Photos of my fifth handbuilt guitar

A few days ago I built my fifth guitar. As usual, I made a lot of mistakes (the frets aren't level, for instance, so I filed them down as needed) but the overall playability is pretty good. The thing I need to work on is volume -- it's not very loud.

I'm having a great time building them. I've got plenty of ideas for future guitars, but I better not talk about them or I might not do them.

Keni Lee Burgess has a very nice set of cigar box guitar playing lessons on YouTube.

More photos of my green-necked guitar here.

• [Anonymous]

  Just turn it up to 11! That always works for me…

• [xzzy]

  You are aware it’s illegal in most countries to post about a new instrument, and not include a video of you playing it, right?

• [jeremyhogan]

  For loudness, a lot of CBG folks use a pickup.

  Here’s one you can make yourself:
  http://cigarboxguitars.com/workshops/Pickup_Workshop.php

  Or you can use a Piezo transducer from The Shack:
  http://nearlydeaf.com/?p=245

  Or even an off-the-shelf 3 string pick-up.

• [Pasketti]

  Don’t ship it on United Airlines.

• [Alpha Omicron]

  Does the neck have a truss rod? Steel strings will bow it eventually if it doesn’t.

• [Anonymous]

  The look of it reminds me of “township” oil can guitars that are seen, sold and played in capetown markets. A fella could see them on youtube and such.

• [Anonymous]

  Filing down the frets to level them is a normal process for guitar, banjo, etc. builders. (Actually the process goes: hammer the frets into the measured off notches, put the neck in a clamp, and file everything level.)

  I presume post #4 was a joke. There is no reason for this neck to warp with tension from only 3 strings. And the banjo bridge is a good idea. (Even a folded over piece of tin can would be better than a pencil!)

  And, since it’s where many guitar builders get bone for the nut and bridge, (I can already hear the bad jokes, so suck it up guys!), try a bit of beef bone.

  Even if you are a vegetarian, I bet you can find some. Works just as well as elephant ivory. (And you appear to be already using animal by-products anyway.)
  When do we get to hear this?!

• [Mark Frauenfelder]

  “are real guitar builds from places like Warmoth passe now?”

  Not at all. I am working my way up to a 6-string. Making CBGs is a fun way to get started.

• [dculberson]

  I love it, especially the green.

  I think the thickness of the pencil is what might be doing the sound in. If you look at, say, a viola bridge, they’re really thin pieces of wood standing up on end. But I could be wrong – I have no expertise in the area!

• [eustace]

  Beautiful, Mark!

• [Secret_Life_of_Plants]

  Que Bella !!

• [Kieran O’Neill]

  @JeremyHogan: The electric guitar pickup (link 1) kinda defeats the point of getting the thing to resonate (since the sound is generated entirely from the movement of the strings in the pickup magnets).

  The piezo pickup (link 2) is a very cool idea, and ultra simple/cheap.

  (The piezo would also work with nylon strings.)

• [Secret_Life_of_Plants]

  Also, the green is my favorite part. It is the perfect color.

• [hohum]

  Here’s a thought, keeping in mind that I have no idea how practical this would actually be to implement, nor how well it would actually work…

  Since you can’t make your resonance chamber much larger without freeing yourself from the cigar box, could you try implementing a metal resonator of sorts? I’m thinking pie-tin, thin sheet metal… Something like a Dobro or other resonating guitar…

  I feel like that bluesy resonator sound would pair wonderfully with a cigar-box guitar…

• [Anonymous]

  Arturo Fuente cigar box. Classsy.

• [Anonymous]

  I make the bridge & nut out of deer or elk antler.
  It’s hard enough to transmit even the highest frequencies.
  And it looks nice, too!
  Nice job on the guitar

• [Kieran O’Neill]

  Ah – I see what the problem is. A standard wooden guitar body is nearly as long as the neck, and much deeper. You need a bigger can.

  Very cool, though.

• [kentkb]

  Sweet,
  I like the lime color….
  And it still smells of tobacco?

• [overgrown]

  you might also try planing a little thickness off the box lid.

• [ChunkyMonkeyBrain]

  are real guitar builds from places like Warmoth passe now?
  Is it just not cost-effective enough?
  you miss out on so much with cigar box guitars, really…

• [Anonymous]

  1 and 2 hit on good points. Also, the bridge is what transmits the vibrations from the strings to the sound board. A pencil is less than ideal for this. Even a cheap banjo bridge will dramatically improve your volume and tone.

• [ill lich]

  You shouldn’t have used such green wood– that neck is gonna warp.