Hello
I am going to built my own boxes.
And some empirical values, hints and tipps would be helpfull.
What kind of boxes do you built? With wich lumber?
Thickness, bracing, etc?
My plan ist to built
- one box with thin plywood but braces
- and one with thicker massive wood without bracing
and check the difference of soundquality
But i am sure many of you do already know wich way brings wich effect?
So how do you built your own boxes?
Tags:
On my post is pretty much it. Very simple. Even the antique one i have is made that very same way. They use the paper as the hinge for the top. I'd replace the thin brads with glue. The one CBG I've been banging on for years is still together. So the thin brads do hold. But glue would make the box stronger.
I've got plenty of boxes. Including some wide thin ones. But none of them are a size that would work for a standard electric guitar neck with the bridge towards the center of the box. All to short.
I use 1/2" poplar for the sides on License Plate guitars... I have also used 3mm (1/8") plywood for tops and bottoms... With a neck-through design, I don't bother bracing the top...
Cool, so i will also try without bracing for the plate (future built - first i gonna make one with a wooden top)
I used a cedar fence plank to make a box. I used a router to thin out the top and back areas inside the box area. Had to use a good bit of bracing due to soft wood and 4 strings and the stress they cause.
Plywood is strong, but solid wood can give better tone. IMO Use a hard wood to make your box.
I do tend to like the tone from Mahogany and other similar tonewoods for acoustics.
Most CBG builders are having to use lighter woods and ply for their boxes because that's what's available or what they can afford and they all contribute to the tone for good or bad.
As Roger points out that the strong and stable woods should be used for the back, sides, neck and some bracing. Most of your git's tone will come from the neck, neck joint, nut, bridge and top. Scale and strings used will also play a big part too.
It is definitely a comprimise when choosing material and construction techniques.
It makes sense to look at typical acoustic guitar materials and construction that has been used since the middle ages for some, to get the tried and true recipes for success. There's always the exception to the rule and CBG's were never considered great acoustic guitars by the masses, but they have their own unique sound due to how they're made and what they're made of. So a look at both styles will help make the best choices with some compromises. ;)
Hi, I base my CBG building on the same methods and consideration that is used for full acoustic guitar building. Although it's not neaded (you will still get a playable CBG guitar) but I get a far better sounding instrument by doing this.
I have found, and can show my customers the results of good materials build methods by playing them a range of cbg's in a range of sizes and timber qualities. The better the build the far better the sound and higher the price.
Talking about tops as soft wood could be a bit misleading to some. Although the timber may come from a "softwood" species of tree, I don't select it for its softness but look at it's stiffness. This is were the grain and thickness of the timber is taken into consideration, as well as the species of softwood, spruce has many.
Bracing may not be needed in some CBG tops, but in others it is, in my view.
What I look for is a top that responds to string action in a way that you not only hear the string that is plucked but it also excites all the other harmonics available from other strings, giving a much fuller, richer sound.
But I also build to try to get get that dry, earthy sound of an old Delta blues guitar, probably the true sound of a CBG.
Cheers Taff
Agree.
When I'm at a guitar shop or pawn shop looking at guitars, I'll pluck the strings with my fingers to hear what they sound like before anything else as they sit on the wall, acoustic or electric. If it doesn't have strings, I'll knock on it with a knuckle. Same with wood to be used on a build, if it doesn't respond well with a knock acoustically, it won't sound good as an instrument. It'll sound dull.
People think that a pickup will will nullify that, but a pickup only magnifies what's already there. Pickups don't magically make a bad guitar sound great, but they can cover up some of the bad.
Agree.
When I'm at a guitar shop or pawn shop looking at guitars, I'll pluck the strings with my fingers to hear what they sound like before anything else as they sit on the wall, acoustic or electric. If it doesn't have strings, I'll knock on it with a knuckle. Same with wood to be used on a build, if it doesn't respond well with a knock acoustically, it won't sound good as an instrument. It'll sound dull.
People think that a pickup will will nullify that, but a pickup only magnifies what's already there. Pickups don't magically make a bad guitar sound great, but they can cover up some of the bad.
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