Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tony Davies on August 1, 2011 at 5:57am

Use a 24 inch scale neck makes life and maths a lot easier , think there is a pdf on here somewhere which tells you where to mark the frets.

 

Tony

Permalink Reply by Jarmo Katajisto on August 1, 2011 at 7:39am

I use usually, 4,3,2 strings with 3-stringer ( my latest CBG have still strings 5,4,3 )

 

but 5,4,2,  or 5,3,2, are possible  too.

 

I don´t use 6 string, ( 3- or 4- stringer ) too much tension to neck and machines.

 

Bill Jehles Frett calculator is fine software and i use, so many frett what can i do to neck.

 

if you use Bill Jehles software and you wanna make example 24" scale neck, it tell all what you need.

 

http://www.bellyjellymusic.com/downloads.htm

 

kind regards

 

Jarmo

Permalink Reply by Mike Izzo on August 1, 2011 at 3:10pm

Hey - I'm a novice myself.  I'm working on my 3rd.  I think you should decide what scale you want and then see how that fits with your box.  The number of frets doesn't really matter unless you are a player who likes to play way up on the neck and try to reach those high notes (which don't sound as good on any of my builds).  Which strings to use depends on how you want to tune your CBG and other factors.  It's frustrating because there are no right answers when making a CBG. 

Permalink Reply by Justin Mantelli on August 1, 2011 at 7:24pm

I know frets dont matter but I dont even how to play a guitar and all the lessons (for cbg) I see use frets as a reference. The reason Im making a cbg it seems it easy to pick up but a life time to master...

Thank you everyone for the help!

Permalink Reply by Mike Whisenhunt on August 6, 2011 at 11:58am

Justin, I totally entered this world a few months ago on the same notion as you. 3 strings should be easier to master than 6. Well, what I've learned is that coming in with NO  guitar experience is actually a big strike against ya. Most everything you find online for learning to play (tutorials, tabs, etc) are assuming you're instrument has 6 strings. Remove 2 of them and alter the tuning and EVERYTHING changes. I've been struggling, I have a fundamental grasp on the theory behind making the guitar work. Mostly, when you figure out how to make it sound right (not necessarily good, but you'll know when ya find it) then it's all about intervals (these would be the frets). I would encourage you to figure out the hows and whats of frets and fret indicators. Good luck sir, this place is a wealth of knowledge. Study and I do mean STUDY pictures of the builds these guys do. You'll likely start off with a neck thru body, move on to something with a scarf joint, and then progress from there. All you answers are here, just poke around or ask.

 

Regards,

Mike

 

p.s. millimeters are better for fretting than inches. find a metric rule or tape. has sped up my builds %50