Cigar Box Questions

[orraloon]

Hi,
I am about to start a cigar box build to see if I can get to grips with making something that will play. I got an ebay kit from the states that is very basic. I can handle the woodwork side but am limited in musical know how. The cigar box that came with the kit is less volume that a soprano uke body and the wood rather thick so I guess it will not sound all that great as acoustic. There is a pickup and jack socket but I was sort of trying to get a bit of both. Am I dreaming?
The other question is what to build. I can play some basic uke so can a guitar length neck be tuned as a uke or should I stick with a uke neck. I would have to learn the chords all over again otherwise. Looking for some help.
Regards
John

[Cliff Rogers]

You can put on as many or as few strings as you please.
You can make it as long or as short as you please.
You can tune it any way you want, there are no rules.

You just have to get the fret spacing right for the scale length that you end up with.
There are calculators available on the net.

You will also find that the scale length has some bearing on the string size & the key that it is tuned to.

In a nutshell.

If it has a long neck, the frets will be further apart.
The longer the neck, the tighter the strings have to be for the same tuning/key but as I said, you can tune it any way you like.

[Cliff Rogers]

Read this thread & check out some of the links.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f98/ci...uitars-162043/

[orraloon]

Thanks Cliff,
I have been reading up all I can find on the subject. I only started playing 18 months ago so it is in the music theory side I am a bit slow . I made one of those Tahatian solid body ukes and while it tuned up and played it sounded a bit flat. Not much ring to it. Perhaps with a pick up and amp it may pass muster. Something to come back to. I may try a long neck on the CBG as the kit came with guitar strings. The project is to learn a bit with some simple builds then work up to a propper uke build with some nice timber. I will post as I go.
Regards
John

[Humphrey9999]

You can put on as many or as few strings as you please.

A question, Cliff, if you don't mind. I'm thinking of making a 6-string CBG, but I've noticed that most people stick to just 3 or 4 strings. Is this a strength issue because of the extra load of 6 strings, or simply because 3 or 4 strings are easier to play?

[Cliff Rogers]

Both.

The more strings you add & the longer you make it, the more bow you get in the neck unless you add a truss rod.

The 3 & 4 stings are easier to play however, if you are already a good 6 string player, you will find it a bit limited to what you are used to.

[Humphrey9999]

Both.

The more strings you add & the longer you make it, the more bow you get in the neck unless you add a truss rod.

The 3 & 4 stings are easier to play however, if you are already a good 6 string player, you will find it a bit limited to what you are used to.

Thanks, Cliff. Just as I suspected. I was sort of hoping it was only because they're easier to play. I am already a 6-string player, although it's been a while, that's why I'd prefer to make one with 6 strings. A truss rod had crossed my mind, but I'll have to learn how to go about it properly.

Might have to settle for 4 strings for my first attempt, I think, with a through-neck for strength. Fretted accoustic, 25.5" scale, I reckon. Always liked the feel of a Strat, so I'll stick to the same neck length. Doesn't need to be loud, but I do want to be able to hear it, so I'll have to put some thought into the soundboard.

Can you recommend a good supplier for nuts, machine-heads, frets etc?

[Cliff Rogers]

T
Might have to settle for 4 strings for my first attempt, I think, with a through-neck for strength. Fretted accoustic, 25.5" scale, I reckon. Always liked the feel of a Strat, so I'll stick to the same neck length. Doesn't need to be loud, but I do want to be able to hear it, so I'll have to put some thought into the soundboard.

Can you recommend a good supplier for nuts, machine-heads, frets etc?

Rats, I typed a big reply & lost it.

Quality parts delivered quickly but you will pay for them.
STEWMAC.COM : Guitar Parts, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, Hardware, Tools, Supplies, Free Information

Cheap Chinese but takes about 3 weeks to arrive.
Musical Instruments, Musical Instruments Store - SuntekStore
BEWARE! Some of their machineheads don't have the little screws & they are hard to buy separately.

[Cliff Rogers]

...Might have to settle for 4 strings for my first attempt, I think, with a through-neck for strength. Fretted accoustic, 25.5" scale, I reckon. Always liked the feel of a Strat, so I'll stick to the same neck length. ...

Couple of options based on how/what you play.

If you play mostly simple chords up near the nut or a lot or lead stuff, go for the 4 treble strings.
D,G,B,E & play as you normally would.
That is strung/tuned like a baritone ukulele.
http://baritoneukulelehunt.com/wp-co...tonechords.pdf
Baritone Ukulele Chords

If you play a lot of barre chords, rhythm guitar & like the bass sound of a strat, use the 4 bass strings.
E,A,D,G & play as you normally would.
That is a strung/tuned in basic 4ths like a bass guitar so you could also play it as a bass guitar.
http://www.thecipher.com/basic-4ths-chords_pg1.gif (swap your 1 & 3 fingers around on the Emaj6, it is a misprint)
http://www.thecipher.com/basic-4ths-chords_pg2.gif (swap your 2 & 3 fingers on the Cmin & the Cmaj7, Fmaj6 have a misprints too)
Mess around with them, you'll work it out.

