Jim Mitchell

Jim, if you get a chance, shoot me a message with the part number for the Drain Covers you use from Lowes (the small ones). I've not been able to find them here in Wisconsin.

No problem, whenever you get a chance.

Thanks,
Phil

Thank you Jim for supplying your video as a response. Yes, certainly finding an original copy of the music and lyrics will be helpful, but also listening to various renditions from other artists, will open up endless ideas for arranging. Many of my arrangements continue to change over the years as I learn new ideas. Nothing is written in stone. When I was younger, my Grandfather would often say to me, Can't you just play a whole song! lol. Too much noodling drives everybody crazy. Enjoy.

Hello,
I have started a CBN group entitled, "How to Play CBG" It is my hope and intention to encourage the "Wealth of Talent" here on the Nation to share their knowledge and skill to further the CBG movement. Please consider contributing an instructional "video" link to this group. If you are a viewer seeking instruction, please feel free to write. If you have any suggestions or know other players who you think may want to post instructional "video" links, please contact me. Thank you for your interest and support, Keni Lee

Shoot Jim, were almost neighbors...I am in Dunedin just north of Clearwater. You have built some fine guitars friend. I hope I can pick your brain a bit regarding resos as we are in our first reso build now. Your necks, headstocks and box designs are truly original and outstanding. Keep up the good work!

Cool string up day for you , it's always a good day when it's string up day , bet she sounds as good as she looks , yeah i must say thats why i started adding truss rods for the added weight and of course adjustable , so i like to think that they will last longer also , even put one in the Plank hehe ! the plank has gone down a storm with everyone already got two orders for them ! the tail is a flip top from a beer bottle with a beat steel string holder and rust lol! see pic Cheers bro juju

Jim,
I was unable to find Pat Cook reso tut. If you have time could you send me a link to his vids? Thanks Jim - Shane

Hi Jim,
Sorry for not replying sooner - I am a newbie and have only just found the comments section.
Looking down at all you have already made you obviously know what you are doing - so what would you like photos of and descriptions of? Or would you prefer pictures inside and out and then ask about any bits that are of interest? One of the two 3/4 guitars also has a mini amp and 5 watt speaker built in, plus a push pull (series to parrallel) pot wired to a mini humbucker. Both guitars are wired via a 3 way switch to control a magnetic pick up or piezo discs or both. I am unsure how much wiring you have done already but again ask if you want more info on this. Once I know what you would like I'll get onto it.
Regards,
David

I have a ppt "How to build", "How to Play" the canjo... normally sell it for $ 7, but if you like I'll send it to you and you give me what you want....

need you email address....

yep, you can use sam00913@yahoo.com for my paypal account....

Jim making that cover plate was easier than i thought it would be,i didn't post any thing about it but if you are interested in any aspect of making the cover plate,let me know. i will be glad to share any information about the process that you may be interested in. thanks fer the nice comments.

first is the few tools i used on the cover plate. scratch awl,scissors,tin snips,hole punch,[2 sizes] drill bits, sandpaper and scotch brite pads and a leather bag filled with sand and a leather covered mallet to beat the tin with. i think these are the only tools i used to make the cover plate with. the plate was made from an old cornbread baking pan,that has seen the oven fer many years and has great patina to it for a vintage look. i first made a cardboard pattern of what i wanted it to look like,that is important.once i cut out the diamond patterns and punched out the center hole i transfered the cardboard pattern to the back of the old cornbread pan.set it where i wanted it on the pan,then used the scratch awl to punch a center hole in the pan to hold the cardboard pattern in place.then used another scratch awl to scratch the patterns on the tin. you with me so far?i did not do any cutting on the pan yet. after getting all the scratch lines on the back of the pan,then i used the tin snips to cut through the rolled corners only.after cutting thru the corners then i used the scissors to cut the part that would be the coverplate out. and when i cut the plate out it only had one hole in the center in it. the rest was basic,my diamond patterns were scratched into the coverplate so i just sanded the patina away in between the diamonds,and at the edges.then i punched the holes in it with a pine board behind the tin,used a scratch awl fer the small holes the went back thru the small holes with a drill bit. used a very small drill bit to drill the outer holes where the screws go to hold the plate down to the top of the guitar. and last i put the dome shape in it with the leather mallet and the sandbag. not to bad fer my first try.any questions just ask if i left something out.hope this helps you brother.

