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Permalink Reply by Snuffy Smith on April 22, 2017 at 4:55pm

LOL you're not telling me anything I don’t already know.

Yes, I got my first drumkit at 3, my second kit at 5, my third at 9, and bought my giant 10-piece Ludwig kit at 16...which I still have. Years ago, a friend lent me his Rickenbacher 4001 for around a year. I picked it up really quick and was sitting around playing to albums for hours at night. I progressed rather quickly. I’m an ear player. I use to have friends come over with their guitars and we'd have a blast jammin. If I got good quickly on a 4-string bass, something tells me I'll be fine on 3-string CBG. Years later, my ex bought me a bass guitar for Christmas one year. It was a cheap hunk of junk, and no matter what I did on it, it sounded like crap. It had a horrible sound, horrible action, and could not stay in tune at all. It was nothing compared to sitting down and playing that Rickenbacher 4001. Instrumentally, they were light years apart. And yes, I’ve sat at crap drum kits too. Having a bad instrument does not make learning fun at all…this I know.

Yes, I understand you need time to learn how to play, but I also know you can buy a crap instrument, and struggle to make it sound good. I guess that was my point here. I’m new to this CBG stuff, so I just was checking in asking what CBG players recommendations are for builders. My CBG from Crumbley Caster is being built now. I have lots of confidence in the builder there. He’s a nice guy and I’ve seen and heard some of his instruments online. I’m just looking down the road. I'm just dreaming here...it doesn't hurt. I'm seeing all kinds of different designs out there, and was just checking things out. I'm just checkin out my options later on and bookmarking CBG builders for future reference.

When I first investigated this stuff, I located a CBG builder near me, but he is dying of Hep C, sold all of his guitars, and offered me one of his own (but I wanted a tone knob too). I was at a loss, surfed alot more online researching these things, and discovered Shane Speal. I went out to his website, filled out his website contact email form, sent it off to him, and I never heard from him at all. Which totally perplexed me. He could have gotten a sale! So I moved on and discovered Justin Johnson online. He was super helpful and we’ve written back and forth a couple of times now. I followed his recommendation and bought my first 3-string CBG that is currently being made by Crumbley Caster.

As for your advice in your last paragraph, I am still learning, and to be really honest, I don’t really know enough at this point to even really know what I want…if that makes sense? I don’t know alot about pickups, strings, hardware, knobs, toggle switches, resonators….etc, etc, etc…..LOL, I’m a drummer. So this is all very new to me, that is why I signed up here…to talk to folks who know what they are doing and can give me advice…cause I need lots of it.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 24, 2017 at 5:07am

I get you, but no one here will steer you towards crap CBGs. For one thing, most of us have built at least one crap CBG, and treat them as red-headed stepchildren; ;-) we've been humbled by the luthier's art, and by players both demanding and clueless.

Many of us here also fulminate against the crap mass-produced Chinese CBGs. Which is why you'll find Shane telling you to build your own, or me suggesting building a diddley bow first. I know, you said you're all thumbs, with limited tools. But try it anyway, while you're waiting for your Crumbley build: a piece of cast-off 2x4, two nails, an old guitar string, a can or Coke bottle, and a cheap piece of copper tubing, or a socket, for a slide. Takes maybe 5 minutes, for less than 5 bucks, but provides hours of fun. And since you're an "ear player" (who isn't?), you should be able to hear intervals on a slide DB very quickly. Believe it or not, what was essentially a diddley bow (though it was called a monochord) was used during the Middle Ages to teach notes to monks and choristers. So if anyone asks you, "WTF is that?," you tell them it is a Holy Grail Monochord(tm). That you built yerself. While yer waitin'...

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Permalink Reply by Cigar Box Nation on April 22, 2017 at 5:34pm

Build yer own.  Nothing beats playing a machine made by your own hands.

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Permalink Reply by Snuffy Smith on April 22, 2017 at 5:44pm

Sounds good, but I'm currently not set up to do that.

Curious, Shane, why didn't you answer my email that I sent to you through your own website...which would have been around the 1st of this month? I was asking for your help and advice, and then *crickets*.

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Permalink Reply by Cigar Box Nation on April 24, 2017 at 12:32am

I get dozens of emails every day on top of running a business, wife, kids, etc.  Sometimes I get too piled up and don't answer them all.  Its actually the reason I created Cigar Box Nation in the first place...  This is where questions get answered by the whole community

Also, on the 1st of the month, my wife was in the hospital getting surgery.  I was by her side the whole time.

  

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Permalink Reply by Snuffy Smith on April 24, 2017 at 2:40am

Understood.

Sorry to hear about your wife. Hope all is well

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on April 23, 2017 at 2:22am

Buy from cbgitty a «Pure & Simple» Cigar Box Guitar Kit for eighty bucks: the only tools you need to assemble this well sounding box is a screwdriver and a hammer:
https://www.cbgitty.com/cigar-box-guitar-kits/complete-pure-simple-...
Check the video on the same page showing Shane playing one of these kits he had finished about five minutes earlier, the entire build took him about half an hour. On the same page a link to C. B. Gitty's «Pure & Simple» Cigar Box Guitar Kit - How to Build, Tune and Play video,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gWign-qR-o

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on April 23, 2017 at 5:43am

... and start rocking with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy04bkM_JSc, Chuck Berry's Maybellene

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Permalink Reply by Snuffy Smith on April 23, 2017 at 9:38am

Cool. Thanks for the lesson link.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on April 24, 2017 at 4:19am

Wow .. BBS here  (blushing builders syndrome ) ,   gotta say thanks for all the  honorable  swamp witch guitar mentions here  ,  means alot  to me  , especially coming from  other  builders.  and being named amongst  other great builders . you guys are the best .  ;-) thanx again  .

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Permalink Reply by Snuffy Smith on April 24, 2017 at 4:26am

Well, I do believe I found a reputable builder here.

I'm happy now. Thanks all!!!

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 24, 2017 at 5:08am

Told ya. :-)

See if you can convince him to do Bobby pin frets again ;-E

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