tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-357574432024-03-14T12:56:03.529+00:00"Smojo" Cigar Box GuitarsA blog about Cigar Box Guitars and slide playing. I bought one and liked it so much I decided to start making them. I call them "smojo" guitars. They are great fun - played with a slide and have a real bluesy sound. I'd like to tell you all about them, show you some pictures and find some interesting related links.If you'd like me to make one for you please contact me. Feel free to leave your comments - I'd like to hear from you. Check out my website at www.smojomusic.co.uk for more about CBGsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-27633525088834259162013-12-12T16:42:00.002+00:002013-12-12T16:43:27.640+00:00New BlogMy cbg activities have ground to a standstill right now but hey - I've started a new blog about anything cool and interesting that comes my way. Mainly music and art related - definitely creative and cool. Have a look and see what you think. Early days yet but hope to out more stuff on regularly.<br />
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<a href="http://black-kat-bone.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">New blog about cool stuff</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-90807815881216915752013-11-27T09:25:00.001+00:002013-11-27T09:27:02.823+00:00where now with cigar box guitars - building a JazzmasterThis is quite difficult to write but I have pretty much hung up my saddle with cigar box guitars. I have found that my creative urges have moved on to other things. You'll know from reading my posts that I am also heavily into electronic circuit bending and that I have also been making a six string resonator guitar. Well those activities have distracted me from cigar box guitar world. <br />
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I don't know about you but this is how it goes with me. I am a very creative person - I need to be making something and my interests are quite wide and varied. When I get "into" something I really get into it for a while. My enthusiasm burns bright and I go for it. But I find that it will dominate my thinking and creative energies to the point where other hobbies or interests get put on the back burner. Plus I like to keep trying new things. Well cigar box guitar just haven't had much of a look in for a while now and coupled with the fact that I haven't sold any for a long time, there is no need to keep making them. My music room is already crammed full of stuff.<br />
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I even gave the UK Boxfest a miss this year. My cbg buddy wasn't able to go so I passed on it too. Now I haven't given up on them completely but there are just so many other things to occupy myself with for the time being. So I'm sorry if I am letting the side down and by not writing about them anymore and if you've come here for the first time looking for stuff on cigar box guitars, don't click away too quickly, there are lost of posts in the archives here to whet your appetite.<br />
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I'm going to continue adding stuff here when I can but it probably won't be cbg material but .... you might just find it interesting anyway. I'm sure none of you are one-trick ponies and like to dabble with other musical related subjects. I can guarantee it will be mostly musically inclined and in the style of guitar box guitar building - pretty much home made and left-field. So thanks for your support over the last few years, I've enjoyed doing this and "it's not over till the fat lady sings"<br />
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So what am I doing at the moment. Well I'm building a Fender Jazzmaster style guitar. After making the solid body resonator, I wanted to use my newly learned luthier skills and have a go at another "proper" guitar. I had a new cheap telecaster style guitar that I didn't want anymore but it has a lovely neck, so I've taken that off to use as a donor for the new JM. The body started out as a plank of English Ash. I've glued two pieces together to make a body sized plank and routed out the shape, most of the pockets and attached the neck. Here's a photo of it so far. Jazzmasters are cool guitars, so although not as far out as cbgs, they are still slightly left-field in guitar world. I'll continue to log my progress if you want to come back and see how it's going occasionally.<br />
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Oh and I'm building a small amp using a donor practise amp built into the cabinet of an old Bakelite valve (tube) wireless. On my to do list when I get time, I want to build a Gristleizer pedal. If you've never heard of them check them out on Youtube. They are cool too. So plenty to come back for. See ya soon.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-8552567362411807172013-06-10T08:15:00.000+00:002013-06-14T14:03:44.770+00:00new camcorder and YoutubeHi folks, I'm still here but not been doing much on the cigar box guitar front lately. I seem to have been more involved with my electronic activities. I really feel I need to get on with playing, experimenting and recording some music so the building side of things has taken a bit of a back seat. You know how it is with these things. The creative drive seems to get focussed in one particular direction for me and my other stuff goes on the backburner.<br />
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For some time I've been toying with getting a camcorder but didn't want to spend too much money on one and didn't want to get distracted with a new hobby. The main reasons for getting one is that the stuff I put on Youtube is quite low res because it's done on my little digital camera. It only allows me to do about 5 minutes or recording too so that's the reason I've not put any new stuff on for a while even though I've kept promising it. Well I found a cheap but adequate camcorder in a second-hand shop and so I'm intending to do a few vids soon. I want to show people my reso 6 stringer I built and a few of my circuit bent projects so don't give up on me just yet. I'll post on here when I've put something new on.<br />
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And here are a couple of new vids <br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19ThCkwj6VE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19ThCkwj6VE</a> my electric resonator guitar<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RfWqeO9HvY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RfWqeO9HvY</a> and my "333" three string solid body cbg style guitarUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-77033616931420806332013-01-20T10:41:00.002+00:002013-01-20T10:41:31.761+00:00UK cigar box guitar fest 2013Hi folks, it's a new year (whatever that means). Anyway it's 2013 and our friends at Homegrown Music Collective have come up trumps again and announced plans for our 5th UK cigar box guitar fest or Boxstock as it's known. This is what Roosterman has posted on the Cigar box Nation site<br />
