Forums

How did you get started???

Posted by Robert Christopher Hill on March 26, 2010 at 5:42pm in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever
Hey all you at CBG Nation. I'm a newer member, (just signed up like a month ago), and have begun my 1st build already. I kind of stumbled into this whole world just by browsing the web pretty much. I'm an avid guitar player and a big fan of folk/blues music, so this is really exciting DIY experience.

Anyways.... by looking through this site, with all these groups and forum posts, I've begun to realize that there is a heck of a lot us out here, so I just thought it would be pretty cool to know how you all came into the world of CBG's.


You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Roger Martin March 30, 2010 at 11:27am
    I built and sold unfretted old time mtn style open back banjos . But my area is considered one of the hearts of bluegrass.The bluegrass guys sneer at fretless banjo's and will argue, sometimes loudly that it aint really a "REAL" banjo,
    So every day I'd get a bluegrass "expert" who refused to acknowledge mtn style banjos as even playable.Not to mention that the amount I had to set per sale put me above factory made instruments and I started doing research looking for something else I could build and sell . I had this idea of something that was historic, had eye appeal ( something that is very important when your selling to the general public),VERY IMPORTANT,AND a truly playable snappy instrument.
    I had thought I had found a formula building necks on banjos that would work on something else also.
    I dont really remember exactly when cigarboxes got in my mind or where I found the concept. I had heard of CBG's, never seen one,or heard one played.So in my mind I had them rated as a sort of toy.
    Until I heard one on line,,,,,,,,
    I was blown away, the history,simple concept,sound,,,,,,,, ya THATS IT!
    I built a couple to see if it worked,put them in our craft store , so I could watch them just sit there,,,,,
    And just sit there they did,,,,,until one day I walked in the store and started playing one.....
    HMMM , the public got it, they started selling immediately.It just flat exploded!
    I went from almost no sales to "I cant build them fast enough sales" right then.AT that point I had to come up with a building formula that got me from parts to sellable product in short order.I paid attention to what customers said, my prices,THE TIME I SPENT ON EACH INSTRUMENT /COST .AND found what I think is a workable formula,to actually make my time spent pay off in change.
    Now days , I have to admit that there are days, now and then,,,,,,, that the last thing I want to do is go out and build enough for that week.However ,all in all I have a great time in the actual selling process,I meet all kinds of people everyday from all over the country and visitors from other countries that are bowled over by CBG's.
    I tend to take the same path as Shane does in that whatever I'm building, I cant get it built fast enough to suit me.
    Patience is a Virtue , but its clearly NOT one of MINE ,,,,,,,,lol
    But being and old performer , that thought his days of showing off in public were over.This craft has kind of put me back in the old "saddle" as far as an area where I can play and maybe even entertain folks a bit.
    I have great fun showing off CBG's and DB's to the public,its fun, they SEE its fun, and affordable, and they want one too.
    Every once in a while I'll get "busted" in that someone figures out that I really have NO idea what I'm doing when I play a CBG, but thats ok. LOL They have fun, I have fun and they leave with a new CBG and I walk away with THEIR money, I think thats fair LOL
  • KaptnKen March 30, 2010 at 10:06am
    I had known about CBG's for years but not more than that. Had played a bit of 6 string guitar a long time ago but was never a good player in any sense of the word, somewhat intimidated by all the people that could play well and all those strings. So I dropped it. Had been getting the urge to play "something" recently and was looking at some 6 string guitars again but still kinda put off by them. Then ran across something about CBG's, did a little research and ended up here. The idea of 3 strings struck a chord (no pun intended) in me, the whole idea of paring things back, the underlying simplicity of it. That and it was something that "I" can make and hold and have these amazing sounds/music come from. Now I just have to be able to play better and with these, for me, that's a reachable goal. Besides, when I'm holding one "I" made, it makes me smile...playing it makes me giggle :)
  • Dave Breault March 30, 2010 at 9:03am
