Hello all,

New to this site...have lurked for a while and have been inspred by the work here.

Built my fist CBG resonator..I have it set up on a 25-1/2" scale.

I'm to the point of putting strings on it. Not sure what to do here. Hoping some of your expereince will help.

Based on this set up, what strings would you use and what tunings would be best for what I've put together. I know there are options...I'll prolly add electronics later. Your opinions are highly valued considering my limited knowledge in building. 

Thanks!

Fish-o

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id go  with   #3  , 4 and 5   strings   .from  an   9's   or  10s  pack.    if adding  mag  pickup   use  electric  guitar strings  (steel)  ..  

if you are  going    piezo    or  acoustic    ..  med   acoustic ,   #3,4,5  . 

as   for tuning  ..  nothing  beats this simple method .  in  simplicity  anyway  ;-)

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/knotlennys-3string-cbg-101

Thanks for reply!

forgot to add...its a four string. Important bit of info huh?

lol   ..    yup  ..  and  im  the  wrong  guy  to  ask  fo  4  string  tuning  ..   i  get lost   in  it  . try   it  all,   and    end  up    ripping  off  a string  ;-)

 

You can use the 4-3-2-1 and tune it to D-G-B-e, just like the bottom 4 strings on a 6 string. That way the chords won't change on you.

Or you can use the top 4 and go with 6-5-4-3.

When you say you are going to add electronics later, it will make a difference whether or not you add a piezo pickup or a magnetic pickup. If you use a mag pup, then you will want to use electric guitar strings. For a piezo, it won't matter.

You could also drop the heaviest and lightest strings and tune something like A D F# A or G D G B, adjusting up or down if that's to tight or loose...  who the blue heck are them there masters

.032w, .024w, .018p, .013p, tune it D G B D..away you go...instant Muddy Waters & Keef Richards sounds.

By the way, it's not much help referring to strings as no. 3, 4, 5 etc from a set..as gauges vary so much - for example, the 3rd or G string can be as light as .015 or as heavy as. 026 depending what set you look at - that's a huge variation. It's much better to get to grips with the actual gauge sizes (measured in thousands of an inch). As regards "masters" of cigarbox guitar making, I don't know if there are many around...if any. It's a hit and miss craft at best, not an exact science, and that's the joy of it.

The Ikea Reso!
Thanks for the advice...I'll report back my results.
Yup Ron...started collecting boxes and wood...had in mind a resonator of sorts...the girl conned me into an ikea outing...ugggh! I thought....So I made the best of it. Ended up walking out with this two piece soap dish for 6 bucks..top turned upside down on the drip tray and held together with the u-bolt / bridge.
Actually found a few cheap things there...guitar part shopping def. made the trip a bit more tolerable.
Yep...everything at Ikea look like git parts now...even the checkout butcher block counter tops;-)
Nice looking reso!

I must admit I look for bits to make guitars with when I go to Ikea - I guess if they realised they would be tapping into this potential market and selling flat packed box guitars (and they would come in 3 colors - natural pine, beech and dark oak). Though to be honest any shops I go into I look in terms of what I can use for a CBG. All Part of the addiction I guess.

I am in no way a master and once you have played around a while you will find what works best for you and the reso.

For myself for my 4 string I went with DGBe because;

It is easy to find many songs already in chord or tab format on the www ( eg http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/) which are easy to play by just cutting the 2 strings you have dropped from the tab.

If you want to try slide playing it is easy to retune the strings to open G tuning DGBd (only the small e is drop tuned to a d). This site shows some of the chords http://www.alanhorvath.com/Gchart.php

I could stick to 4 strings from a balanced set of 6 strings for a regular guitar and not be concerned about what note a particular string could be tuned to. (I started using electric 9s but now prefer electric 10s).

But mine was not a reso and you might find the sound from the Bass strings more appealing in which case I would try EADG from a set of 6. (DGDG for open G tuning from the link above - this way for open tuning the strings are dropped tuned and no string is too tight putting less stress on the CBG).

Regards,
David
So I tried the lower set EADG
And just didn't like the sound.
(EJ16's) I guess the low vib doesn't do much for a small box.
The highs on the other hand seem well suited and the guit has a nice little sound. I'm no guitar playing master...hack mostly. Had some pal guitar slingers check it out and they seemed pretty stoked about its playability.
I do feel like I could get more acoustic sound out of it though.
I'll need to bone up on how to do that.
Thanks for the advice.

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