Thank you Roger for your friendship. Let me know if I can be of any assistance. Enjoy your practice, Keni Lee

Hi Roger,

For the piezos the main idea is to dampen the signal a bit to reduce the feedback which piezo discs are prone to.  I normally just glue the disc to the inside of the lid beneath the bridge location using "serious" glue (B&Q or Tescos) and once set also cover the top with it - it sticks well and if you use a lot it dries to a jelly like consistency.  Silicone adhesive/sealer would do the same.  Others take it to an art form level and build them into the bridge - check out the links in this discussion for more info. http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/sealed-piezo-pickups?commentId=2592684%3AComment%3A397354 

For an amp - it depends what you want-

Battery, mains, both, solid state, valve, how cheap?

Do you want to build it from a kit or readymade?

I like to keep things cheap so for home use I use a mains guitar amp between 10 to 20 W output - these are a real bargain second hand off ebay.  Due to the weight postage is always a fortune so most people sell them for local pick up only which means they sell for about £10 but they then tend to keep this value if you decide to upgrade later. -  You just have to wait for one to come up for sale in your area :O).  They usually have an overdrive function (limited for a piezo due to feedback but useful if you start adding magnetic pickups).  I had a quick look on ebay and found this one which seems a good price for a brand new item. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROCKBURN-10W-GUITAR-AMP-/310383952617?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item48445342e9

  I have picked up 2 of these over the past couple of years which went to nephews and thought they sounded good for a small amp.  Unfortunately when it comes to sound what I think is good you might dislike so it is hard to give any definite best buys.

If you find an amp you like the look of this site is good for reviews http://www.harmonycentral.com/user-reviews/

If you like the idea of building your own let me know I have info on an easy amp project and I have a surplus of the lm386 ICs used for the smokey amp which you can have.

Regards,

David

Hi Roger - did you get yourself sorted with a pickup?

Hi Roger,

welcome to the Nation. I've watched your videos on youtube, and I love your shoekelele to bits. The tuning pegs are wonderful and the sound hole with the hole also in the through neck is a design I'll be nicking...I mean paying homage to.

My experience of building instruments seems similar to yours. I started with a biscuit tin, and without a source of cigar boxes I made another biscuit tin guitar. I then found a wonderful little tobacconists in Leeds, and made my first cigar box guitar using an axe handle. I gave that to my nephew for Christmas, so I'm without a CBG at the moment. Looks like I'll just have to make another...and another...and...

Hello Roger, I've had boxes from simply cigars but found I had to be very specific about min. sizes one or two they sent were wa too small....or make a box