CBG's 046 to 050.

For number 046 I used an old cigar box that was a little busted up and I used a resonator cone from Old Lowe in the USA. The cbg's that I have built before using these cones required  the box to be hand built but for this one the cigar box was large enough to house the cone. This is the last of the cones that I have from Mike.

I used a 40 mm x 12 mm piece of Tassie Oak + fretboard. I then inlayed rosewood on the headstock so as to accommodate the tuning pegs. Again, 635 mm from nut to bridge, 3 strings, a Klangbox "Original Flatpup" pickup (also the last Flatpup that I have) and a homemade bridge. Tuned to AEA.

For number 047 (not really a CBG) I tried my hand at building a kit guitar. It is a Strat style guitar and I called it a Frank's Frankocaster. I have been pretty happy with the build process but a couple of frets did need a redress as there was a little bit of buzz on a couple of strings. The neck had a slight bow as well so I had to adjust the truss rod a little to get the action sweet. I painted it a matt black and varnished the neck. Overall, it looks good and the sound is not too shabby. I might consider upgrading the pick ups in the future to give the guitar a little bit more bite.

Number 048 I call the Texas Special and I like this one a lot. I used a large box and a Precision style bass pickup with a volume pot. This CBG sounds mighty fine, looks mighty fine (according to the Monte Cristo website it has actual leather glued to the top) and plays mighty fine as well. Give it some distortion and it growls. 

This (as well as the H. Upmann # 45) is more like an electric guitar. Nearly all of my CBG's can be played either acoustically or plugged in but # 048 is better plugged in to an amp. Tuned to AEA using the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings.

For Number 049 (once again not a Cigar Box Guitar) I won off Ebay for $62.70. I was going to use it for parts but once I played her when I got home I couldn't believe how great she sounded.  The pots were a mess so I basically just kept the pickups (a Jap Strat copy "Legend" from the 80's). I bought new pots, a 5 way selector, tidied up the wiring and rebadged her as another Frank's Frankocaster. So for a total cost of about $80 I have a decent sounding Strat copy that is a dream to play. I own a couple of nice vintage instruments and this one plays and sounds nearly as good and at a fraction of the price. It is the same colour as the first electric guitar I bought in 1985. A 1972 Fender Strat that I sold for a fair price about 20 years ago but which is now worth a "lot" more than what I sold her for....arhhhh but hindsight is so overrated. 

I am now on to build Number 50 and this time I am going to create a Telecaster copy. I have purchased a Tele neck off Ebay for $28.08 (so much easier than building my own...maybe one day I'll give it a go) from China as well as all the electrics (I might consider upgrading the pickups if needed). I have a slab of Camphor Laurel that I have used for the body and for a total of $60 I'll have a Tele copy. I have a 2003 American Telecaster which is just beautiful to play. I am not expecting #50 to be anywhere near the same quality as I am just having some fun making guitars. :) It does give me a huge appreciation for all guitar luthiers around the world, whether they are large companies right down to little one person shows. 

You can contact me directly at: frankscigarboxguitars@gmail.com

Here are some sounds of some of the latest CBG's that I have made at soundcloud.com

https://soundcloud.com/frankscigarboxguitars/h-upmann-cbg

https://soundcloud.com/frankscigarboxguitars/resonator-cbg

Till next time, keep building, keep playing and keep having fun.

CBG's 041 - 045

CBG 41 - 45

It has been awhile since I have uploaded some of the latest CBG's so here goes...No 41.

I took all the paper of the cigar box and painted it with the Eureka Stockade image for something a little different. As already stated, I normally use 19 mm thick timber for the neck and then add another 6 - 8 mm for the fretboard. This makes the neck about 25 mm - 27 mm thick. I have decided to build some with a thinner neck (12 mm + fretboard...the laminated neck makes it stronger and no truss rod is required) and I do like the thickness of these newer necks. Due to the thinner neck, I do have to use an inlay (rosewood) on the headstock so as to accommodate the tuning pegs. Again, 635 mm from nut to bridge, fretted Tassie Oak neck, 3 strings, single coil pick up and a homemade tele style bridge.

