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About To Purchase My First CBG! Have a few questions.

Hi All,

I noticed I didn't see a general discussion or question category so I decided to post here.

Basically, I am in the market to purchase my first CBG. And upon doing some surfing I realize there is a TON of options to choose from. Im leaning toward a 3 stringer. The part Im getting a bit confused on is the tone. My first audio impression of a CBG was on the Red Dog Guitars sight. He had a video of him playing a 3 string that sounded so haunting and infectious that is what initially got me hooked on wanting a CBG. However I also LOVE the dirty gritty sound. So I'm trying to figure out what gets me the sounds I want. Single coil, or pizio? Also if anyone can recommend a certain builder or type I should be looking into. Yea, I know this is the build thread section, but I just figured it was my best option. Any bit will help. Thanks a ton

Adam

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Permalink Reply by Harvey Thompson on May 8, 2012 at 1:33pm

Adam, i have a 4 string humbucker custom built by Fuzzy. He was great to deal with and the instrument is outstanding! Listen to his and others vids & note different sounds from humbuckers, single coils, & piezos. My humbucker is very mellow & modern electric sounding. Dan Sleep on this site custom built a 3 string piezo for me as a gift for a friend. VERY responsive and knowledgeable guy.....beautiful cbg with a more rustic sound. TWO GREAT EXPERIENCES. Maybe I'm just lucky. JUMP in and try one. Its not a tattoo. ;-)

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Permalink Reply by adam lichtman on May 8, 2012 at 1:56pm

Thanks Harvey,

Makes me feel more confident hearing that people like his work. Trying for a single coil and piezo with a switch. That way I get a range of sounds I want

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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on May 8, 2012 at 1:37pm

The word is "processing". JohnM throwing the signal through a lot of reverb. Add fretless slide and thats what you get. Buy his how to play cd if thats the sound your after. But you can get sweet, dirty, crunch, hot metal with ghe right pup and pedal..

best yhing to do is decide the sound you're after and ask players how yhey're setup.....

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Permalink Reply by adam lichtman on May 8, 2012 at 1:58pm

Sam,

I figured effects and such were definitely involved in getting that tone. Just being new to CBG's , I wasn't sure how much "processing" was involved , as opoosed to how much of the sound is teh natural character of the guitar.

Thanks for the heads up

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Permalink Reply by Urban Bill on May 8, 2012 at 3:19pm

I have a 3 string built by Fuzzy. I'm very happy with it.

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Permalink Reply by adam lichtman on May 9, 2012 at 9:38am

cool. Does it happen to sound good when using distortion?

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Permalink Reply by Urban Bill on May 10, 2012 at 2:50am

It has a dual piezo with volume pot. It can have a decent distorted sound. The trick is to:

Tame the treble. I use a DOD preamp pedal with the tone nearly all the way down. Boosts the bass a bit as well. Volume can be an issue though. It's an easy trip crossing the border to Feedbacktown.