    I've know about these critters for years but never thought they could sound any where decent, wrong. While researching plans for a Cigar box fiddle I found this site and started looking at some of the videos and pictures. I was hooked at that point. My brother in law probably won't get a CBF (I thought he needed on for his style of Bluegrass) but he will get a CBG.
  • MichaelS Country Boy Guitars March 30, 2010 at 8:18am
    I am almost as new as the poster and am up to 4 complete. I found the CBG while surfing for small amp plans and other amp info. On one of the pages there was a mention of a guitar made from a cigar box so I googled cigar box guitar found many sites and settled into this one, never did go back to the amp stuff. I had wanted to build an electric guitar for a long time but adding up all the parts needed cost more than some store bought guitars, so I never even started one. Now I've done 4 for less than the cost of one cheap guitar. Cool. Oh and playing them is awesome too!! Don't forget to play!!
  • Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates March 30, 2010 at 8:05am
    Found the 'revolution' while looking for a 6 string on ebay. Came across John McNair ('3 string guitar' here on the Nation) and his videos blew me the heck away. I was immediately hooked. Found Scotty ('Tybee Guy') and from there the old Yahoo Groups. Finally landed here and ... voila. The rest is history per se.
  • Robert Christopher Hill March 30, 2010 at 2:10am
    Wow, Love all the responses guys. Some great stories here and a pretty sweet video! This is what the heart and soul of music is about, the people, the experiences, and whatever emotions come along with 'em.
    Thanks
  • Fergus Morris March 27, 2010 at 11:58am
    Inspired by Smojo's blog.
  • Mark Werner March 27, 2010 at 10:29am
    I've played guitar since the mid-70s, and had a bit of a lay-off due to lack of a decent outlet to play.... Had gotten into building various things anyway; bicycles, archery equipment....Saw a copy of "Make" magazine at the bookstore with the "make your own cigar-box guitar" article on the cover.
    I said..."I can do that." Been building for a couple of years now, and my cigar-box collection has re-fired my interest in regular guitar as well.
  • Jerryrig240 March 27, 2010 at 2:03am
    I have been plaing guitar on and off since I was around 5 or 6....I had my first guitar about then....the whole rap seen came about at that time and so I swaped my guitar out for a keyboard (lame) anyhow...I think I learned jingle bells on that thing and it went by the way side. I asked for another guitar one year for chirstmass and my parents got me one from the pawn store....needless to say...I have a guitar around since I was at least 13 years old. But I never learned much on it...I thought the whole idea of learning others peoples music was lame...so I wanted to make my own..so just mainly jammed out on what ever came about...not learning very man songs....fast forwared a bit I ran across a thing on youttube on Seasick Steve, and he was geting this awesome sound out of a guitar with only three strings. So I started to search into this whole 3 string guitar stuff and whamo....here I start seeing cbg's...my first build was a diddley bow andI made a few of those and then wanted to tackle a cbg build...I could not find a cigar box or did not know where to get sone, so I bought a gun cleaning kit at wal-mart that had a wooden box...(Hollowbelly was the insporation for that build) needless to say, it was kinda a disaster....fast forwared again to now, and a few 20 builds later, and here I am with some pretty nice "primitave" builds under my belt. I found a drumset at good will for 80 bucks and brought it home, and now I kinda jam out on the one mand band stuff....my brother played drums for yeras, so it was easy to pick that up with the cbg and play both. I now play my snare and my bass pedal with my feet, I sing (sort of) and play what ever comes to mind.
  • Alan Roberts March 26, 2010 at 11:49pm
    Latest issue of "Make" magazine.

    I had been trying to build a guitar for years. I had four false starts (you can see 'em -- the 4 guitars of the apocalyps -- on my page) and always ran out of time at the end of the term. Always at the same place -- finishing up the neck, fretting, etc. First time I try something REALLY new, I usually foul it up. Especially if there's nobody to get advice from. So then I saw the Make magazine and thought "I can learn the hard way and not loose my shirt in the process. If I REALLY humiliate myself, nobody ... need ... ever ... know."

    So I finished my first CBG, and THEN joined the nation (had to prove something to myself). And now I can build things that do NOT suck for almost nothing and get some amazingly RIGHTEOUS advice for free.

    Yeah, I'll finish those four, and they're going to be sweet -- cedar topped, radiused, tapered necks, etc etc. But I'll going to knock off maybe 12 CBGs first to get nut carving, action setting and such under my belt.
This reply was deleted.