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<i>This year will see Boxstock going back to its roots. A simple one day
event aimed at catching up with friends, enjoying and playing some
homegrown music and sharing a few thoughts and ideas - what could be
better than that?</i><br />
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</i><i><strong>The date: Saturday 26th October 2013</strong></i><br />
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</i><i><strong>The Venue: The Musician, 42 Crafton Street West, Leicester, LE1 2DE.</strong></i><br />
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</i><i>The daytime sessions will be free to all, with open mic sessions, trade stands, demos etc and workshops.</i><br />
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</i><i>The evening gig promises to be a real treat and we already have 3 superb artists booked for your pleasure.</i><br />
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</i><i>Firstly, after a storming debut at last years Boxstock open mic session, the legend that is <strong>VINYLHED,</strong></i><br />
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</i><i>from Hastings Old Town, we have the twangtastic <strong>KING SIZE SLIM</strong>, and from the USA (where else?) we bring you multi-instrumentalist <strong>JUSTIN JOHNSON</strong> - what a line up!</i><br />
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Well it sounds pretty good to me and as usual you'll come away buzzing with enthusiasm<i> </i>and if you haven't been before you'll make some new cbg buddys I promise. Put it in your diaries folks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-12950827967651809842012-12-18T11:01:00.002+00:002012-12-18T11:01:29.641+00:00cigar box guitar rewardsI mentioned in my last blog that some of the rewards of being involved in this cigar box guitar thing, have been the feedback and interaction with other people who have read or seen my postings. I mentioned a young lady (Lorraine from Ireland) who has taken the subject up as part of her college course and wanted to talk to me about it and use it as part of her thesis. This is fantastic. She phoned me to ask about intonation as she had built her first guitar and although it was playable, the intonation was wrong and the octave was turning up at the 14th fret instead of the 12th. After some questioning, we realised that she had had missed the point of having a bridge or saddle - effectively the anchorage of the strings at the tail end were her bridge, allowing it to be played still, but making the scale length too long. The addition of a saddle/bridge, set a few centi-metres forward should correct this. We had a good long chat and a few laughs and I really enjoyed talking to her. She has kindly allowed me to mention her and post a picture of her with her newly built, first cigar box guitar. Notice the knitted snowman in the bottom right with a big grin on his face. Looks like he's jamming along with an Irish tin whistle! Looking forward to seeing your next build Lorraine and maybe hearing you play it?<br />
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The way I normally set my neck, fretting, saddle position etc is quite simple. I have a long narrow piece of mdf with the fret positions drawn on (I always use the same short scale). I also have marks where the nut will be and where the bridge/saddle position should be (twice the distance of the nut to the 12th fret). Before I even start to cut the neck and because cigar boxes vary so much in size, I use the template against the box to size it up and make sure the bridge will be somewhere near where I want it (which is usually about 1/3 of the length of the box from the bottom edge). I can them see how long the whole neck need to be, allowing a few cms for the tail to stick out when using a through neck design and adding about 140mm to the top of the neck for the headstock. Also I can see where the 12th fret will be with regard to the top edge of the box. That's not so important - more for working out the aesthetics of how it will look and how many frets I might want in total. I always use a floating bridge rather than gluing it in place so I can adjust the intonation easily. Once you've built the guitar and strung it up you can place the bridge where it ought to be as a starter, then with a tuner, move it either backwards or forwards until you get the octave of the open string correct at the 12th fret. Hope this helps.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-49247502322899047722012-12-18T10:25:00.002+00:002012-12-18T10:29:30.874+00:007th anniversary of my first cigar box guitarJust looked back and realised it's seven years since I started on this CBG path. I spotted my first one on Ebay and loved the look of it, knew nothing about them but wanted it. My wife bought it for me for Christmas. As they say the rest is history. In that time I've had some fantastic fun with them, made some great friends - one in particular has become a best buddy. Been instrumental in getting the UK CBG fest established and had some cracking events with them (most credit due to Chickenbone John, who incidentally was the guy who made my first one). I've had some of my guitars photographed with a couple of minor celebrities, had a backstage tour and free tickets to the Buena Vista musical show, rekindled my interest in electronics, sold some stuff which has funded the purchase of more gear to add to my collection. It's been one of the best journeys I've made.<br />
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Now I know I've been very quiet on the CBG front this year. That's been down to a few reasons. Busy building my own 6 string reso, building a DIY synth box and just to keep me occupied in between, we have had to deal with the deaths of two close members of the family, and three other members being hospitalised involving us with a helluva lot of visting. 2012 has been one helluva year for us but ... I'm still here and though I haven't anything new to report on in CBG world, as it's coming to the end of the year, I just wanted to reflect back and also say a big thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read my ramblings, report back to me and give me your support. Now this is not meant as "own trumpet blowing" but I have to say these
are the real rewards for me, trivial as they may seem it's just great to
know my efforts haven't been a waste of time and might have helped
uplift and inspire others to find their passion too. It's that passion that helps to make life fun and help get you through the rough times.<br />
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I started writing this blog and posting on Youtube because I was just
incredibly enthusiastic about the subject and wanted to tell others who
might want to know more. One of the best parts of finding something that
fires your passion, is being able to share it with like minded people.
