cbg's are the same (unless part of a production run) they all I would think have basic rules that must apply. The outcome being sought, the quality of sound and finish envisaged would make the rules very different for different builders.

My rules, which I devised from building diffent dimensioned cbg's to find what works best, centre around box size/depth, soundhole size, grain orientation, scale length and bridge location on the soundboard. There's more but you get the idea.

These are my rules, or guidelines but they are not set in concrete, changing one may mean changing others.

Hey, we are only building instruments in their most basic form, so what the heck.

But I still like the flexibility, creativity and the challenge whilst working within "some" of the rules.
Oh by the way the CBG I'm building at the moment is being built along acoustic guitar guidelines. But as already mentioned it's still gonna be limited by its boxy shape.
Done at last.
Cheers Taff.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on December 25, 2016 at 3:22pm

The rules can be bent
The willow bends to the wind
Bend wound strings, make blues

;-E

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on December 25, 2016 at 10:13pm

You did also get that a strict haiku is 5-7-5 syllabl-wise...which is therefore...a Rule. It's the creativity expressed within the strait jacket of the Rule that makes it beautiful.

;-E

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on December 25, 2016 at 8:32pm

Let's look back at the artwork on the three JPGs which gave grounds to our discussion...

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on December 25, 2016 at 11:09pm

Well, they break a couple of the [loose] rules i work by, but the final aim is not in sight for me yet, and without that, hard to judge, but, the creator works to his own vision, and it may well work out very well

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Permalink Reply by Robert Varcoe on December 26, 2016 at 12:01am

I've been pretty busy not having to work so I got to play a bit... here is a pick of advancement of the 2nd jpg which i titled the ugly stick.... lol

Attachments:

• IMG_3683.JPG, 1.2 MB

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on December 26, 2016 at 4:07am

Venus and  Mars

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