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tuning cigar box guitar

Hi,

i bought a cigar box guitar and iv read it can be fitted with top 4 strings from a standard guitar. iv done this but am finding it impossible to tune! iv used my tuner and tuned to E, A, D, G and it sounds terrible as soon as i play a chord. i also tried tuning top string to E and then tuned string to string by ear as i would on my guitar, still sounds awful!

any one have any ideas?

thanks

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on November 19, 2012 at 11:58pm

Gitty sells fretted fingerboards, yeah good lesson learned..buy from a well known builder...there`s plenty out there....your in the U.K why didn`t you buy one from Chickenbone John. He stands behind his work.

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Permalink Reply by craig bodsworth on November 20, 2012 at 5:55am

hindsight is a wonderful thing! have to wait 72 hours for ebay to decide...

if i get a refund i may still have to save up to buy a chickenbone john guitar! =)

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Permalink Reply by Busyhands Slim on November 20, 2012 at 7:01am

Making a fretboard is not a terribly difficult task, if you have one critical tool: a dial caliper. You need it for two things: measuring the fret locations and finding a saw blade that is just the right thickness. Use the fret location calculator linked above, and use the caliper to lay out the locations to within 1/1000 of an inch. You can use any saw to cut the slots, but you need to measure the thickness of the tang and find a blade that is just a little bit narrower (a couple thou). Again, the caliper is the critical tool, as it will measure the blade thickness to very close tolerances. These used to be really expensive tools, but now you can get one from China for about US$15. after building a couple of guitars, I went all out and got a 12 inch caliper for US$40. Anyone that builds anything should have one.

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Permalink Reply by craig bodsworth on November 20, 2012 at 11:07pm

my refund has been refused by ebay due to the fact that i already moved the bridge. i have requested that my feedback is changed to negative. i hope this guy changes his descriptions or learns how to make a decent guitar!

i will try and source a fretted board or maybe try a fretless one and have a go at slide.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Tinker on November 20, 2012 at 11:17pm

You could always get in touch with Chickenbone John and ask him if he can do anything to the guitar for you, if you don't feel up to it. I know he's done work on others before.

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Permalink Reply by craig bodsworth on November 20, 2012 at 11:19pm

i looked in Gitty shop they sell fretted boards ready to glue on. however they are listed as 20'' long and my fretboard is only 18''. does that mean i cant use or is there a way round this? it doesnt list fret spacing...

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Permalink Reply by Chris Tinker on November 20, 2012 at 11:22pm

I wouldn't use it, especially as you've already got a stubby guitar where you had to replace the tail piece. If i were you I'd get someone who knows their stuff to do it, or remove the frets altogether and use it as a pure slide guitar.

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Permalink Reply by David L. on November 20, 2012 at 11:55pm

You could run the fretboard onto the box surface similar to how I added an acoustic guitar neck with overlapping fretboard to a box

but the box needs to be long enough so you can put the bridge in the right place for the scale.

Adding the fingerboard will lift the strings higher which should let you get a lower string action making finger picking easier. Ask CBGitty about the scale length and provided the nut position to where the saddle needs to be will fit the neck/ box you can either fit as above with overlap onto the box lid or even saw of the extra from the bottom of the fretboard so you have no overlap.

Do any of the frets actually sit where they are supposed to be? You could refret the ones out of place (the guitar will look a bit trashed).

Like Chris suggests you could pull out the frets and go fretless.

You could end up spending a load of cash to end up with something that isn't as good as it should be and not what you really wanted (not sure how to word that better). It might be worth just having a think about what you want and whether it is worth considering buying one from a reputable seller (like Chickenbone John) but only if you can get over to try several out, or find out if he is selling at any guitar shows near you. All CBGs are different and string set up for slide will feel crap if you are used to low action electric guitars so you need to try several to find one with the feel you like (no disrespect to those who set up for slide I realise they are supposed to feel like that :O) ). Or better still have a try at building your own because then you will get exactly what you want - the one positive thing from the ebay sale is the "builder" used some good parts to get you started. Also it gives you the option to add electronics if you wanted.

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Permalink Reply by Busyhands Slim on November 21, 2012 at 9:13am

18" is the standard length for a tenor ukulele, which also coincidentally has 4 strings. Perhaps a search for a tenor uke fingerboard will turn up something?

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Permalink Reply by Order99 on November 21, 2012 at 7:48pm

Here's a possible solution if you don't want to completely tear down and rebuild the old unit or render it down for parts-

1) Gently apply heat to the frets to loosen any glues and lightly carbonize the area-carefully remove frets.A soldering iron or woodburning pen works well for this.

2) Apply heat to bare fretboard and try to remove. If the builder actually applied the frets directly to the neck instead(I can't tell by the picture) then fill the slots with filler. I prefer titebond and fine sawdust to the commercial putties.

3) Cover neck with new, blank fretboard. Loosen and move bridge to whichever location on the body sounds most awesome to you. Measure the new distance between the nut and bridge positions-multiply total in centimeters by 0.9439 for the first fret, again for the second etc until you have as many fret positions as you want (this is Uncle Crow's method).

4) Mark the fret positions with marker or woodburning pen for fretless (visual guide only) or saw new slots and install frets for fretted. If your fretboard height has changed, shim or trim the nut and bridge until the action suits you.Play it until the strings break!

Now if you've never built or modified a guitar before it might be easier to try to purchase one from a reputable dealer(I too have heard great things about Chickenbone John)-or, set this one aside, build a few, see what works and rebuild it later...I just listed the measures I would take so you know what you'd be in for. Also, if you have any music stores nearby, they might recommend a local luthier-IF said luthier will work on a homemade instrument he or she can dial in these adjustment for you, but it will be pricey...

Best of luck.

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Permalink Reply by craig bodsworth on November 21, 2012 at 10:58pm

David the guitar in that pic looks gorgeous! i now want a 6 string cbg =)

my fretboard is glued on so should be removable. i noticed there is a 1/2'' gap on the neck above the nut so the new fretboard could be placed higher and then overlapping onto the box should be straightforward.

im imagining the tailpiece could be extended past the bottom of the box to accomodate the bridge if required. think iv seen pics of that before. would this affect the sound of the guitar?

i found some uke fretboards for sale but they were too short and too wide...

the builder claimed the frets were pressed not glued (shame there in the wrong bloody place!) but i dont fancy removing and replacing them, as that would probably look crap and id rather let the pros handle that...