I've had some great feedback from people who have seen my stuff and
written to say how how they enjoyed it and in some cases, inspired them
to get involved themselves. One man told me how it had turned his son's
life around, given him motivation. Another young man wrote asking lot's
of questions, then having been inspired by building cigar box guitars,
went on to do some luthier courses and started building his own plastic
bodied 6 string electrics based on the old Airline guitars of the 60s -
and what fabulous guitars he made! Recently a young lady contacted me to
help her on a cigar box guitar project she is doing as part of her college course (more on that in my next blog).<br />
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So let's hope we can keep this fire going, enjoy our cigar box guitar adventures and have fun. Hope you all have a great Christmas and that Santa brings you some nice cigar box related toys. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-89120366834258602452012-09-30T18:05:00.003+00:002012-09-30T18:05:46.404+00:00the 333Right then. I'm calling my solid bodied three stringer the "333". I found some old cigarette packet fronts and decided to decorate the guitar with something. The one I liked is called "State Express 333". I thought that sounded cool for a three-stringed guitar so I stuck one under the strings, a piece of another on the headstock and just to add some mojo to the back, I made a stencil and sprayed 333 on it. The whole idea of this guitar was to make a well made and great sounding guitar but not to over-design it. To make it look like it was just thrown together quickly. The pieces of wood I bought had the price stamped on it which I left on so the 333 sort of echos that theme. The hole in the headstock is a result of shearing off one of the screws that hold the machine head in. I couldn't get it out so decided to reposition it and drilled a new hole. I kinda like the fact that it's got a hole that shouldn't be there. I might stick something interesting in it eventually. Been playing it again today and it's an abolute cracker. Here's some photos. Got to do a vid of it so you can hear it.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-41349436319033156282012-09-29T13:24:00.000+00:002012-09-29T13:24:49.025+00:00three string cigar box guitar style electric guitarI've been calling it the plank so far but I'm gonna rename it. Anyway it's more or less finished. Just a few cosmetic touches to add to make it a bit more interesting. It's a bit of an ugly, weird looking thing but it's a little cracker. I wanted it to look like it had been thrown together from bits and pieces but with a decent fretted neck and decent (non piezo) pickup so it plays and sounds real good. And it does. I fitted a cheap Ebay-bought humbucker and just a volume pot.nI'm well-pleased with it. Put through a distortion pedal it sounds real dirty and wicked. When i get time I'll take some decent photos and hopefully a vid to put on Youtube.<br />
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Life has been manic again for the last couple of months with a death and two hospitalised family members to visit, so it's an achievement that I managed to get anything done.<br />
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I haven't even told you about our 4th annual CBG fest at Manchester a few weeks ago have I? Call back in a short while and hopefully I'll have had time to post something here.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-31420589103475994162012-08-17T08:41:00.001+00:002012-08-17T08:41:22.288+00:00Back on the cigar box guitar wagonIt's been a while since I did much building in the cigar box guitar world so i haven't written much here. Other things have taken priority for several months. One of those was building my own solid-body 6 string reso which I absolutely love. The knowledge gained from that has made me re-think my cbg building ideas. I really like playing with three strings in open tuning but want a bit more quality from my instrument than I previously had. I want frets and a decent sounding pickup now so my next build will have to incorporate those. I also decided I'd like to have a crack at making another conventional 6 stringer but on my own this time. <br />
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So I decided it will be a Les Paul junior - cos there cool and simple instruments. So I headed off to John Boddy timber yard to buy some wood and while I was there I found a small plank of pippy/burr oak. It has a swirly, knotty and cracked grain which is loved by wood turners for making decorative items. I figured it would make a cool solid-body, cigar box style, three stringer which would be a good practice project before attempting my LP junior. So that's me back in the land of CBGs (OK it's technically not a cigar box guitar but who cares - it'll fit in nicely with my collection and should sound and play damn fine).<br />
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I started on the body yesterday. Cut the plank down to a cigar box size first. The plank had a big curved crack in it, which I didn't mind, but when cut to size was going to leave a piece flapping about. I decided to let the wood dictate the shape of the body by hacking it off. Then I hacked away with a gouge chisel all around the other sides to create a really rough looking plank and just lightly sanded it to take off the splinters. It now looks like a piece of driftwood. The wood has various ink stamped markings on it which I am leaving on. Next job is to make a template to route out a neck pocket. I think it'll have a single humbucker with a volume control and keep it really simple. I'll post a photo here soon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-4193411581709204422012-07-10T10:13:00.001+00:002012-07-10T10:14:56.524+00:00guitar build updateOnce again my apologies for taking so long to get back here. Still busy sorting out my departed uncle's affairs. Wow doesn't time fly. Well the guitar is 99% finished and I've been playing it for a few weeks now. I'm just waiting for the Highlander cone pickup to arrive. When it does I'll have to remove the strings, plate and cone. All the wiring is pretty much in place ready for it. At the same time I need to raise the action a little at the saddle end and fit some heavier strings. I fitted 12s but with the action as low as it is and the tuning dropped down to open D, there isn't enough tension on the strings for easy and clean slide work (which is what I mainly built