two new cigar box guitars

Just added some photos of two new guitars for sale to my Flickr page. The green Ramone Allones was one I made a while ago and was going to be a keeper. I just made another with the same type of box because I love the colour of it. I am keeping that one instead. Sounds/plays just the same but I like the paint job on the new one better - my privilege. Ha. The second one is Don Tomas box. Similar to several I previously made. They are a decent sounding box and a nice crisp design on the front. I like the crackle finish paint and distressing treatment on the neck of this one. Both tuned to open A or can detune to G with same strings. Fretless 3 stringers as usual for great slide playing. Have a look at my Flickr page and email for more details if you are interested.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21767997@N05/sets/72157622689976796/

2 new toys

Just had a great caravanning holiday in Devon (anti-caravanners might want to leave here). My fingers were getting restless when I stumbled into a music shop. Right in the doorway were some ukes. I've been asked to build a cbg uke but not sure about construction yet. I've been fancying one for myself and being too impatient to wait until I can make one, I decided to spend my birthday money and buy one satisfying the need for a musical toy for the caravan and a model for basing a cbg uke on. I avoided the cheapest painted ones you can pick up for about £15 and picked a natural wood concert model. It's a sweet little instrument and great fun for doodling on.

A day or two after buying it, I came across a junk shop. A proper one full of tatty stuff and run by an old chap who was fiddling with an old radio. I spotted a narly looking banjo-uke, all dusty, rusty and nicely worn. A ratrod uke if ever there was one! The bridge was placed up near the bottom of the neck - the wrong end of the skin. I asked the bloke how much he wanted for it - £25. I had a good look and moved the bridge roughly to where it should be and strummed it. "Sounds better already" he said. "That should be worth a fiver off the price then" I said cheekily. "Are you making me an offer" he replied. "You got a deal" I said and bought it for a crisp £20 note.

I got it back to the van and sat outside in the sun to play with my second new toy of the week. The strings were still on it and it all seemed pretty much intact. I tuned it up and had a little play on it. So far the wife hadn't objected too much but when I put my upturned straw hat on the ground in front of me, in case any fellow campers felt the need to reward my entertainment with some gold, she put her foot down and ordered its removal. It's a bugger to keep in tune but it's fun and looks great.

building cigar box guitars again

Well I've broken the spell that was keeping me from making guitars. I just needed to completed some other unfinished projects and have a crack at some recording. I've done enough of both now to satisfy that lust for a while and feel I needed to make some more guitars. I'm building two simultaneously. Neither will be meant to be keepers - but I've said that before and had to eat my words! I'm using my last green Ramone Allones box for one guitar, these are my favourites in terms of making pretty looking guitars. The other box is a Don Thomas one. Nothing radically new about either design but I'm using my aged paint look on the necks with burnt in fret markers. I think they'll both be pretty guitars when finished. I have thought about trying to age some of these paper covered boxes but am reluctant to try in case I just make a mess of them. I think I prefer to let them age naturally by the owners. After a year or two they will blend down nicely with the other ageing I have done to the necks.

Talking about recording, I had a fun time messing with my new gear. Mainly using the Akai Headrush, my Zoom 505 effects pedal then recording it in simple mono on the Backtrack device. It works well - nice and simple. The backtrack records everything you play as seperate WAV files, so you can drag them onto your PC, import them into your editing software and produce a track quite easily. I found that whilst simply "messing about", a musical idea would start to take shape and with a bit more practise and fine tweaking, I can produce something quite listenable (I think). I now have a loose plan to collect these odd tracks together and eventually put them together as an album. Maybe not for general consumption, but mainly just as an interesting project to work on with a tangible product at the end of it. I'd urge any of you players to have a go at something similar yourelves. It's fun and it tightens up your playing and helps get you out of those ruts we tend to get stuck in when just playing on our own.

practice makes perfect

Not much to tell you about CBGs at the moment, been having a rest from building them and concentrating more on playing. I've been messing about with the Akai Headrush, creating loops and other effects and even recording some of it. As this is a newish direction for me, I want to tell you a couple of lessons I've learnt from the experience. I'm sure there's a few of you who are like me, purely amateurs, playing on your own but with some small aspirations to produce some of your own music and maybe, hope you might get good enough one day to record something. Even give or sell a few copies of your own album. Probably you lack confidence and therefor think you'll never be able to produce something good or professional enough. Well I've got news for you, you can. The first lesson I've learnt is that practice definitely helps but may not "make perfect". The second lesson is - it doesn't need to be perfect! Let me expand on these.

