recording my cigar box guitar stuff

I seem to have opened a can of worms by wanting to do some recording. A while ago I bought Cakewalk 4 recording software but haven't done anything with it. When I recently bought the Akai headrush looping pedal, I got excited enough to want to try my hand at recording. Well that led me to wanting/needing a small mixer so I can mix guitar and mic into the Headrush. So far so good. I also spotted a handy new piece of kit - the Line 6 Back Track. This'll plug into a guitar and keep track of anything you play. Great for keeping a copy of any good stuff you might knock out which you can save to PC and load into recording software. Still doing good. So I got everything set up, got a nice little groove going, saved on the Back Track.

So now comes the bummer. My laptop only has a mic input. First problem - The signal level from the Headrush is too high and distorts. I could use the mixer to drop it but then I can't use it with the guitar and looping pedal at the same time. Second problem is once you get one track down on the software and try playing another piece to it, you get a half second delay on the live signal out of the monitor headphones, so impossible to get your timing in synch. Feeling frustrated I decided to listen to my one and only decent track on the Back Track only to find that it's stopped working! Only had it a week or so. So I can't play with that either. Double bummer.

The good news - which I want to pass on to anyone thinking of recording with their PC, who might know little or nothing about it (like me) . I did some research and discovered my two problems can be sorted without having to buy a new PC. The delay is an effect called "latency" and you're gonna get this with most standard PC soundcards. The answer is a USB standalone soundcard. This will also solve my input level problem at the same time. It has direct monitoring of your live signal and you usually get two inputs which can be mixed to the correct signal level for your PC. There are several around - Line 6 pod studio; M-Audio Fast Track and Novation Nio all look good. The cheapest is the Line 6. You get amp modelling and recording software included and this one is the cheapest. M-Audio is more expensive but probably better quality but no amp modelling but the one that seems to offer the most, even though more expensive again, is the Novation Nio. Has amp effects modelling, two stereo inputs and recording software. I think that's the one I'll go for.

So don't hold your breath waiting to hear anything musical from Smojo for a while yet. More pennies needed to get the sound card and a steep learning curve getting to grips with all these new toys.

cigar box guitar New Year

Shit! Where did the first decade go? If I'm gonna make it to be rich and famous and idolised by millions, I'm gonna have to get a move on! Well Seasick Steve has a few years on me and he managed it, so I guess he's a role model for us all. Realistically it ain't gonna happen but you know what? I'm blown over by how many hits I've had on this blog and some of my Youtube vids. That's my little piece of fame and thanks to you folks for checking out my stuff and coming back for more.

So what plans have I got for 2010? Generally, the old chestnuts - lose some weight, get fitter, use my time better, blah blah blah. But realistically - CBG/music-wise I want to take a bit of time out from building guitars for other people. I have a list of personal projects I want to complete. You'll have seen some of them I started here months/years ago. There's my super-duper two-guitar case with built-in amp I started way back. Well before that I want to make a simple, one-guitar case and that's near the top of the list. I never have a decent case to carry the odd guitar around. The other one was a bit too ambitious so never got finished. Next is what I call my JuJu special. It's a keeper for me, utilising the fabulous hand-wired magnetic pickup I won at the Birmingham CBG Fest, made by fellow cbg builder and Yorkshiremen, JuJu. It'll have frets and a volume control - two firsts for me. I want to finish my SMOJO RATOCASTER - the strat copy I am building from a box of parts I bought for £25. I want to make another batch of tobacco tin amps - had quite a few enquiries about those; a stabilised power supply for my electronic experimenting and lots more - maybe a CB uke, a dulcimer, diddley bo - the list is endless. That should take me to the end of the next decade!

But most of all - top of my list for 2010 is PLAY MORE. I've got some great gear now and should make better use out of it. Most of the creative challenges of CBG stuff have been explored, so the final chapter is to get some of my own music down on record and hopefully produce some kind of album. Not becuase I think my playing is particularly good or that anyone would want to listen to/buy it. Nope, it's a question of 'completing the journey'. How many conventional artists - painters etc get all the gear, learn the skills, make sketches etc then put them in a drawer somewhere, never to see the light of day. Surely the most satisfying aspect is to finish the work, frame it and hang it on a wall. Job done. Creativity should not be stiffled or bottled and stored away. Once you've created your masterpiece, whatever it is, it's so much more satisfying to let it go out into the world. Like setting a caged bird free! That's the thrill I get when I've built a guitar and someone wants it; or I write my blog and publish it. It's the release that makes you sort of go 'aaaghhh' inside. It's a bit like breaking wind, such a satisfying feeling when you let rip and release it! So that's what I want to do with the actual music. In the words of Frank Zappa 'blow it out your ass, motorcycle man' though I don't think he was referring to creative energy! (It's just a great line I wanted to use). Hopefully it'll be more like a John Lee Hooker line in boogie chillen - 'Let that boy boogie woogie, it's in him and it gotta come out. And I felt so goood'

Happy New Year folks and keep on doing what you makes you feel good.

Happy cigar box guitar Christmas

Hi folks. I'd just like to say Happy Christmas to you all. Thanks for visiting my site, I would never have thought I'd reach so many people and so many hits on a subject as "odd" as cigar box guitars. It's four years since I first heard of them and had one given for Christmas. I've had so much satisfaction from all this. Building, playing, writing about them etc. Please keep coming back here and leaving a comment if you feel inspired to. I love to hear from other CBGers and am always happy to respond to any emails.