it for). I've got some 15s - yes that's right 15s but that is pretty normal guage for slide players. I'm very happy about the guitar and still can't keep my eyes off it. I'll post some more deatils about the last few build sessions but for now I'll leave you with a (rather poor) photo of it. In reality it looks 10 times more beautiful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyCVb0ytAVVCTU3lfdELN2bjX0gSRxMBEXqPBED9to4xuihCOnmo-qQRZ77s7bgBJ9MrXUThgcb_y0AXOrnDzNKO91L6jPXWWlvOEyiCsw14hl2cq6e93aOW2VhZnXqHdAe2I/s1600/IMG_8811+%2528Medium%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyCVb0ytAVVCTU3lfdELN2bjX0gSRxMBEXqPBED9to4xuihCOnmo-qQRZ77s7bgBJ9MrXUThgcb_y0AXOrnDzNKO91L6jPXWWlvOEyiCsw14hl2cq6e93aOW2VhZnXqHdAe2I/s320/IMG_8811+%2528Medium%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-46497503467437866812012-04-17T18:06:00.004+00:002012-04-17T18:28:06.917+00:00guitar builds 10 - 13Apologies for leaving you hanging for a while. We had a death in the family and that has taken over my life for the last 6 weeks. So here's a mini report of the last 4 sessions. <br /><div></div><br /><div>Session 10 - routed the cavities for the pots to go in the upper and lower bouts of the body.<br />Session 11 - routed channels from pot cavities to cone chamber for wiring, drilled hole for jack socket and drilled soundholes in back of body. made small blocks and glued them in the cone recess to support it at the correct height.<br />Session 12 - Fine sanded neck and body then rubbed thinned down nitro-cellulose lacquer into body (two coats to seal it) and about 6 coats on the bak of neck and headstock. Fine wire wool brought the neck up as smooth as a baby's bum - nah smoother. </div><br /><div>Session 13 - one of the scariest - spray painting the body and headstock front. About 10 coast at 15 minutes intervals to build up a decent thickness. I was worried about my crappy spraying techinique causing nasty runs on the guitar and sure enough I managed it. Martin assured me it wasn't a problem as we'll rub it down flat before finally polishing it to a high gloss. seems hard to believe it possible but I've seen his finished results and have confidence it will all be fine.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj135g6XMowxryEYdwZGGItxZ-tJXRM7bHi1-G9Y1Cncvo2SJGUzzz2udFxdjtccktNScoRhxWavZT40P24wiT_ZleZyeuM03plrREuJbTniAsbCQ-sLS2lxsv8y1BXv6mANUv/s1600/IMG_8427.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 404px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 330px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732435495065227074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj135g6XMowxryEYdwZGGItxZ-tJXRM7bHi1-G9Y1Cncvo2SJGUzzz2udFxdjtccktNScoRhxWavZT40P24wiT_ZleZyeuM03plrREuJbTniAsbCQ-sLS2lxsv8y1BXv6mANUv/s320/IMG_8427.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirNE7-Xaxokwdd4mcud88WYeVSJWhyphenhyphenaXjMYvPnNSy7yAnbmKTDlqO0HXzGnjlj6uPOKrviJe_s6jhkQ1gc4gPStlJCtVPZOzNMTtxy3EAG4V6I_3Q5plX5Gm3FtlX32umY6Dk/s1600/IMG_8429.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 403px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732435991479884994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirNE7-Xaxokwdd4mcud88WYeVSJWhyphenhyphenaXjMYvPnNSy7yAnbmKTDlqO0HXzGnjlj6uPOKrviJe_s6jhkQ1gc4gPStlJCtVPZOzNMTtxy3EAG4V6I_3Q5plX5Gm3FtlX32umY6Dk/s320/IMG_8429.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FEPqvFg-eWEIWB2beQIczp6TxmLkeHx0d-n6dk6DhOnYBflVeo2SY3Z9oZGH2O3CfK_THR6hZ6TuBhYQaMhfbYhnsCU9ujDe-Z7JkFaFhJF65nWKRtKsL0nFRlP8CQxb-G9Y/s1600/IMG_8611.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 403px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 295px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5732437906587225762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FEPqvFg-eWEIWB2beQIczp6TxmLkeHx0d-n6dk6DhOnYBflVeo2SY3Z9oZGH2O3CfK_THR6hZ6TuBhYQaMhfbYhnsCU9ujDe-Z7JkFaFhJF65nWKRtKsL0nFRlP8CQxb-G9Y/s320/IMG_8611.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-26996099202200373392012-03-05T12:47:00.003+00:002012-03-05T12:55:37.485+00:00guitar build session 9Missed another week but last wednesday I was back in the workshop with Martin my luthier/tutor. More neck work. A slight radius was sanded on the fretboard surface. Next, the frets. Starting at the body end of the neck I cut pieces of fretwire allowing a couple of mm overhang. The pre-slotted slots were gently cleaned of sawdust with a fine saw blade. The fretwire was gentyl presses into the slot. Using a small hammer head as a sort of punch, with masking tape to cushion it, using a mallet, the frets were tapped into place starting at one end and working across the face to the other end then the surplus snipped off. The ends of the frets are prevented from springing up with a drop of superglue on the them which sort of gets sucked into the slot. The hammer head was used to apply pressure for about 30 seconds until the glue had set. When all fitted, a file was used to smooth the ends flush with the neck edge. Then running the file lengthways at an angle, a bevel was put on them. The rest of the session was used to further shape the back of the headstock. Photos to come later.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-26612958327795298572012-02-27T19:00:00.002+00:002012-02-27T19:06:03.043+00:00new music trackAt last I've been able to do some recording again. Been so busy with making amps and stuff that music making has taken a back seat. I started a project with a pal a while ago. He sings in a band called The Choppers who are out in Cambodia. He had a song idea and we played around with some riffs and managed to knock out a punky/rocky/bluesy sort of number. Took a few takes and it's a bit rough and ready (as I like it). Two guitar tracks on it are played on one of my CBGs and the vocals were done through my ex-military bakelite headset mic - hence the thin sound quality of the vocals. I've put it upo on Soundcloud - here's the link if you want to listen to it.<br /><br /><a href="http://soundcloud.com/smojomusic/mayday">http://soundcloud.com/smojomusic/mayday</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-66431060147583023872012-02-16T19:04:00.003+00:002012-02-16T19:09:09.142+00:00guitar build session 8Missed a week of building last week. This week it was all on the neck again. Final filing of neck back profile and sanding to a nice finish. Drilled out holes and installed the mother of pearl fret marker dots and edge dots. Drilled out holes for machine heads. Still a fair bit to do but I put the body and neck lossley together so I could see what it's looking like. Starting to get exciting now.