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new to cbg, advice needed!

hi guys,
exactly a week ago i accidently stumbled across hollowbelly on youtube. his stuff blew me away, so i got in contact with him. i was totally unaware that cbgs had been going for so long, i thought it was a new thing!
so, i looked deeper, had some talks (over net) with hb who made me see the light, that to build my own was the best way.
i searched the web, bought a cigar box. first mistake, didnt read listing properly and bought one which i think is too small. so, look again. in the eman time i bought some tuning keys, they came in 3 pairs, which is great, means i now have to build TWO cbgs :)
so, to one of, what will be, im sure, many questions. what is the best pickup for me to use, at a sensible price?

thanks in advance :)

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Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on November 21, 2010 at 9:25am

Start with a piezo. Seee CB Gitty for them, his ad is on the home page. Its a one stop CBG parts shop. Good luck with it.

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Permalink Reply by mr seitan on November 21, 2010 at 10:09am

thanks, but i think i messed up, as i forgot to say im in the uk.

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Permalink Reply by John Drake on November 21, 2010 at 11:14am

I'm in Australia and I get my peizos from Jaycar, so try Jaycar UK or have a look at this link (HERE) for Maplins in UK - they have piezo listed at UK 0.79 Regards John D

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Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on November 21, 2010 at 1:48pm

Check out Gitty's site anyway, he has some diagrams for wiring and alot of helpful stuff.

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Permalink Reply by mr seitan on November 22, 2010 at 7:09am

thanks guys :)

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Permalink Reply by ross harper (rustic luthiery) on November 22, 2010 at 8:43pm

I live in Australia,CB Gitty is in New Hampshire,and each time I've ordered stuff from him,it has arrived within 10 days or less.And New Hampshire is heaps closer to the UK than Australia.

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Permalink Reply by YeahDoIt on November 23, 2010 at 12:56am

For a first CBG you might cut a notch in the box and lay a microphone inside, cord passes through the notch. An inexpensive dynamic microphone probably sounds better than a piezo. You might want to get a regular electric guitar pickup later, they sound good.

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Permalink Reply by mr seitan on November 23, 2010 at 9:27am

YeahDoIt said:

For a first CBG you might cut a notch in the box and lay a microphone inside, cord passes through the notch. An inexpensive dynamic microphone probably sounds better than a piezo. You might want to get a regular electric guitar pickup later, they sound good.

i was thinking of going normal guitar pickup from the start! ive bought two cigar boxes in the past few days. one was too small i think (my fault) 170mm by 120mm by 35mm, and the other i think is gonna be real thick wood ( as i dont thin kits a proper cigar box). im thinking the thicker box would only work with a normal pickup, is that right? do the piezos only work with thin wood?