Hey Jim,
Thanks for checking out my video. Glad you enjoyed it and took the time to post a comment!
Cheers,
K

Thanks Jim,i was on here last April.to start but because of some family problems health wise i had to put it on hold.Now im back ive got about 25 boxes waiting to get started.
This w/e ill get the first going.

Jim I like both of my Ukuleles. They sound good to me but I'm no musician. I want to have some one that plays look them over and tell how to improve.

No worries mate , your making a grand job of them , hehe! still got to try and hang on-to a plank myself , the last one i made was for me then i sold it at the CBG Fest must stop doing that ! , yes mate have a go i'm sure you would get straight into the groove :-)

good to hear from you bro

juju.

Thanks Jim. i have found that a can for a reso is louder when the drain cover pushes down on the top of the can and not the bridge pushing down on the bottom of the can. the sound comes right out the can, not into the box then out the soundholes. i get the same vibration from the soundboard but with the added sound from the can... you have some great builds in here Jim, glad i took another look.

Thank you Jim. Series 5 is the second part of my splitting Spanish tuning (aka Open G) in half thesis. CD 4 expores the bass side (GDg) and now Series 5 explores the treble side (Dgbd). The 3 string is best for walking bass and shuffle rhythms. The 4 string is best for doublestops, chords and bottleneck lead lines. Now if you had 2 people playing each one, that would work out real fine. Enjoy.

thanks jim don't you love them CBG's

Hi Jim , Many thanks mate , it was a suprize to see it on the homepage when i logged on earlier , i expect to see some of your cool builds up there at some point you deserve it to my freind i love your creations too
Thanks again bro
juju.

thanks jim i got the bug to .CBG'[s got me good

thank you so much for the comment and not laughing. he he I was nervous about putting it up

Hi, thanks for the comment on my video..yeah I seem to just make up short things..must work on that!!...you didn't miss the pics of me building it...ashamed to say I cheated and bought my guitars from eBay...I realise now most people on here build them : -)

oh that's true I suppose people who buy them are good from that point of view!!....would love to build one, but back and neck problems would make it difficult...unless I had all fancy power tools, which I think would be pretty expensive : -/ Belinda

hey jim how ya be doing man? just dropped by ta say that i haven't had a chance to record with the area 51 resonator yet.a coupla nights ago was the first time i had strings on it and just strummed the strings without playing it at all. well last night i set it up again after putting some finish on the woodwork of the build. started to play slide on it thru my little dano amp with headphones and wow crazy sounds. so now i,m gonna add a piezo under the circuit board to get the tone of the glass from the body too.then put a toggle switch to go to regular sound, or area 51 sound. i will try to do a demo video of the weird sound of area 51 after i actually get all the details of this build finished, maybe in the next few days it will be done. so several reasons had me name this build area 51 resonator.----glass top---headstock piezo----circuit board visual effects----and the number 51 is on the package of piezo,s and one more is i just finished reading a book about area 51. its my last build of my first year of discovering cigar box guitars.. you will find my video here after i get the area 51 build ready to record with jim. take care man and talk with ya later my friend.

Thank you. This is a short clip from this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f78-i801Vxo

The whole song can be found played on a 1930 Stella here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_naclDsu_rY

Thanks for your comment on my video. Good times, bad times, there's always a song.
Sweet Baby Ray

thanks Jim. i often drill then glue in a 3/4 oak dowel a little off center where i would have a screw on softer woods. i learned that one when i was changin out front doors, the screw holes were often stripped out.

Thank you Jim. Wishing you, your loved ones, and friends a Happy Holiday. Enjoy.