If you aren't marvelous at the 6 string & are willing to have a go a a different tuning, use the 4 treble strings of a set & tune them to a D major chord.
D,F#,A,D & then use a single barre straight across & move up the neck for your different chords.
Starting a open & going up D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, C, C#, D
Once you have had a muck about with that, have a look at these pages for other chords in open D tuning.
Brian's huge chordlist collection [Guitar in Open D-Tuning (D, A, D F# A D')]
AlanHorvath.com | Open D Tuning | Chord Charts

[Humphrey9999]

Couple of options based on how/what you play.

If you play mostly simple chords up near the nut or a lot or lead stuff, go for the 4 treble strings.
D,G,B,E & play as you normally would.
That is strung/tuned like a baritone ukulele.
http://baritoneukulelehunt.com/wp-co...tonechords.pdf
Baritone Ukulele Chords

If you play a lot of barre chords, rhythm guitar & like the bass sound of a strat, use the 4 bass strings.
E,A,D,G & play as you normally would.
That is a strung/tuned in basic 4ths like a bass guitar so you could also play it as a bass guitar.
http://www.thecipher.com/basic-4ths-chords_pg1.gif (swap your 1 & 3 fingers around on the Emaj6, it is a misprint)
http://www.thecipher.com/basic-4ths-chords_pg2.gif (swap your 2 & 3 fingers on the Cmin & the Cmaj7, Fmaj6 have a misprints too)
Mess around with them, you'll work it out.

If you aren't marvelous at the 6 string & are willing to have a go a a different tuning, use the 4 treble strings of a set & tune them to a D major chord.
D,F#,A,D & then use a single barre straight across & move up the neck for your different chords.
Starting a open & going up D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, C, C#, D
Once you have had a muck about with that, have a look at these pages for other chords in open D tuning.
Brian's huge chordlist collection [Guitar in Open D-Tuning (D, A, D F# A D')]
AlanHorvath.com | Open D Tuning | Chord Charts

Thanks for the in-depth reply, Cliff. If I make a 4-string, I'll play around with tuning a little and see what I like. Initially, I'll probably go with the 4 treble strings, since that also reduces the load on the neck.

I've saved your links for reference.

Stewmac sound good. Found another supplier in the meantime, but don't know how good they are - AllParts.com: - Welcome to Allparts Music - Guitar, Bass, and Amp Parts Supplier

Still considering a 6-string + truss rod.

[Cliff Rogers]

Yup, All Parts are another well known supplier.

Have a look at these ones as well.
Welcome to Guitarfetish
Guitar Soundboards: Allied Lutherie
Luthier Suppliers - Radius Sanding Dishes, Guitar Jigs, Sanding Bowls, CenterLine Finder, Brace Maker

Luthier Tools - Nut Files - Fret Files
Guitaraust Luthier Supplies & Guitar Parts
Guitar Woods

There is an extensive list here.
Ray is a member on here too.
Suppliers of excellent tonewoods and guitar hardware

[Humphrey9999]

Yup, All Parts are another well known supplier.

Have a look at these ones as well.
Welcome to Guitarfetish
Guitar Soundboards: Allied Lutherie
Luthier Suppliers - Radius Sanding Dishes, Guitar Jigs, Sanding Bowls, CenterLine Finder, Brace Maker

Luthier Tools - Nut Files - Fret Files
Guitaraust Luthier Supplies & Guitar Parts
Guitar Woods

There is an extensive list here.
Ray is a member on here too.
Suppliers of excellent tonewoods and guitar hardware

Good stuff. Thank you very much, Cliff. I appreciate the help.
I've saved all of your links. I'll start going over them and collecting parts. So far all I have is timber and a couple of vintage cigar-box labels. I think I have a long enough piece of NGR for the fretboard, and I'll probably use Merbau for the neck and body.
Been making a little bit of a study of truss rods and how to fit them this afternoon. StewMac has a bit of info. Looks fairly straightforward.

[Cliff Rogers]

Yup, I went looking for the instructions on Stewmac 'cos I'm sure I saw them there but I couldn't find them in a hurry.
Trying to do 3 things at once here.

Go for the 4 string cheapy version first & work out what you need & where the pit falls are.

[Humphrey9999]

Yup, I went looking for the instructions on Stewmac 'cos I'm sure I saw them there but I couldn't find them in a hurry.
Trying to do 3 things at once here.

Go for the 4 string cheapy version first & work out what you need & where the pit falls are.

That truss-rod stuff is here: - STEWMAC.COM : Truss rods Free Information

I should build a 4-string first, but might not be able to restrain myself. I like diving into the deep end with things.
I'm not starting immediately, got a couple of other things to do first, so I have time to do some research then make the final decision.

[Cliff Rogers]

Ta. I looked in the online videos & the trade secrets section.

The 4 string will be good practice.