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGUjxaIm-d4VpcltUYgksXxERZqQUFIIMWXzeTlq6ZW8JgrGkWI1pCP1qaXBrtOFx1MpLLZPc-fwLMFDtKLPQuERiVpXzdiSZNBPh2K34qw0rczMeBJTOtkwEQ1BKtdZ1NVAr/s1600/IMG_8352.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 375px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 306px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709812305439848162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGUjxaIm-d4VpcltUYgksXxERZqQUFIIMWXzeTlq6ZW8JgrGkWI1pCP1qaXBrtOFx1MpLLZPc-fwLMFDtKLPQuERiVpXzdiSZNBPh2K34qw0rczMeBJTOtkwEQ1BKtdZ1NVAr/s320/IMG_8352.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJcuJrEUgpMfONCwu5w9Y5q0uybSOn9LfuqnH7bfDcaaScUIleFLfedMtGLOiWeOlxdGi-K2AGdxXJfrAF-SJHyne6l9TSxlQckODcieomW-0L8kFkllaqj5KTpYnrVxMrtxg/s1600/IMG_8363.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 376px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 263px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709812466431988082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJcuJrEUgpMfONCwu5w9Y5q0uybSOn9LfuqnH7bfDcaaScUIleFLfedMtGLOiWeOlxdGi-K2AGdxXJfrAF-SJHyne6l9TSxlQckODcieomW-0L8kFkllaqj5KTpYnrVxMrtxg/s320/IMG_8363.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-58627269506555499492012-02-08T10:08:00.004+00:002012-02-08T10:21:07.371+00:00turning vintage radios into amplifiersSo as well as building a more conventional 6-stringer guitar, you might be pleased to hear about something more in line with cigar box mentality - i.e. taking something that was meant for another purpose and making it into something more fun and appropriate for making your own music. My latest adventure is taking old vintage radios from the 60s and 70s, hacking into the wiring, adding a 1/4 inch jack socket and turning it into a small amp. These things are so cool, why has it taken me so long to get into it? The older radios like these have a fairly decent power output. At half volume with a guitar plugged in they have a pretty clean sound but crank them up full and they overdrive nicely - rather like a small valve amp. Loud enough for your home and maybe enough to annoy the neighbours. They make great practise amps but just look so cool. I've done a few videos, take a look and see what you think. This one is a "keeper" though!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzxbWE5kZkggo1fdlkCZzfZHDHRuhHRixKXN0dp9VX89pQR0ORszvYNtv9ze5lRFioU1V_fPdmhSyQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-64711633593596337552012-02-08T09:31:00.011+00:002012-02-08T09:53:58.635+00:00guitar build session 7I'm a week behind posting this and this week I will not be doing any work on it. So last week was all about the neck again. The fretboard had been glued on so now needed trimming back to the neck profile using the router table and a small cutter with wheel guide following the shape of the neck. The body end of the neck cut to the correct length and shaped to fit the body "pocket". So now I could put it in place and see how the guitar is shaping up as a whole.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj741ByZldPSx94tT812cspOWKOXpf4HUANeNKEaq_Jfvsq5EvDHP5h1f98y-h0McVB9rYlM2RbciZYdYMjbnfoXsMH7ObzTPoiACKDyz1-_OAvMELZcGplUcktOtdmuvyQQoNp/s1600/IMG_8331.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 379px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 309px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706698702294421346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj741ByZldPSx94tT812cspOWKOXpf4HUANeNKEaq_Jfvsq5EvDHP5h1f98y-h0McVB9rYlM2RbciZYdYMjbnfoXsMH7ObzTPoiACKDyz1-_OAvMELZcGplUcktOtdmuvyQQoNp/s320/IMG_8331.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>I spent the rest of the session roughing out the back of the neck. We drew lines down it at specific points as a guides to cut back to. Just using a spokeshave and a coarse rasp, I reduced the back of the neck to a sort of triangular profile. The ridge of that was taken off leaving a sort of flat topped triangular shape, then those two ridges taken down so we now have an approximate D shaped profile. I ended the session there. Doesn't sound much but it was four hours of hard graft. I reckon we might be about half way through the project now.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrLRDM1VdXFeOtyOKTnb8dlxQtICRZSTWiA00LAobwgT_BFxjcdFc41ipuP9QGi3cdxW8r9ttboDPC-fCrWVll-wOSOQY9Baswvv8TqaDbbGQNAxhIur-6Hgue33WbjeIi3H8/s1600/IMG_8332.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 379px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 262px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706699491442222882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrLRDM1VdXFeOtyOKTnb8dlxQtICRZSTWiA00LAobwgT_BFxjcdFc41ipuP9QGi3cdxW8r9ttboDPC-fCrWVll-wOSOQY9Baswvv8TqaDbbGQNAxhIur-6Hgue33WbjeIi3H8/s320/IMG_8332.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-13663017063740701202012-01-30T18:52:00.005+00:002012-02-08T10:07:10.093+00:00guitar build session 6All about the neck this week. First job was to attach headstock template, then using a rasp bit in a table mounted router, to route the shape of the headstock around it. Then attach a straight edge template along one side of the neck and route that down to size, same with the other edge. Then some real hard work. To shape the back of the angled headstock roughly, I used a gouge chisel to chop away the surplus, then took it down to almost final shape using a hand rasp. Next we took a lot of the surplus off the back of the neck with an electric planer.<br /><br /><br /><div>Next job was to route a narrow channel for the truss rod. Just wide and deep enough to take it with very little space around it. We put in the dual action rod then glued and clamped the fretboard in position. Doesn't sound a lot but it took the whole afternoon. Here's a photo just before we put fretboard on.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFn_wkm5ALWkcNPzS8DZu_qswkD_DApVoUllJMuGln-mns-CQ3sLHgYkWe8Pc4RqKS9K2EYpAWy99nKt8zoSavPHWEihzLyoIUcBHkapR9GaPRRllOsnD51E2aVXEstuep-cd/s1600/IMG_8289.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703501304727420530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFn_wkm5ALWkcNPzS8DZu_qswkD_DApVoUllJMuGln-mns-CQ3sLHgYkWe8Pc4RqKS9K2EYpAWy99nKt8zoSavPHWEihzLyoIUcBHkapR9GaPRRllOsnD51E2aVXEstuep-cd/s400/IMG_8289.