Saturday, November 07, 2009

tuning lessons for cigar box guitar

Hi all. just uploaded some lessons to Youtube. Been thinking for a while that you may have built a cbg or maybe bought one and it's gone way out of tune. You've had difficulties getting it to sound right etc. So I thought it would be good to do a few vids for beginners, to get you back on track enjoying your guitars. OK they're a bit rough and ready and I tend to repeat myelf a bit but I did them more or less as first takes, unrehearsed and just as the ideas came into my head. I didn't want to spend too much time, just enough to get the information across. Take a look and if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or two. Hope you find them helpful. Check them out on my Youtuibe channel here.

http://www.youtube.com/smojomusic

Friday, November 06, 2009

3 New cigar box guitars on the bench

I've got three new guitars on the bench in various states of completion. First coming off is a lovely small Cuesta Rey box - bright yellow. I've used one of these boxes before and they are really pretty. Mahogany neck and piezo pup. It's strung up already and sounds great. Just a couple of finishing touches to add. Next off the line will be another pretty yellow box - a Partagas. Much bigger than the C.R. with an identical mahogany neck and pup. Just about ready to string it up. Thirdly and coming along nicely is another big box - a white Hoyo. Paler wood for the neck, not sure what it is, but similar to mahogany. I'm adding a few extra refinements to this one. A crackle-finish painted headstock, the nut will be made from an acrylic plastic bathtub sample, and I'm adding a tailpiece made from an old door hinge. It's looking good so far but still a lot of work to do.

I'll post photos shortly and if you ever want to see what I have available, check out my Flickr sets at this link. You can see a gallery of past guitars and amps too. http://www.flickr.com/photos/21767997@N05/

I've added a couple of new vids to youtube too. One of me playing the baccy tin amp and another demo of the mic. You can also check out my bowler hat! It is an acquired taste though and I'm not sure I've acquired it yet. It may be the only time I wear it! I'm also planning to make a few basci instruction videos. starting off with how to set up the bridge for correct intonation then tuning in open E, A, and G. Aimed at people making their first guitars or those who have bought one, lost the original tuning and don't know how to get it back. So keep checking into my Youtube channel for these here. http://www.youtube.com/smojomusic

Thanks for all those who have visited my blog over the last few years and for those who have left comments. I always appreciate a bit of positive feedback.