A future project…..

In my very first post I mentioned that I would eventually tell you about my first guitar.

Browsing on Ebay one day I came across a brand new guitar for $30!  I bought it.  Yes, I knew it was cheap. My thought was I could noodle around with it a bit, and if I really sparked an interest, I could buy a better one later.

The guitar is a “BAJA”.  Made in China from basswood.  Basswood is really a form of particle board.  It is then covered with a vinyl material to “look” like wood.  Here is a picture of  it:

I think I want to trash the basswood body and build a cigar box body instead.  I will re-use all the other components- neck, pickups, bridge. 

Here is someone who did the same thing with a BAJA guitar.  I don’t like the color of his final project, but as long as I don’t modify the neck, I could always put it back together.  I am only risking $30 and some time!  Here is what his version looks like:

Ready for testing!

For now, I am done.  Going to play with this thing and make minor changes along the way.  I need to adjust the nut and bridge (height on both, location on bridge) and I need to figure out how to tune it.

The tuners are primitive- but a common system for cigar box guitars.

I will also be making a list of the things I will change next time- and I will share that later!

Here are some pics.  here is the neck with frets installed.  I actually glued nails, cut to the proper length, into the fretboard.  These nails are finish nails from my airnailer, so they are not round.  Next time I will buy REAL frets- easier to use and sound better too!

Here is the finished product:

 Now I am going to play it…make changes to it, and have fun with it.

I will keep you updated!

Wire it up!

I decided to make my Cigar Box Guitar electric!  You can also play it acoustically, but I can plug it into my amp this way too.  It only costs about $6 to make it electric.

This does not use a traditional Magnetic Pickup like you would find in an electric guitar.  It uses a Piezo Transducer.  These are the things that make your smoke alarm beep!  But if you tear them apart and just get the transducer out- it also can pick up vibrations.

Here is what I started with, I needed a Piezo and a 1/4″ jack.

 Next up, I had to take the Piezo apart to get to the part I needed.  You can order just the part you need, but I went to my local Radio Shack- they did not stock that part.

I cut out the circuit board and wired it to my jack:

 Then I mounted it inside by Cigar Box Guitar- for now I just have it taped in place.  I will eventually hot glue it, which gives you a little better sound.  It works by picking up the vibrations the strings make when you play them.

Day 2- change in plans!

As I have explained earlier- this CBG is a prototype, so I can make changes and not feel guilty!

This morning I put on one string to check the sound.  Sounds pretty good- but I added a sound hole.  Then I decided that instead of going “fretless”, I wanted frets.  I could buy REAL fretwire….but that seems extreme for such an instrument.  I found another solution- I am using wire nails, cut to the proper length.

Just sprayed on a couple more coats of clear- gotta run to the hardware store and radio shack….more later!

Day 1- things are moving along quickly

I am pleased with my progress on Day 1 of my project.  Though, to be fair, this first one is to see how many mistakes I can make- then correct them the next time!

I bought almost all of the materials I needed today- so my total cost for my first 3 string guitar will be about $12.  Hey, back when they played these things no one had money!

Here is the box and the neck (both are notched to fit properly)

Here they are kind of together- just checking the fit of the notches, nothing is glued yet.

Here is another view:

Here is the neck-I decided to go fretless on this version- but I cut grooves to give the illusion of frets.

 Next up is gluing the thing together:

 So at the end of day 1, here is where I stand.  I did some light staining and have put on a coat of clear- with a few more to follow:

Tomorrow I still have to work on the finish, make some type of tuning head, a bridge, a saddle, AND I think I am going to make it electric- not by using a magnetic pickup (like a guitar would) but there is a neat little trick that costs about $5 and lets you plug the thing into an amplifier!

More later!

And away we go…….

So this weekend I am going to start my FIRST attempt at building a Cigar Box Guitar! Why? Because I think this sound is very cool!

Guitars are not (quite) as expensive as sports cars

It really is not the guitars that set you back- at least in my case.  It is the  accessories.  Like my new amp- which I bought used at Guitar Center for $50 (my old one was stolen- as I mentioned in my first post.
So I picked up this nice 30w Crate to replace it with.  It has a built in tuner, and about 19 digital effects.  Effects are nice, because they help hide how much I suck at playing the guitar!

Of course, you also have to buy a bunch of accessories- Capos, strings, winders, picks, etc.

All in all, less expensive than a sports car, but not cheap either!

Why I started this blog

Why not?  I have a desire to fool around with a 3 string guitar (like they used to play delta blues back in the 30’s and 40’s) and I thought I would share that journey with you.  Here is how I got to where I am in my new hobby:

In the past year or so I experienced a mid-life crisis.  No, I did not buy a sports car or marry a much younger wife (I love the one I have, thank you very much).  I decided to finally, after saying I would do it for aobut 30 years, learn to play the guitar.

Here is a picture of the 2nd guitar I bought (I will get to the first guitar later!)

This is a Peavey “Raptor EXP”.  Not an expensive guitar- I bought it used on Ebay for about $100.

I also purchased a practice amp for it that set me back about $40 (that amp was recently stolen).    That amp was a 10 Watt Crate.  I bought it used at a pawn shop (great deal!).

Then came my third guitar (remember, we will discuss the first one later).  This is a guitar I REALLY like.  it is a Alvarez acoustic.

This guitar plays well and I really like the sound if it.

Now the real challenge here is that I am NOT a good guitar player.  I think the guitar is one of those instruments that you can learn quickly, but it takes a while to get good at it.

Another note about guitar playing- A friend of mine told me “no matter how good you are at playing the guitar, there is ALWAYS someone who is better”.  Words to live by!