Just wondering what your experiences have been with the type and size of boxes that seem to create the best CBG sound?? As a guy who is planning on building several of these things, it would be interesting to hear your feedback.
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My favorite box so far has been a Partagas "Gigante" cardboard 8 5/8" X 6 5/8" X 3 1/4" that has a beautiful deep tone and sounds great acoustically and even better through an amp with the piezo pickup. That said I have built 8 wood boxes of various sizes, (normal shapes to a two string with a 12" X 4 5/8" X 3 5/8" wood box) and materials from the cardboard (pressboard?) type to some beautiful old cedar boxes and they all sound great. Every box has a different voice and half the fun is letting it speak!
My two cents...I have not found many "big" boxes at my local sources. That is, boxes that are 10 inches or more. Most are in the 6-8 inch range, about 2-3 inches deep. In other words, plenty big enough.
However, there is a tobacconist with two locations close to me that sells boxes, with the money going to charity. The price is whatever you think is fair, I usually give $1-3 per box. They have about 75 empty boxes all the time, in all shapes, colors, and sizes.
So my advice is to hope you have a friendly, affordable local source, and then simply buy what they have. I bet whatever you get will sound nice.
Just built my first CBG 2 days ago but i think i picked a good box, It's a Padilla Reserva Maduro measuring 10.5" long 8.5" wide and 2" deep and plays and sounds much better than I anticipated :)
All boxes sound "great".....big, small, wood, tin, it all affects the sound - but we're not talking tonewood Martins here, CBG's are meant to sound awful, that's why we love them! (-;
Travis - on the concern of intonation, the 12th fret will be exactly halfway between the bridge and the nut. I see you have frets on there, but if you're not able to make the necessary adjustments to make it a "frettable" guitar, you can always make it a slide-only guitar. So far I've just built a few sliders, I love em. Eventually I'll make one fretted, but that's a whole new ballgame it seems, and I don't have a lot of high-tech tools. There are fret calculators out there, you can find links to them on here or use good ole' Google to find one.
Travis Woodall said:
thanks, good things to consider. If I recess the neck under the top instead of gluing the neck to the top I would think that would help with the sound (vibration of the top). I will most likely try that method. The last one I did I just glued the top to the neck.
Wichita Sam said:
Neck thru is an easy way to be sure you have everything line up. If you do a bolt up, glue on or fender pocket style neck, you will have a lot of added worries.... strength, alignment, neck angle etc. IF you are up for it fine, not all about box strength....
the best,
Sam
Travis Woodall said:
Thanks Sam! Any suggestions on my last comment?? Just not sure if I need to run the neck all the way through the box. This box is pretty beefy. Walls are about 3/8" thick.
thanks, good things to consider. If I recess the neck under the top instead of gluing the neck to the top I would think that would help with the sound (vibration of the top). I will most likely try that method. The last one I did I just glued the top to the neck.
Wichita Sam said:
Neck thru is an easy way to be sure you have everything line up. If you do a bolt up, glue on or fender pocket style neck, you will have a lot of added worries.... strength, alignment, neck angle etc. IF you are up for it fine, not all about box strength....
the best,
Sam
Travis Woodall said:
Thanks Sam! Any suggestions on my last comment?? Just not sure if I need to run the neck all the way through the box. This box is pretty beefy. Walls are about 3/8" thick.
Neck thru is an easy way to be sure you have everything line up. If you do a bolt up, glue on or fender pocket style neck, you will have a lot of added worries.... strength, alignment, neck angle etc. IF you are up for it fine, not all about box strength....
the best,
Sam
Travis Woodall said:
Thanks Sam! Any suggestions on my last comment?? Just not sure if I need to run the neck all the way through the box. This box is pretty beefy. Walls are about 3/8" thick.
I agree. it's all a learning process. It might sound great with a pickup in it, who knows??
Wes Yates said:
I kinda like boxes with about 1/8-1/4" walls. too thick and it masks the sound.
All in all, make one out of this box. What the heck. Like Sam says, there will always be another box.
-Wes
Travis Woodall said:
I picked up several boxes. the one I am interested in working with next is a Saint Luis Rey. It is deep and made of thick, sturdy walls. Given the sturdy nature of the box, is a neck that goes all the way through really necessary?? Or can I just brace it at the point at which it would enter the box?? Just thought having an empty cavity would maximize the sound. What do you think?? Also, noticed you are in Simpsonville. Although I live in Johnson City, TN my company is in Joanna, SC. My boss actually is from Simpsonville. It's a small world. Don't worry, I'm not weird or anything...LOL.
Wes Yates said:
If you're scared, go get a cheap Punch or Artro Fuente box. They should be no more than $2-$5
Travis Woodall said:
Mark- Got a Cohiba box today. After your comment though, I'm scared to "practice" on it. I have only built one CBG and it was not without issues. I have a few other boxes too so i will likely use those to attempt to perfect my craft first. I am excited about the Cohiba though.
Mark Werner said:
It's not an exact science, IMHO. I have a very nice Cohiba box I used for my mandola, and it sounds great. Those Cohiba jobs are like furniture; solid cedar, carefully put together, mortised joints...
However, the second guitar I built, made out of a pressboard box and a through-the-body design....Had great acoustic tone. Go figure. I think in general Josh is quite right, a bigger box is going to move more air. Thinner material for the top is going to vibrate more.
Replies
My favorite box so far has been a Partagas "Gigante" cardboard 8 5/8" X 6 5/8" X 3 1/4" that has a beautiful deep tone and sounds great acoustically and even better through an amp with the piezo pickup. That said I have built 8 wood boxes of various sizes, (normal shapes to a two string with a 12" X 4 5/8" X 3 5/8" wood box) and materials from the cardboard (pressboard?) type to some beautiful old cedar boxes and they all sound great. Every box has a different voice and half the fun is letting it speak!
made mine myself. guestimated the size and worked out fine. like others said, doubt it will realy matter. :)
My two cents...I have not found many "big" boxes at my local sources. That is, boxes that are 10 inches or more. Most are in the 6-8 inch range, about 2-3 inches deep. In other words, plenty big enough.
However, there is a tobacconist with two locations close to me that sells boxes, with the money going to charity. The price is whatever you think is fair, I usually give $1-3 per box. They have about 75 empty boxes all the time, in all shapes, colors, and sizes.
So my advice is to hope you have a friendly, affordable local source, and then simply buy what they have. I bet whatever you get will sound nice.
Just built my first CBG 2 days ago but i think i picked a good box, It's a Padilla Reserva Maduro measuring 10.5" long 8.5" wide and 2" deep and plays and sounds much better than I anticipated :)
All boxes sound "great".....big, small, wood, tin, it all affects the sound - but we're not talking tonewood Martins here, CBG's are meant to sound awful, that's why we love them! (-;
Travis Woodall said:
Wichita Sam said:
the best,
Sam
Travis Woodall said:
Wes Yates said:
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