Well the fret-fitting experiment was a bit of a flop. Lessons learnt - don't try to retro-fit frets to an existing guitar unless it has a decent low action height. The intonation is crap due to the excessive stretching of the strings when trying to hold them down. Also the fret marks I had made were done with shallow saw-cuts which were wider than the fretwire tang and so there was little for them to grip to when I made the correct sawcut. I tried super-glueing them in which was only partly successful. Apart from that, they looked cool and weren't too difficult to fit but the guitar is still only suitable for slide playing. I may try to refit the neck so that the action is lower but I reckon if you want a fretted cbg, then best to start out from scratch with the intention and plan them into your build.

Hope you all have a great Christmas and that there are no nasty surprises in store. Keep the lo-fi, cigar box flag flying!

two latest cigar box guitars

Here's the promised photos of the two new builds. They didn't hang around long, gone to a new home already. The white one is a Cuaba box, one of the prettiest I've had so far. The bridge is made from an allan key, the soundhole cover is a mounting from a wardrobe rail. The Partagas guitar started out as a fairly boring and too-new looking box. I aged it by creating a few dings and scratches then rubbing it with stain which deepened the colour. I wanted it to remain fairly simple and primitive looking so I created the soundholes to look as though they were burnt through but in fact they were drilled and then burnt with a soldering iron. The bridge is a nice rusty old nut and bolt.

So what's my next plans? I'm hoping to have a break from building any new guitars in order to finish a few projects. I want to get into fretwork. I've got the wire and a special fret-saw. Nice to see the saw is made in Sheffield - good old English manufacturing. I'm going to practise on some guitars I've had for a while. The first attempt will be to convert a 3-string fretless guitar into a "dulcitar" - basically a cbg with frets at certain positions that produce a particular scale when played, rather than at every semi-tone position. When I'm happy with my technique I'll fit frets to my half-built "special" that'll contain JuJu's hand-wired magnetic pickup. Maybe build another batch of tobacco tin amps and what I really want to do soon is make a simple wooden case to carry a cbg. It will get the SMOJO treatment to make it a cool box. I started a case months ago but it was too ambitious, with built-in amp and velvet lining. It's half-way there but it'll have to wait a while longer yet.

free - cigar box guitar xmas album

Yes folks - it's free, it's an album of Christmas songs performed with cigar box guitars and it's brilliant. I'm sick of hearing the same old Christmas songs year after year. This is a refreshing change. It's been put together by Shane Speal, the creator of the Cigarbox Nation networking site . There's over 20 tracks by different folks who populate the site and there's an interesting mix of styles. I love it. Look for the download link on the Nation's home page. Wait for the free version to appear after about 45 seconds - just ignore all the advertising crap and you might need to have two or three attempts to download it but belive me, it's worth the effort. Enjoy

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/

this and that cigar box guitar stuff

Been busy with decorating the bedroom so the important stuff (CBGs) has had to take a back seat. The two new guitars are taking shape now, hopefully they'll be finished in a week or so.

There's a new forum-style website started up for handmade instruments. I can't give out the URL yet as it's not gone public at the moment. The creator is Ted Crocker who's claim to fame is the builder of the fabulous guitar in "The Honeydripper"film. It's shaping up to be an interesting site with sections on percussion, wind and other types of instrument building as well as CBGs. It was here that I saw some fabulous hand made slides made for bones. They are customised for the buyer with engraved designs and you can have your name etched into it too. I've ordered one and will show you it when I get it. I'll give you the URL to the craftsman who makes them, once I get the slide.

It's coming up to my 4th anniversary in cigar box guitar world. I saw one on Ebay, loved the look of it, my wife said she'd buy it for me for Christmas and I immediately fell in love with it and started making my own. I'm just as enthusiastic as ever about them and I'm pleased to say there is a growing number of builders and players in the UK now. This year marked out first UK cbg fest and I'm sure there'll be another next year. I've met some great folks, both in the flesh and online through this crazy stuff and I'd like to say a big thanks to all who have visited my site, here and on Youtube and the encouraging comments and emails that some of you have left.

I have a list of ideas and projects I'd like to complete in the future so plenty of material to write about here. Please keep dropping in to see what I'm doing occasionally. I'm intending getting further into my playing and some recording as well as continuing to build more handmade blues beasts.

and another toy and two new CBGs

Yup, another cool toy to add to my armoury. It's a Tapco Blend 6 mixer. I needed a small mixer to be able to combine several souces into the Headrush. So now I can connect a guitar and mic into the Headrush which will be allow me to add vocals or acoustic instruments when using the looping facility. The Blend 6 is made by mackie and very well built. It's been discontinued now so you'll have trouble finding one but watch out on Ebay for a used bargain - that's where I bought mine.

I've got two new guitars on the bench, half built. One's a Partagas, plain wood box and will get the ageing treatment similar to the Monte 3 that I made. The other is a Cuban box, first one I've seen like this and it's really pretty. Watch out for photos of them in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile here's a link to me using the looping facility on the Headrush and a CBG.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTy8Z5Gt38o

two new CBGs and a new "must have" toy to get

Just finished two of the batch of three cbgs. I've posted some photos of them on my Flickr site. If you want to see them they are here.

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

The last one should be finished in a few days. There's a bit more detail going into it including a sink drainer soundhole and a tailpiece made from an old hinge. It's looking cool already.

So what's the toy? It's an Akai E2 Headrush pedal. Just discovered them the other day and decided I have to have one. They are a delay and looping pedal. Designed to work like the old fashioned tape loop of the 60s. Should be fun to play around with. Here's a link to KT Tunstall demoing one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SfYS1aryPs

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

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.