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-71521703089054599282012-01-19T16:31:00.007+00:002012-02-08T10:06:02.096+00:00guitar build session 5Had my 5th session yesterday. Feeling very tired this week after many hours of sanding down walls and woodwork in my lounge ready for redecorating, plus running around hospital visiting. So it was a welcome return to sanity but at the same time, I couldn't put 100% into the sawing and sanding that was involved. This week involved fixing small templates to the body to route out neck pocket and a cavity for the lipstick neck-position pickup. I'm starting to gain confidence in the use of the router, always had a slight fear of them based on my lack of experience. The key to it is to only take small 2-3mm cuts each time.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHS-rHrzTVIvkGH8plHk6ZE6KOPlYLJv7j_lbPLMUnfE7SrphmbS3rhKMR2CDnP28jIZpMHJPRvTVNP3PSR8k2C8ZsKzw5e8GyNtuqtYXLG6oRbxNRKBFzvPZRpxiCwxlA39xq/s1600/IMG_8278.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 407px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 315px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706703464391422546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHS-rHrzTVIvkGH8plHk6ZE6KOPlYLJv7j_lbPLMUnfE7SrphmbS3rhKMR2CDnP28jIZpMHJPRvTVNP3PSR8k2C8ZsKzw5e8GyNtuqtYXLG6oRbxNRKBFzvPZRpxiCwxlA39xq/s320/IMG_8278.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br />Next we started on the neck. I'd bought a hefty plank of maple. We drew on the approximate shape and as the plank is thick enough, decided to make it a one-piece neck/angled headstock. So we marked on the angle of the headstock and rough planed the bevel that will be the top of it. The idea is to cut away most of the surplus wood first with a jigsaw, then make the final shape with router and spokeshave. Attempting to rip down the length of the neck proved a bit of a disaster. I broke two jigsaw blades and was just getting nowhere. Maple is a very hard wood! I suggested we end the session early and I would take the plank back to my workshop to rip down on my bandsaw. We did a few other small jobs - cutting the pre-slotted fretboard to length and marking a few things up to round off. Progress a bit slow but still satisfying. It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel yet as there is a lot to do but I rest assured and imagine the day when I will take the finished guitar home, plug it into my new vox valve amp and enter the kingdom!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7Nd1IQ41ydR9GORNSDOTv-ro-SCWrUHUz4Pq5-7COVwfNm8bSjakkoymMq2X55RIPTbNZcmmyYd6IYxUmyHpHfDZRl5yrUUB1XvwZ5FW2m7gqvuXILCPK_7bUnsxMTpZ0HAl/s1600/IMG_8280.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706703665044272178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7Nd1IQ41ydR9GORNSDOTv-ro-SCWrUHUz4Pq5-7COVwfNm8bSjakkoymMq2X55RIPTbNZcmmyYd6IYxUmyHpHfDZRl5yrUUB1XvwZ5FW2m7gqvuXILCPK_7bUnsxMTpZ0HAl/s320/IMG_8280.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-3645863250520884262012-01-17T09:06:00.005+00:002012-02-08T10:01:10.237+00:00guitar build session 3 and 4So I need to catch up on my posting for the reso guitar build. Session 3 we fixed the template to the body with a couple of panel pins in places where the hole won't show. Using the router, I followed the contour of the template, taking about 2 mm off on each pass until eventually I had almost cut through the block. We then turned it over and using a router bit with a wheel guide running along the new shaped edge, I cut through the remaining bit and seperated the new body shape from the block. At last it's starting to look like a guitar. Next job was to cut a hole in the template where the cone is gonna sit. I took the body home to do some homework on it over the Christmas perion. Basically just rough drilled the main part of the cone well out using my drill press, to save effort on the router.<br /><br />Session 4 - we attached the template again and now following the hole we had cut in it, slowly routed out the well for the cone. We also rough sanded the front and back to get a flat surface across the whole body. We then used a small concave router bit on the outside edges to produce a gentle rounded prifile. I took it home again and spent about an hour sanding down the outer edge and front and back nice and smooth. Next session we start on the neck.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDNP0zNKku9OD8AM3NxpQ-2cLODIPs4Ows4SJm4J18niYOkWocz-0Df0jDzdzLFDJfQruX-Bl5OhX2YaVU6vvVkicjTOndmiXpZIg7yRcQItbJRu6e3BvRMlaZyEvuAZNNhWt/s1600/IMG_8224.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706702258978452418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDNP0zNKku9OD8AM3NxpQ-2cLODIPs4Ows4SJm4J18niYOkWocz-0Df0jDzdzLFDJfQruX-Bl5OhX2YaVU6vvVkicjTOndmiXpZIg7yRcQItbJRu6e3BvRMlaZyEvuAZNNhWt/s320/IMG_8224.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPStExT7fUFDduTu0x43Yn6fyc6XMkWFjS2c5g6NIg0MbX-CuZ9C8PCHoYy-uGnWJLmiOAkRakdn0MM8liyyr9VbLtAlz67qwumolmDNrHMU-qxdPAyiPHlAxpbjPo8CU_Yzod/s1600/IMG_8273.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706702636297302962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPStExT7fUFDduTu0x43Yn6fyc6XMkWFjS2c5g6NIg0MbX-CuZ9C8PCHoYy-uGnWJLmiOAkRakdn0MM8liyyr9VbLtAlz67qwumolmDNrHMU-qxdPAyiPHlAxpbjPo8CU_Yzod/s320/IMG_8273.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-24092159488825799992011-12-24T16:37:00.004+00:002011-12-24T16:53:51.379+00:00Happy cigar box guitar ChristmasHappy Christmas to you all wherever you are. It was this time of year when all this started for me. I guess it must have been 6 years ago. I saw a cigar box guitar on Ebay - loved the look of it and my wife said she would buy it for me for Christmas. If you've been following this blog, then you'll know the rest of the story. Well what a great story it's been. It has led to so many interesting and fun things. I've learnt how to make cigar box guitars and play them (reaonably). It's got me back into another hobby from my youth - electronics which has led to making amps, mics, oscillators etc. It's opened up new avenues of music to explore. I've learnt how to make small movies and upload to youtube. I've made quite a few new friends and in particular one very good friend. We've seen a UK CBG fest emerge and get better every year for three years now. It has been a truly exciting, stimulating and creatively rewarding pastime for me and I know it has too for many other people because I have met some who have had similar experiences and I've had some wonderful feedback via comments and emails.