Thank you for your warm Holiday Wishes. Best of Health and Wealth in 2010. Enjoy.

ahh yes...if i had just scrolled through a couple more pics i would have seen that!I really love your work, and i aspire to make guitars half the caliber of yours, maybe even a dreadnaught someday

Thanks again for the kind words.... I really like these CBG's they have me completely distracted... Actually I have a long way to go myself with regards to my building... If there is anything I can do to help you in your approach just let me know. I certainly have picked a lot of brains in my day. Anyway I am just trying to find my way and these instruments can be forgiving and certainly rewarding... Thanks again take care - Jim

My first Build is almost done. I tossed it together and stringed it up for a test. Picture will be posted soon.....and yes Ben is a Florida Guy he just played on new years day here in Orlando for 4 hours at Will's Pub. That Beast that Johnny Lowebow build him is a real treat to hear live.

hey JIm..you ever done a neck reset?

Thanks! It was a shot I popped off a couple nights ago, to see if I could sell the thing to a friend of a friend. No sale, but I did get front page, so that was even better!

yeah, i have an old yairi that is going to need one sometime in the near future

re: kite spars for reinforcement - a fearless experiment. The jury's still out, but it seems to work fine. I used a carbon fiber tube, not fiberglass, well buttered with epoxy. I just sold the guitar I tried it with, and I expect I'll hear about it if it doesn't pan out, but I remain confident.
More promising is a thin 1/2" slab of carbon fiber superglued in a nice-fitting saw kerf. I'm liking that a lot, used it in the Sortacaster; the neck's dead flat under tension, and the thing's just packed with sustain.

Do you have a good source? >>

For the carbon-fiber sheets, I got mine at the hobby store, in the model aircraft dep't. Tubes/spars, I got at a kite shop on the coast for inevitable stunt kite mishaps, but "Into The Wind" on the web could fix you up with all kinds of carbon-fiber tubes.

And was that the Sortacaster that you sold? What do you get for them >>

It was Curly I sold, and was fool enough to let it go for a paltry $300, but the guy's a good friend, and runs the music store here - there's a "word of mouth" advertising component at work, which I like. I do hope to beat minimum wage one of these days.

thanks for the pics,that is neat ! what is the black material?

Jim, thanks for the comment on the vid! Nice looking builds by the way

Hey there Jim - Thanks for the invite!

Beautiful craftsmanship. All the way around. your necks are the finest I've seen.

Thanks Jim, you got some real nice guitars too. Looks pretty professional, is this how you make your living?

That's great. It always give me a buzz when someone says they have been inspired in some way from seeing my stuff. It kinda makes it all extra worthwhile and not just a self indulgent hobby. Your woodworking skills are far superior to mine but I enjoy what i do which is the main thing.

ey up Jim bro
yep i'm a regular over at Scrub/stink finger radio - it's a good show on fridays infact i listen all the time while i'm working some great unknown bands on there too and it's a great laugh in the live chat - i take it you are talking about last fridays show with Hollowbelly's interveiw ? when he mentioned me as a master craftsman lol! i dont know about that so much i just like to make things - a better title for me is "A Jack of all trades master of none" that about sums me up hehe!
you know mate i'd love to come to the states it's one of my things to do before i die so to speak - if i ever make it i'll give you a shout bro would be cool to hang out with you i'm sure we have lots in common
Cheers mate take it easy now

juju :-)

Hey Jim. The BBQ as of right now is taken care of so no need to prepay. You can pay at the Jam. Im going to go change it now on the page. We are looking at under 30 right now so i can handle the deposit.

Hey Jim congrats on the featured build mate - it's a real looker for sure - love that fretboard :-)
juju.

I've seen some of Keni Lee Burgess' work. Your stuff, cool!!! You're definitely more than a builder, you have skills. Go ahead and share 'em. Folks will hear your guitars and want one. Good business (and you've heard my stuff - I can't find a note with a map yet).

Hey I wanted to say thanks for commenting on my Voodoo Child thing the other day.

Thank you Jim for your comment. Ya, you can get a lot of mileage out of that walking bass line combined with a bottleneck melody line. Enjoy.