No 42 was a gift for my nephew's 18th birthday. This time I bought a neck from China for $35 inc. postage as well as some skull type tuning pegs and a telecaster bridge pickup. These pickups sound quite alright for the price and I was very happy with how this played and sounded when finished. Due to all the reinforcing required (which took quite some time) to strengthen the the neck the CBG is now more like a solid body that a semi acoustic. 

No 43 was a nice timber Partagas box from Cuba (photos courtesy of Paul Johnson). Again, 635 mm fiscal length, a laminated fretted Tassie Oak neck, 3 strings, single coil pick up and a homemade tele style bridge. The neck is 42 mm wide and about 19 mm thick. By using the A, D and G sting this guitar can be tuned to either A E A or  G D G.

No 44 was made so I could take a guitar away with me while I was overseas for 2 weeks...shame as it was 2 cms too long to fit diagonally into the suitcase. Anyway, same measurements again (635 mm or 25 inch scale length), 18 frets, Tassie Oak neck (about 20 mm thick), Rosewood floating bridge, 3 strings and a piezo pickup (tuned to AEA). I know a lot of people sell CBG's fretless but I feel that fretting the guitar makes it a lot more useful as you can play chords as well as slide. Fretting a CBG is a lot more work but definitely a better instrument is created in the end.

For No 45 I used a H. Upmann box and a Precision style bass pickup with a volume pot. This CBG sounds and plays quite nicely...I think I'll be using more of these pickups as they do sound pretty good.

Same measurements again (635 mm or 25 inch scale length), 18 frets, laminated Tassie Oak neck (20 mm thick and 40 mm wide), Rosewood inlay on the neck, Tele style bridge and 3 strings tuned to EBE.

CBG's 037 - 040

CBG's 37 - 40

037 was a house warming gift for my Brother-in-Law. I used a Penfold's Tawny Port Box and added a ply top and a larger sound hole than I normally would use. Same measurements again (635 mm or 25 inch scale length), 18 frets, telecaster style bridge, 3 strings and a piezo pickup. I have also started using 12 mm think timber for the neck (I have to glue an inlay onto the headstock as the headstock needs to be a minimum 15 mm to accommodate the tuning pegs) + the 7 or 8 mm fretboard to bring it up to about 20 mm thickness for the neck. It feels a bit more like a regular guitar neck to hold but I am not sure if it is better or not as a CBG is a little different to a guitar. It has a nice sound (not as loud as I thought it would be) and it looks pretty impressive next to his wine selection.

038, 039 and 040 are almost identical in design and construction as I wanted to experiment to see if a sound hole makes any difference...my view is that it seems to make no difference at all. Most of the sound comes from the box anyway so the holes are not really required. Cosmetically they do look good (e.g. Shane Speal's f holes look great and add character to his builds) but from an acoustic point of view, I don't think I am going to bother too much more with them in the future.

Anyway, same measurements again (635 mm or 25 inch scale length), 18 frets, rosewood floating  bridge, 3 strings and a piezo pickup (tuned to AEA). I used 12 mm think timber for the neck + the 8 mm thickness fretboard to bring the necks up to about 20 mm thickness. In the past my neck thickness has been about 26 mm. Even though I have made a few of this design I still enjoy making them and I am always impressed with how good they do sound. The new piezo pickups that I am using might help as well...not as tiny sounding.

Finally, you can contact me now directly at: frankscigarboxguitars@gmail.com

Also, I have just started to post up some sounds of some of the latest CBG's that I have made at soundcloud.com

https://soundcloud.com/frankscigarboxguitars/cbg-34

https://soundcloud.com/frankscigarboxguitars/cbg-38

Till next time, keep building and keep playing even if it is just for yourself.

