Building a Cigar Box Guitar 101

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Building a Cigar Box Guitar 101

This group is for discussing the basics of CBG building for newer builders - where to start, what to do, common pitfalls, tips and techniques.

Keep in mind that new builders can find other great informative articles on CBG building, as well as most of the parts you'll need, over at C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply!

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Comment by Hamhock on January 30, 2009 at 4:36pm
Hey guys,,,
that two piezo trick sounds great. I have one piezo taped to the bass side of my cbg and it sounds pretty good. with two pickups would a reasonable place to put the second one be in the back of the box on the treble side?
Comment by anthony on January 30, 2009 at 12:17pm
Thanks sam, that worked a treat. I even just used masking tape to join the wires initially to check it worked, rather than solder it staroght away and it all worked fine so I've left it. Thanks for the advice.
Now to crank it to 11...
Comment by Wichita Sam on January 29, 2009 at 4:02pm
Anthony,

Go ahead and wire up two piezos in series straight thru the output jack... that means join the (+) wire from one piezo (the wire attached to the ceramic disc) to the (-) wire on the second piezo (the wire attached to the brass disc). Then attach the free ends to the jack; (-) to the ground and and (+) to the tip.

I do this a lot where I what to "balance" the sound from the treble and bass sides of the bridge. It's not a mag pup, but I think it's a little richer....

the best,

Wicihita Sam
Comment by anthony on January 28, 2009 at 10:28pm
ps. I'm British, so things like AWG (American wire guage, I think?) means nothing to me.
Comment by anthony on January 28, 2009 at 10:27pm
Hi guys,
I've got a question about piezo's. I was going to put in a volume and tone pot with two piezo's but after reading Mark's comments on the ohms and things I've scrapped that idea as it sounds like a lot more hassle than its worth.
Can I still link up the two piezo's and whack them striaght into the input jack? Will that make it louder/better? or is it pointless using two?
also, the wire confuses me (its not hard). Does it have to be specific audio cable. I've got some wire with a live and a neutral (I think it will be called two core) but its not got anything about audio on it. I don't think I need an earth (ground) wire for piezos, or am I about to electrocute myself?
any advice, even if it is along the lines of "don't plug anything in to anything electrical until a grown up checks it all", would be welcome.
anthony
Comment by Mark Vickroid on January 14, 2009 at 8:41am
Greenbrick: If you want to have a humbucker when done, the coilds must be opposite both electrically and magnetically. If you take the middle coil from a strat set that is RWRP [Reverse Wound Reverse Polarity] [hum-canceling in positions 2 and 4] and either the neck or bridge pickup and wire them together in paralell, you will have a humbucker. If your pickups are not RWRP from each other, you must reverse the magnet on one of them [assuming a ceramic bar magnet] so it's N is facing the opposite direction, usually flip it so the side glued to the pickup is now facing down. You can tell for sure if you have a magnet with marked polarity. Like poles repel. Also reverse the wiring, i.e. so the hot goes to the shield. For some coils this will not work. It's best to use the middle and bridge from a RWRP strat set.

Sam: You are correct, when going direct to the amp, a preamp is not necessary. It's only when one wants to use a piezo with a seperate volume and tone control aside from the one provided with the amplifier that a preamp becomes necessary to avoid loading the piezo. if proper value pots could be procured, the preamp would not be required.
Comment by Kevin on January 13, 2009 at 4:10pm
I have a question on pickups. I have 2 single coils (the neck and bridge from a Squire Strat) that I was thinking about turning into a humbucker. Is this possible? It seems like the "too easy" answer is to just slap em' together and wire them in sequence. Any advice?
Comment by Wichita Sam on January 13, 2009 at 4:10am
inline preamp is a "effects box" that is a preamp. it receives the signal from the guitar, processes it according to the settings and then send is on down the line to the amp.

Ahh... if a guitar amp can handle a piezo's signal, again why a preamp? I know your explaination made sense to someone who knows something, but take another run at it, if you care...

thanks Mark.... Happy New Year,

Sam
Comment by Mark Vickroid on January 13, 2009 at 3:47am
Never tried anything called an inline preamp, but it's probablly the correct thing.
A to "Why?" it's because of a little thing called impedance, and a little effect called signal loading. Basically, a guitar amp is optimized to recieve a signal at a certian impedance level. Pickups, both mags and piezo, output their audio voltage at a certian impedance level. If these levels are not matched, the signal suffers. What does it suffer? Reduced output, shifted ressonance, shifted EQ, also the way piezo's sometimes overdrive/clip in that nasty way when strummed hard, just reduced sound quality in general.
'Standard' guitar electronics are/were designed to work with guitar amps, and to have output at the correct impedance levels without needing to be active, or powered. The radio shack piezo works well when plugged directly in to the amp. Many man piezo materials and devices will not work so well, and must be used with a preamp to get any useable signal at all.
hope that's clear as mud....
Comment by Wichita Sam on January 11, 2009 at 2:35pm
Thanks for the info Mark.... Have you ever tried an "inline" preamp with piezos????

And, if you're running the signal thru an amp anyway, what's the point?

the best,

Sam
 

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