<br /><br />So if you have just found this site and just discovering the world of cigar box guitars and homegrown music and instruments - you are in for a a real treat my fiends. When I turn on the news, when I look around me, there is so much misery, mess, pain and worry around us. The world has truly gone crazy and if you're not careful it will drag you down too. If you feel this like I do, you need something positive, uplifting and insipirational to pull you through. This whole cigar box guitar stuff is not crazy at all (though some may think so). It has been a light in the darkness for me. So I thoroughly recommend you immerse yourself in it too. Buy a guitar, learn to play it, learn to make one yourself, meet other like-minded people (you're a great bunch) and just enjoy being creative and for a while you can switch off from the misery and worry.<br /><br />Thanks for being here, sharing and joining in this journey with me. Hope you all have a great Christmas and let's hope next year gets better.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-63181946518137970822011-12-15T16:31:00.005+00:002012-02-08T09:57:59.561+00:00guitar building course session twoSecond session of my course where I am building a solid body six string reso guitar. Didn't realise how much preparation work needs to be done before actually working on the guitar itself. This week we cut the mahogany plank in two. We sat the two halves side by side with a small gap and using a slotted template on top we routed the two edges simultaneously to provide smooth faces to be glued. Quicker and easier that trying to plane them. They were glues up and cramped together to make the block of wood for the body.<br /><br />Next job, made a template for body and headstock by tracing the drawing onto some thin MDF. We cut them out with a jigsaw, then smoothed the edges to a perfect shape with rasps and sandpaper. These will be fixed to the body block and headstock piece and used to run a router around to cut out the shapes. It took us pretty much the whole session to do these jobs. Another session next week then a break over Christmas. What I've learned so far - the need to make a good drawing and templates. The simple use of a router to provide straight edges accurately and easily. I'll be digging my own out now I know what can be done with it.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfFlUsyZGGWhHPYO78AnTH-4UgnAca4RiQJa1-kAR55zTUbGVPNIPdH93YyOEWJUfM-WpBysw6CvXOLrXM2zoeSU90OWMbGnzAjOJlefhBNMuMuQvdgempyqPK4bHV2xWTqb6/s1600/IMG_8219.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706701841353325314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfFlUsyZGGWhHPYO78AnTH-4UgnAca4RiQJa1-kAR55zTUbGVPNIPdH93YyOEWJUfM-WpBysw6CvXOLrXM2zoeSU90OWMbGnzAjOJlefhBNMuMuQvdgempyqPK4bHV2xWTqb6/s320/IMG_8219.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-31021669589897467542011-12-11T18:14:00.003+00:002011-12-11T18:31:38.943+00:00guitar building course day oneI mentioned in my last post that I was going start on a guitar building course to build a 6 string reso cone, solid electric guitar. OK I know this blog is supposed to be about CBGs but there are many of you who are also interested in more conventional guitars too and learning some general building tips. The idea is that I learn some new skills and build myself something really special. It's loosely based on a National resolectric but with some of my own tweaks to it. I've done a rough photoshop job to show you what it might look like.<br /><br /><br />I will be building it in half day sessions, roughly once a week. So the first day we headed off to John Boddy's timber yard near Boroughbridge. There's a big warehouse with lots of planks of interesting timber. Martin, my tutor helped me select a piece of maple for the neck/headstock and mahogany for the body. Mahogany was chosen because it is a fairly light hardwood which should emphasise the bass end of the tonal range to balance the rather toppy reso cone. I also bought myself another maple plank that will cut down into 4 nice CBG necks for future builds. Was surprised how relatively cheap maple is. The neck plank cost about £8 and the CBG plank about a fiver. Back at Martin's we started to draw up a full size plan of the guitar. Didn't quite finish it this week. We ordered some hardware too - truss rod, reso cone and plate and a pre-cut rosewood fretboard. Next session we finish the drawing, cut the mahogany in two and glue both halves together to make a wide plank for the body. Probably start cutting out the neck too.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeUQ0rJzhz2TxEhy2mS2YLbc-ln7JrEAvKr9jAUkSOkuUgB1ucmZow8oZPsZy25n17LWRBhqJ1Mtx8fjONjDWKi6lbzzBe0-Af6JJELdgPCy8tTySogfME6rcbgYy3F-sA7Ah/s1600/new+guitar2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 159px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684939955081116146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeUQ0rJzhz2TxEhy2mS2YLbc-ln7JrEAvKr9jAUkSOkuUgB1ucmZow8oZPsZy25n17LWRBhqJ1Mtx8fjONjDWKi6lbzzBe0-Af6JJELdgPCy8tTySogfME6rcbgYy3F-sA7Ah/s400/new+guitar2.jpg" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-41484932693061398252011-12-03T09:27:00.007+00:002011-12-03T10:10:36.401+00:00this and that in smojos cigar box guitar worldIt's been a bit of a frustrating time here and an exciting one too. Still a bit quiet on my CBG front. Much as I love 'em, there are many other interesting distractions going on in my life. First the frustrations - I bought some cool looking lipstick pups, cheap, with the intention of building myself a super duper CBG with frets and a proper magnetic pickup. Got as far as cutting the neck from a piece of old shelving when my bandsaw blade snapped. So that one went on on hold.<br /><br />As you will have noticed, I've been heavily into the electronics side of things. Not a million miles away from the cigar box guitar ethos of making something cool and musical out of junk or stuff that was never meant for that purpose. So I started "bending" an old casio keyboard. Found a cool distortion bend, drilled holes and mounted the switch and two pots. Working one minute - the next it was just making a horrid buzz. Messed about but can't seem to fix it. Maybe I burnt out something. So that's on hold too. Moved on to a new electronics project - making an envelope follower from the Nic Collins book. You can connect a sound source like a guitar or CD player and it's supposed to light some LEDs when the signal peaks or dips. Got the preamp part made but can I get the LEDs to come on when they should? - no, on hold too.