CGB's # 034 - 036

CBG # 34

I ventured off into another direction with this guitar by using a resonator cone from Republic Guitars (I have been using other resonator cones from Mike Lowe in the US). This 6 1/4 " standard ukulele cone works well with the La Aroma cigar box. I also used a Klangbox "Original Flatpup" pickup and it sounds mighty nice. I am really impressed with these pickups...no volume control, just straight into the jack. They have a sweet warm sound but drive the amp a little, and they begin to break up very nicely.

The CBG has a 635 mm scale length, Tassie Oak neck and fretboard and this time it is a 4 string tuned G D G B. I like 4 strings as they give a little more harmonic variation in one's playing.

 CBG # 35

For this CBG I used a Cohiba box (very nice boxes), another Flatpup pickup and a 3 string telecaster type bridge. The neck is recycled Silky Oak with a Rosewood fret board. It has a 635 mm scale length, 18 frets and 3 strings tuned to D A D. This CBG sounds nice and swampy when played with a lot of reverb and growls when you crank the amp.

CBG # 36
I used another La Aroma box (they are a great size and easy to work with) and the same cone for the CBG. I also used again the same Klangbox "Original Flatpup" pickup as I love their sound. You can buy them from Elmar (www.original-flatpup.com) in Austria but he only takes orders every so often. I bought 4 (2 x 3 string and 2 x 4 string pickups) from him and I still have 1 x 3 string left that I am keeping for a rainy day:).

Once again, no volume control, just straight into the jack.  635 mm scale length, Tassie Oak neck and fretboard and this time I tuned the 4 strings  D A D F#. I didn't put a sound hole in this one as I didn't notice much of a difference when I did on CBG # 34. I have read on the Net that sound holes on CBG's are not really required as they are more cosmetic so I might try a few with and without to see what does work. I will keep the design almost identical on the next 3 builds.

The above 3 guitars took a little while longer to make than others so I might keep it a bit more simple for the next few guitars that I am going to make. I have a few other cigar boxes that I might try out.

Till next time, keep playing and making. Cheers!

CBG's 028 - 033

028 was another Punch box. 18 frets, 635 mm scale length, piezo pickup and Tassie Oak neck and fretboard.

029 was the last of my perdomo boxes. 18 frets, 635 mm scale length, piezo pickup and tassie oak neck and fretboard. 

030 was a Romeo and Juliette brown coloured box. As stated earlier, the sides and top are made out of MDF  and the bottom is timbered ply. Not sure why but I really like these boxes. It has a nice and warm sound and sounds good either clean or distorted. 

031 was another resonator (cone from Mike Lowe of the US) CBG. It has a Camphor Laurel body (milled from our back yard about 8 – 9 years ago), Tassie Oak neck and printed markers on the fret board. This guitar sounds great either as an acoustic or an electric CBG (a single coil pickup) and I have really enjoyed making these. A different cone was used and the sound is a cross between a dobro and a banjo.

032 was another resonator CBG(cone from Mike Lowe of the US) . It has a Camphor Laurel body, Tassie Oak neck and printed markers on the fret board. This guitar sounds great either as an acoustic or an electric CBG (a single coil pickup) and I have really enjoyed making these. A different cone was used and the sound is a little more bluesy.

033 was a labour of love that I had to do. I have refined my original PT (the first guitar I ever made) by using only the box and part of the neck. Firstly I took off all the paper and painted the box with some rockabilly type flames, I then added a new headstock which I set at a slight angle and dowelled the headstock to the neck. I placed a rosewood inlay on the new headstock and used a new piezo. It has a Tassie Oak neck but no actual fretboard as I inserted the frets straight on to the neck (I started from 001 onwards glueing the fretboard onto the neck to make it stronger...this CBG seems fine as I have had it now for 2 years.)

I made the action a little higher so to play more slide and I am very impressed with how this one sounds. Not sure if it is the new piezo or the lack of paper on the box or even both...anyway, she plays and sounds great.