I've never been disciplined to practise regularly, I tend to pick the guitar up when I feel like it, mess around on it and tend to play the same old familiar pieces that I have been playing many times. Nothing wrong with that but it is very limiting and gets boring. It's one of the problems of playing on your own. The Akai pedal has really opened things up for me because I can create a looped riff or rhythm to play along to. It's quite easy with a little practice and that's where I am learning this first lesson. I noticed how my tempo drifts, tending to speed up. The looped riff is very regular and so it shows up my playing when I jam to it. So when I get a nice little idea going, I have to really listen to the beat and concentrate on keeping time with it in order to produce something listenable. Something you don't do when just playing on your own. I find I keep trying over and over until I get it right because I am now motivated to. So there's the practise bit. Even a small amount pays dividends. So don't give up just because it seems hard to get it right. Just try again and again and it will eventually happen. You'll benefit a helluva lot from it.

Second lesson - aiming for perfection. I'm a bit of a perfectionist at heart with most things I do. If I wait until my playing is 100% perfect, I'll never achieve my small ambition, to record an album of my own music. Let me say here, I have no ideas of selling thousands of copies and getting famous. It's just an aim for my own satisfaction, to actually produce something tangible out of all this. A few pieces of music I can say are my own creation. So yes "practise makes perfect" but do we need or even want perfection? Think about it - we are living in cigar box guitar world. It's the imperfections that we like and even strive for. What makes music "alive" are often the small variations of tone and tempo in a person's playing. Listen to some techno stuff generated from a computer or whatever and you'll probably agree that it sounds sterile and clinical compared to a live performance played on "real" instruments. Fine if you like your music like that but for me, I like the warmth and soul that a real person playing an instrument, puts into the music. Think about blues and folk. Very often the playing and singing is nowhere near perfect in terms of purity. Some vocal examples - compare the likes of classical singers like Pavarotti who are probably pitch and tempo perfect to the likes of Bob Dylan, Hendrix, Tom Waits, Howlin Wolf to mention a few. What they might lack in perfect singing voices is more than compensated for in their feel, emotion and delivery. They're not trying to sing roughly, it's just the way they are - they are just being themselves and you have to like it or leave it. I saw a video clip of Son House playing bottleneck slide. His guitar sounded out of tune, he was holding the slide at about 45 degrees angle to the neck and to be honest, if that was me playing, I would probably feel a little embarassed. But there's no doubting it was a great performance and completely enjoyable to me. The emotion and rough quality of his singing and playing was what made him great. No matter how much I practise, I'll never be able to come close to that. But I might come close to just being Smojo, whatever he/me has to offer.

So I say to all you perfectionists, by all means practice and try to get close to a great sound/performance as you can, but don't be frightened to just let it rip and once you have something down that you feel 75% happy with, that's good enough for most folks. Don't let the striving for perfection get in the way of just enjoying your music and being creative. That's the key - let your creativity flow unimpeded, have fun with it, be proud of your creations and don't be frightened to share it with like-minded people.

I've been lazy

Since I finished my "special" CBG I've been lazy. Well not in general cos I've had lots to do and not had much time for making guitars. I'll get motivated soon. Now what I have been doing is having a great time. I spent part of the weekend with my CBG buddy Mark. We had a total cigar box guitar indulgence. Another "show and tell" session with a a few extras. Mark's neighbour called in with his Eko acoustic bass and we had a little bluesy jam session. Wish I could get more of these somehow, it really does sharpen up your playing skills and more importantly, your listening skills. I've found that to be the case when using my Akai looping pedal and when trying to record some multi-track stuff. When you just play on your own, you aren't aware that your tempo is not 100% but when you jam along with someone else or a drum machine or recording device, it really comes home. So my tip for improvement is to find some way of playing to some other source - a buddy, jam track, drum machine etc.

Highlight of the weekend with Mark was a local gig where a guy called Tony Furtdao was billed. He plays slide guitar and banjo, a sort of mix of American folk with a touch of bluegrass and blues. If someone had described that to me I might not have been all that interested but I trusted Mark's judgement as he'd seen him before. I was not disappointed. The guy played number after number and I loved everything he did. He has an incredibly fast fingerstyle and some pretty mean slide techniques. I thoroughly recommend you check him out.

the creative process is like magic

I've now put a video on Youtube showing the new CBG together with the case and an amp I made from an old radio extension speaker. You can here it and me waffling about it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGoVjBD1VTk

I'm going to waffle a bit more about it here. What I want to discuss is how enjoyable it has been making this guitar and the case that I made a few weeks ago, which will house it. It has taken me to a new level of creativity that I haven't found before. Now you might think I'm getting a bit weird here but the fact that you are here reading about these things, means we have a certain weirdness in common so I'm forgiven! You see I decided they were going to be special in some way. They were always going to be keepers so I was prepared to take however long it took to get there. I always put some original element into each guitar I make, but to some extent, the main construction usually follows a certain loose formula. There was no formula here. There were several new learning curves to overcome - fitting frets, a magnetic coil pickup making the box etc. I ruined one neck to start with, which was a stupid mistake because I hadn't thought it through properly. So that's when I decided to take my time and get it right and build a guitar I would cherish for a long time. Having decided there was no rush to finish them, I could allow myself the luxury of time and letting my ideas ferment a while, before committing them to the build. The effect of that was to allow me to savour the creative process. A bit like enjoying a special meal, not just eating it to satisfy hunger, but taking your time and enjoying every mouthful. The luxury of not rushing it meant I was happy to experiment a bit first and if something didn't look quite right, I could try something else until I was happy.

