cigar box guitars for sale

Finally got around to putting some photos and details of my guitars that are available for sale onto my web site. You can check them out at

www.smojomusic.co.uk

There are presently three guitars and a portable amplifier. I have graded the guitars as either "standard" or "custom". The construction is the same but the custom guitars have a piezo pick-up, and a strap added. I am presently only intending shipping to the UK mainly due to the complications of accepting payment in other currencies but am open to the possibility.

making a cigar box guitar part 2 - the neck

This a brief description of how I make the necks. I use hardwood like oak or mahogany usually recovered from old furniture and ripped down to approx 20 x 30 mm section and about a metre long. I round off the corners slightly with a plane and rasp then sand down smooth.

I use another guitar neck to find the positions for nut, bridge and frets. I have made a template on thin MDF and use this to mark the positions in pencil allowing sufficient length for the headstock and for the neck to pass through the length of the cigar box and protrude about 50mm for attaching the ball end of the strings.

I mostly use 3 in a line tuners which means you need to remove some material from the front of the headstock to create an angle for the strings to drop down to over the nut (look at a Fender for the principle). I mark the positions of each tuner post and drill three holes for them to pass through.

I place the neck over the box so that the bridge will be about 1/3 up the length of the box and mark the neck about 10 mm inside where the box ends will be. This section which will be hidden in the box needs about 3mm removing - this is to stop the neck resting on the inside of the lid and dulling the sound.

I cut a small groove across the neck where the nut is to go and glue in a large threaded bolt for the actual nut.

I drill three small holes near the bottom end of the neck abou 10 mm apart for strings to pass through. The fret positions and dot markers are now burnt on using a woodburning tool (or old soldering iron). Also my signature "smojo" on the headstock. I "treat" the neck with a couple of thin coats of tung oil then rub smooth when dry with a cotton rag. Finally I attach the tuners.

This is just a rough guide, if you want any tips feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me.

Next part 3 - preparing the box

resonator cigar box guitar

Just because I'm really "into" resonator guitars at the moment I am thinking my next CBG might be an attempt at one. Of course it won't have the proper aluminium cone but something else that might act as a sort of loudspeaker which is what the reso does. I will have to start scouting for something suitable. Kepp you informed when I do.

New cigar box guitar photos coming

Been busy so haven't done much CBG stuff lately. Mainly because I got sidetracked looking for a resonator guitar. I found a bargain single cone Ashbury on Ebay. Sounds great played with slide but I won't let it overshadow my CBG projects.

Here's some new CBG's. The headstock close-up belongs to the Monte Christo box and is purely acoustic. The second guitar has piezo pick-up and strap as extras.

Stefan Grosman downloads

This a great site I found, not about CBGs but some radio programs Stefan did about blues, it's history and guitar playing. You can download MP3 versions for free. Each clip is about 6meg so you need broadband/ADSL but I highly recommend it for blues buffs.

http://guitarvideos.com/radio/00radio.htm

cigar box guitars through effects pedals

Just been playing with pushing my CBGs through different effects and amplifying them. I've been using a Zoom 505 and there are some amazing sounds to be found. Coupled with the unusual sound of playing slide guitar, the responses of the piezo pickups as opposed to normal wire wound coils - you can get some great results. One setting gives a sort of violin type effect. When you pluck a note, it sort of zooms in the sound (by volume). It works brilliantly with notes slid from one to another. I must try to record a sample and put it on my Mutiply site. I have some other sound clips on there if you haven't found them yet the link is:-

http://smojo.multiply.com/music/item/1

cigar box guitar resolutions

I don't like making new year resolutions because they usually don't last long. It's not a bad idea in away though, it helps to focus on what you want to achieve. I've a number of things I want to get done and they're noy big tasks. It just takes time and commitment. Maybe it's the Winter blues or maybe because my job has been at risk for a few months but I've been lacking motivation for creativity. It's still there but it takes a lot of effort to get the juices flowing. Here's what I want to do and we'll see how I get on.

1. Put the finishing touches of straps and logos to a couple of guitars
2. Photograph them and put them on here and my website at www.smojomusic.co.uk
3. Make some effort to sell them so I can recoup some costs and :-
4. Make some more cigar box amps with the money
5. Sell some amps :)
6. Make some "proper" bottleneck slides. I have a tile cutter and a pile of empty wine bottles which I have been meaning to have a go at
7. Write some more instructions on making CBGs to put on here (sorry if you've been waiting for the next installment)
8. Make a hard case with built in portable amp -see my next blog for an explanation

That's it - should keep me going till next New Year at least,

Happy New cigar box guitar Year

Hi and Happy New Year. Haven't done much cbg work lately with Christmas etc. I'm pleased with the cigar box amplifier I made. I have a few small modifications to make otherwsie I'm happy enough with it to offer it for sale eventually. I've been experimenting with making other instruments but none have been particularly successful yet. Time to get back to cbg building I think. Watch out for more on here soon.

More cigar box guitar music

Just added three more clips of my cigar box guitar music to my Multiply site. You can find it here:-

http://smojo.multiply.com/music/item/1

Cigar Box Amplifier

For some time I've been meaning to have a go at making a small portable amplifier, built into a cigar box to complement my guitars. Well at last I got around to it. It looks and sounds pretty cool. Pretty good volume too.

It's based on a Maplin kit amp which I've put into a Romeo Y Juliet cigar box. It's powered by battery just has a volume control but you could use effects pedals with it if you want distortion, reverb etc.