Finally, I have ordered a few more Perdomo, Cohiba, La Aroma and  other boxes from the US. I am trying some Klangbox pickups (they sound mighty nice) from Austria. A little cheaper than the Bob Harrison pickups...I will do some with the Bob Harrison pickups one day though. I also have now 2 x small dobro type resonator cones that I am currently working on to put in the La Aroma boxes so keep your eyes open for the new stuff over the next month or two.

Cheers all!

CBG's 023 - 027

Well it is nearly Christmas and after hardly much action during October and November things have gone crazy in the last two weeks. Below are some builds that I have just finished.

023 was another Manuel Lapez Punch box (I like these boxes as they are fun to work on) with same measurements again (635 mm or 25 inch scale length, 18 frets and 3 strings) and another build using Tassie Oak for the neck and fretboard and a piezo pickup.

024 was a Macanudo, Hyde Park Café box with a volume control. I am not sure if the volume control is that important on a CBG as I hardly ever touch the volume on all my guitars (CBG’s, electrics, lap steel etc). I know some players use it a lot but I don’t seem to at all. Anyway, same measurements again (635 mm, 18 frets and 3 strings) and the neck was made out of Tassie Oak. The sides and top are made out of MDF or something similar and the bottom is timbered ply. We screen printed our logo on the back for something different.

025 was a Romeo and Juliette brown coloured box. The sides and top were also made out of MDF  and the bottom is timbered ply. Not sure why but I really like this guitar. It could have been because of the bigger box but it has a nice and warm sound. It plays nicely and sounds good either clean or distorted. I ordered these boxes (plus the Perdomo, the Macanudo the Rocky Patel and the blue Punch boxes ) about a year ago from Michele Mahmood of cigarboxdeals.com. The postage is a bit dear but if you order about 10 or so it can bring the price of each cigar box down to about $9 to $10 each. Not that cheap but it does give you access to other boxes that you don't normally find in Australia.

026 was another rounded body Perdomo box. These feel great and they sit so much nicer against your body due to the rounded edges. It has a Tassie Oak neck and a Rosewood fret board, 18 frets and a piezo pickup. A nice warm sound emanates from these boxes. 

027 was a Punch box. It also had the sides and top that were made out of MDF and the bottom was  ply. This was a rush job and I completed the whole guitar in 24 hours…luckily I already had the blank neck and fret board pre cut. Once again 18 frets, 635 mm scale length, piezo pickup and Tassie Oak neck and fret board.



Also this year I helped 16 students at my school create their own 3 string CBG's. The boys were aged 11 and 12 and considering their lack of wood working skills they all created fairly decent, playable guitars. The CBG's all stayed in tune and the action was set at a good height for finger picking. One boy was attempting some slide work but for the rest, simple chords and some finger picking was their main goal.

See you all next year with some more CBG's from Frank's Guitars. I am thinking off trying some Bob Harrison pickups (harrisonguitarpickups.com) on a couple of them. 

Cheers and best wishes for 2013,
M, A and F

CBG's 020 to 022

CBG 020: Once again I used another Perdomo box (the rounded body gives it a nice feel) for this CBG. It has a Tassie Oak neck and fret board, 18 frets and a piezo pickup.

CBG 021: I used another Romeo & Julieta box for this CBG. These boxes seem to be the most readily available at my local tobacconist. Maybe it is a good all round cigar that people enjoy. Anyway, it has a Tassie Oak neck and fret board, 18 frets and a piezo pickup.

022 was another resonator (cone from Mike Lowe of the US) CBG. It has a Camphor Laurel body (milled from our back yard about 8 – 9 years ago), Tassie Oak neck and printed markers on the fret board. This guitar sounds great either as an acoustic or an electric CBG (a single coil pickup) and I have really enjoyed making these. A different cone was used and the sound is a cross between a dobro and a banjo.