Now this is where it gets even weirder. I have a sort of theory, that if you use a bit of sensitivity in the creative process and add the ingredient of time, so that things can materielise, the desired object (guitar, case or whatever you're making) will take form by itself to a large degree. You will need to help it along with your craft skills, but it will gather momentum and attract things to itself (I warned you it was getting weird.) Let me explain how this process panned out with this guitar. I found the cigar box at a car boot sale. It was quite old and nicely aged. Inside it were a pair of dice and a plastic toy Skeletor. I had a loose idea of what I wanted - an understated, aged looking, rat-rod guitar with frets.

So that determined the general feel of how it should look but not much to go on there. Let's see how it develops. Now to start creating. This is where your sensitivity, imagination and an eye for what looks good, pay dividends. The first element to find it's way to the guitar was the magentic pick-up. I was incredibly fortunate to win a hand-wired pick-up that JuJu had made when I attended the Birmingham CBG fest. That was definitely going to go in this guitar which determined how the neck needed to be built. A hefty reinforcing piece inside the box to facilitate cutting a big chunk out to house the pick-up. I built the neck and thought about how to finish it. The aged look of the box "told" me, the neck needed to look aged too, so needed some woodstain. I experimented with a few shades and found one that I thought looked good with the colour of the box, a dark stain that rubs back nicely to look like it's worn. I found a cool piece of rusty metal plate in my uncle's garage. Painted white with rust bursting through, it had a number of holes drilled in it. The shape reminded me of the chrome control plate on a Telecaster. Bingo, that's what I'll do with that. I had an old starter module from a flourescent light fitting. I liked the knurled edge and simple shape of it and being white, I thought it would make a nice volume knob to go with the white rusty plate. I cut it in half and glued it over an old knob so it would fit the spindle of the potentiometer. One of the holes in the plate could be enlarged to house the jack socket. I decided a white headstock would go well with the white plate and knob but the aged look of the box "suggested" I should give it an aged look too. I used some crackle finish liquid on the front of it then painted it with white emulsion. See how the metal plate is partly determining the way the other components will look. A little brown boot polish yellowed the white paint and some judicial sanding made it look worn-in. The minimal look I aspired to told me I shouldn't go overboard on the fret markers, so I opted for tiny triangles of white in the corners of the frets. An old rusty hinge from my box of bits made a tailpiece for the strings, it. The bone slide I bought from Randy came with some nut blanks. I figured as this was going to be a special guitar, I'd use them to make the nuts and saddle. That determined the bridge which needed to be wood to hold the bone. I had an idea I wanted an old, well-worn but thin, leather strap. I found two old dog leashes on a car boot sale, perfect for the job. A little modification to the ends and I have a cool, clip-on strap. The sound holes - now there's a story there but I'm keeping that one a mystery! Finally I had the idea of using the dice and skeletor as part of the guitar. I sliced off one side of one dice with the intention of inlaying it into the fretboard for the 12th fret. I tried it in place but it spoilt the minimal look of the fretboard so what else could I do with it? Make a tiny pick. What about Skeletor? Too big, new looking and colourful to use but what about cutting his tiny head off, which then looked like a small jewel and planting it somewhere? I found the perfect place, just nestling behind the nut on the headstock. The headstock was square-ended to begin with but the rounded shape of the pick-up and switchplate suggested a rounded end would look better, so I cut it round too.

There we have it. Can you see how time and a sensitivity to the design and the components you have, will sort of tell you what needs to be done and how it kind of shapes the final look? And if you allow yourself this luxury, you'll get immense pleasure from your creation. I am always surprised at the end of a build, to some degree, as to how a guitar turns out. It's almost like looking at it for the first time. Until it's strung up and I've played it, it's just a bunch of parts, but then hey presto, as if by magic, it becomes an entity of it's own. It's like a butterfly emerging from a coccoon.

