Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by RTZGUITARS on December 26, 2016 at 9:28am

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Permalink Reply by Robert Varcoe on December 26, 2016 at 9:35am

Is this copyrighted or can I use it as my profile pic..... I love it.....

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on December 26, 2016 at 8:38pm

See there, it's already tearing on the side from the stress. Everybody should know that Crullers would be better due to there texture. Especially one that's a couple of weeks old.
It's an instrument AND a breakfast food.

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Permalink Reply by turtlehead on December 27, 2016 at 11:21am

I had no room to reply above so I'll post here:.

 "...the fact that no luthiers built any Cigar Box instruments for 150 years of their known existence..."

Well actually, 

Eddie Lang, who was known as the father of jazz guitar, was the son of an Italian-American instrument builder who made Eddie a cigar box guitar when he was very young.  When Eddie was a little older, he built him a standard guitar and so began the journey of the man who would basically put jazz banjo players out of business.  

Eddie was the first person who was able to play his guitar in a way to keep up with the rest of the band volume wise and brought the guitar from a strictly backup instrument to a soloist's instrument.  He influenced many, including Django Reinhardt.  Les Paul said, "Eddie Lang was the first and had a very modern technique."

Here's a good article about Eddie Lang: http://www.vjm.biz/167-eddie-lang-web-layout-1.pdf

So there you go.  Because of his importance in bringing the guitar to the forefront and his influence on some of the great guitar players of the 20th century, I think you might be able to make the case that his cigar box guitar is one of the most important ever built - made by an old school luthier from Italy.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on December 27, 2016 at 11:53am

Indeed turtlehead. And let's not forget master luthier/ukulele maker Sam Kamaka Jr who made wonderful CB Ukes because he liked to experiment.

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Permalink Reply by turtlehead on December 27, 2016 at 12:40pm

Yep Jim, another great example.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 27, 2016 at 1:08pm

Regarding "luthiers" not embracing the CBG. I started to respond to this train of thought and scrapped it, but turtleheads post has made comments that I would have mentioned, and agree with.
I would also mention that the CBG was not the powerhouse instrument it is today, (in the hands of the right person). I would imagine that they were low volume "back porch" pickers with limited strings suited to a certain form of music.

Luthiers are forward thinking craftsmen who are always looking to improve their instruments and in those days musicians wanted volume. So why would they look back at an instrument that is low on volume. I think that players demands help create experimentation and changes. If guitar players had requested a CBG then luthiers attention would have looked in that direction.

That's how I, after 45 years building regular instruments, built my first CBG, a customer asked for one. But he got the 3rd one I built as I thought the first ones were too quiet.

I wonder how popular cbg's would be today if it was not for amplification. Nearly every video I see/hear the CBG is amplified.
But I could be wrong.
Cheers Taff

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Permalink Reply by Robert Varcoe on December 27, 2016 at 1:13pm

Along the same train of thought Taffy nearly every video I see of an acoustic guitar... the guitar is amplified.....

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 27, 2016 at 1:30pm

Yep,venues get bigger sound gets louder. Even the classic violin makers back in the day modified their violins to be louder, now even violins a plugged in.
Taff

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Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on December 27, 2016 at 1:52pm

Taff I agree with all the points you've made. The only place I diverge a bit is that a handful of us focus on trying to make an acoustic instrument maybe not as loud as possible, but with as good a tone as possible using cigar boxes, cookie tins and other non luthier type materials. I've often been the only CB instrument in a jam with more than 10 people playing acoustic instruments from the finest factories and I can testify that my volume holds it's own in those settings. We've all seen that a shovel equipped with a pickup can be a killer instrument but it's a different quest all together to get a decent tone just making a box and the surrounding air vibrate. I'm sure you're well aware of all this since you have a lot of experience with regular instruments and I appreciate your comments.

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Permalink Reply by Murray on December 27, 2016 at 1:38pm

Nice interesting topic.

I learned here one rule is not telling others there are rules. But that's ok...someone will find a way to break them, enhancing creativity.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 27, 2016 at 3:29pm

Hi Jim, I'm gonna have to get a real cigar box to build with as I've never heard one in the flesh. Taff

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