<br /><br />So what are the exciting bits. Well I had an great weekend in Manchester with my mate who had organised the Hollowbelly gig at his local pub. Great atmosphere and the whole thing went down well. Hollowbelly belted out his excellent punk blues material whilst entertaining us with some funny stories in between. The support act was great too, three local people who got together with slide guitar (and CBG), african drum and cigar box bass to play some nice bluesy stuff. Lot's of time to chat about music stuff and do a bit of jamming back at my mates too.<br /><br />I bought an old ex-forces bakelite communicator set which is a chest mounted microphone and headphones. I was looking for an old telephone receiver to make a distortion mic and I found this. Might be ww2 but if not, will probably be at least 50 years old. I dismantled the set to make three mics, the chest mic I'll keep for myself, the two headphone mics I might eventually sell on. They look so cool and make fantastic hand held mics for vocals or harp where you want a bit of an old-timey, mildly distorted sound. If I get time I'll post a photo or two.<br /><br />Finally (please forgive me but let me explain) I'm about to build a solid body electric 6 string guitar. As I said I do love CBGs but I suffer from GAS (guitar acquisition syndrome) where I have to keep getting a fix with a new guitar. I see something cool and I want it! Yes my friends you know what I mean. The explanation will justify the diversion from 3 strings, a stick and a box guitar. For some time I've wanted the personal satisfaction of building a "proper" guitar. Something really cool and unusual. Also to take my luthier skills a little higher and get to grips with the more complex elements of guitar building. There's a local guy who runs courses on guitar building on a one-to-one basis. I went to see him this week to talk about starting with him. My initial idea was to make something based on the old guyatone solids of the 50s/60s. They look so cool with their simple retro shape and colours. But I do have a really nice Harmony Stratotone reissue that fits the bill so what to build instead? Then the bulb lit up in my head. A solid body reso similar to the National supro reso guitars. A bit of research showed that they make a modern version still. So my design will be based on that but with a bit of the guyatone look about it. It will have an under-saddle piezo and a single coil neck pickup. I've done a <em><strong>very</strong></em> rough photoshop job to get some idea of what it might look like and here it is. I'm starting the build this wednesday. We're going off to a timber yard to chosse the wood and then back to cut it up and glue the two body halves - can't wait! I'm gonna keep a record of my progress and put something on here so if you're interested, come back and take a look regularly. It might just get me inspired enough to get cracking with my lipstick pick-upped CBG too.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVo2bsJ9W2g7gHHAgJyytwRE5DpgvLXJ3_qEJngU-6GoelzgJ9OZQ-qi2YH5REkCvHM4wWn7QHdrA8LIESsV1sDA5wrTHVtkAulGYmdtE7oZxqHaioU5wQdZ3AD2Y2PLTQFpr/s1600/new+guitar2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 159px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5681840162283709698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVo2bsJ9W2g7gHHAgJyytwRE5DpgvLXJ3_qEJngU-6GoelzgJ9OZQ-qi2YH5REkCvHM4wWn7QHdrA8LIESsV1sDA5wrTHVtkAulGYmdtE7oZxqHaioU5wQdZ3AD2Y2PLTQFpr/s400/new+guitar2.jpg" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-61867200505112755582011-10-23T18:15:00.004+00:002011-10-23T18:29:40.057+00:00special offer on two cigar box guitarsI'm making a special offer <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">open to the UK only.</span></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br />I have two cigar box guitars for sale. They are both three-stringed fretless guitars currently tuned to open A. They have an internal piezo pickup wired straight to a 1/4 inch jack (no vol or tone controls). I have given them the usual smojo treatment of having a distressed neck look. I'd like to move them on now so that I can make space to make some more so if you fancy one of these, here's my offer. <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">£75</span></strong> gets you :-<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">One guitar + free smojo handmade wine bottle neck slide + free leaflet on tuning and playing + free shipping to mainland uk address.</span> This package would normally cost you £100 so you're getting a whopping 25% discount. Order now and get yourself an early christmas present.<br /><br />Email me at my usual smojoguitars(at)yahoo.co.uk address for further details and have a look at the two guitars on my Flickr page here<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21767997@N05/sets/72157622689976796/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/21767997@N05/sets/72157622689976796/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35757443.post-38156012349375532282011-10-15T09:52:00.007+00:002011-10-15T10:05:01.687+00:00Hollowbelly Manchester UK gigOK I promised some more info on the Hollowbelly gig in Manchester so here's the official poster. The gig is held at the Cheshire Ring pub but the music venue is known as The Verge. You can buy tickets online, check out the website here. <a href="http://www.the-verge.co.uk/">http://www.the-verge.co.uk/</a><br /><br />This is his first Northern gig and should be a belter. If you haven't seen anything of this guy you should have a look at some of his videos and listen to some tracks. You can see his facebook here. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/hollowbelly">http://www.myspace.com/hollowbelly</a><br /><br />and you can see more of his stuff on Cigarbox Nation here <a href="http://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/HOLLOWBELLY17?xg_source=profiles_memberList">http://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/HOLLOWBELLY17?xg_source=profiles_memberList</a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZ1NvffaK0gizIeaRRWHltnUtYysDxRd01lROOKYYTDTVqLkfA5hP4ehamMkaYOzatkN0RRoKaEZ2gcFKpLpLJO3nAuScl_nqnhbDca0rhCHqvLM0oZ1slkBmEOqmZg_LsgtM/s1600/poster+2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 396px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 573px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663655782390554402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZ1NvffaK0gizIeaRRWHltnUtYysDxRd01lROOKYYTDTVqLkfA5hP4ehamMkaYOzatkN0RRoKaEZ2gcFKpLpLJO3nAuScl_nqnhbDca0rhCHqvLM0oZ1slkBmEOqmZg_LsgtM/s400/poster+2.jpg" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0