See I told you I was weird! Weird is great - embrace your weirdness and get creating something that will be entirely unique, incredibly personal and totally enjoyable.

cgb "the special" is finished

Yeah at last it's done and I'm well pleased with it. It has great sustain which can be a problem with cbgs. I put that down to the hefty neck reinforcing I had to do inside the box to facilitate cutting away a recess for the pickup. I have a three way switch to select either the piezo or the magnetic pups or both together. The piezo is much hotter than the magnetic and so the middle position, where both pups are in circuit, is a bit piontless becuase all you can hear is the piezo. It's quite heavy for a cbg and I like that solid feel, nicely balanced too. The action seems just right to me, high enough for slide but able to be fretted with fingers too. I have it tuned to open G with strings 456 from a set of 10 guage electric steel strings. When I get time I'll do a video for Youtube.

some cigar box guitar ramblings

I'm amazed and thrilled at the spectrum of experiences I've enjoyed through this wierd and wonderful subject. I've just had the pleasure of free tickets to the Pasion de Buena Vista - a fantastic stageshow of Cuban music and dancing. It all came about from meeting someone who bought a guitar from me and who happens to be the tour manager for the show at present. He kindly offered me a backstage tour where I met some of the musicians, then free tickets for the show later. What a brilliant show and it was a thrill to meet the guys. I even got to play one of my guitars for them. I am deeply thankful for the opportunity.

Next up is tickets to Ian Clayton's Concert for Billie. It's a benefit gig that Ian organises each year in memory of his young daughter who died in a tragic accident a few years ago. I'm really looking forward to that and it came my way through CBGs.

I've made some great friends through CBGs too. But one of the best thrills is when I finish a guitar, string it up, tune it and start playing. Something deeply satisfying happens. I know it sounds weird, but up until that point, a new guitar is still just a collection of parts that I have assembled. Even though I am familiar with every aspect, I don't see it as an instrument in it's own right until I have added the final touches and played it. Those first few minutes of playing are incredibly satisfying. It's like a new baby taking it's first breath. I have a little ritual when I reach this point. I bring it into the lounge and stand it against a plant stand next to the tv in front of where I usually sit. It's just so I can look at it, admire it and drink it in. It's as if I am seeing it for the first time and I can't get enough of it for a day or two. I can look at it and think "Yes I like that, I'd buy it if I didn't already own it". Weird isn't it? It's as if it came from somewhere other than myself.

Updates - the "special" is finished. I'm absolutely delighted with it. It completes my CBG "kit". It goes fantastically well with the wooden case I made and the old radio extension speaker that I converted into an amp way back and my hand-cut bottleneck slide. Every bit of it my own work that creates a completely unique and desirable outfit. This is a definite keeper and no money would prize it from my hands. I'm gonna take some photos of the whole kit soon and post them so be sure to watch out for that. Hopefully I'll get around to videoing it for Youtube.

The little recording studio I'm building is almost there now. Just received my Fostex PM04 monitor speakers but need to build a shelf to put them on. I had a play with the Roland midi keyboard I bought on Ebay. It took some figuring and I'm not completley happy with the set-up yet. It does some random things when playing. Occasionally, the notes played, continue playing until you hit the keys again. Not sure what causes it, probably something in the software I'm using that needs a tweak. Aren't computers frustrating? That's all for now.

bone slide

As promised here's the photo of the bone slide I had made for me. It's had mixed reactions. Some people shudder at the thought of putting a bone on their finger. Well it doesn't bother me one bit, after all we're full of bones ourselves! So what do I think of it? Well it's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship first of all. Randy, the guy who made it in the USA, really works with you to produce a custom slide the way you want it. I was a little surprised at the large size of it. I knew it would be bigger than a glass slide and not circular, but it is quite a hefty piece. Randy provides some self adhesive material to stick inside to take up the slack. The surface of it is smoothed and polished to a very high degree and provides a beautiful smooth, silky action when using it. I think the thickness and weight of it also helps to give a good action. The bone material works great as a slide and helps reduce the harsh "clatter" you can get with glass or metal slide if you hit the strings a little clumsily. As a special "gift", Randy also included a bone pick and some nut/saddle blanks. These will be worked into my "special" and should help with the tone. If you want one of these, you can contact Randy by email at farmish@comcast.net he calls his business Mojobone Works and he's a real nice guy to deal with. Be sure to tell him who sent you there. No I don't get a commission, it's just nice to know.

some cbg photos as promised

I made an effort and took some photos to show you as promised. This is the "special" I've been working on for a while. It may not look much but my design aims were to make a visually understated guitar, quite minimal looking and a bit of a "ratrod". Having made a plain, aged-wood finish guitar before, and liked the look of the monochrome brown, I decided to make another but with some added refinements. The hand-wound magnetic pickup I won at the Birmingham CBG fest is the first refinement that makes it a special. Adding a second pup in the form of a piezo disc and a changeover switch plus volume control were the next additions. And to top it off, I've got some real bone blanks for the nut and saddle. Check out my posting on the bone slide to read about these.