Black Jack CBGs

Here are the Jack of Diamonds and the Ace of Spades cigar box guitars. They will be the give-away guitars for the Sept 13 show at the Cave in Chapel Hill and the Sept 28 Carrboro Music Fest.

These cigar box guitars are half spike lutes - similar in general design to many African lutes, including those played by the Griot. The neck runs part of the way through the body with the bridge (to which the string is anchored) mounted to neck carry-through. The consequence is that the neck takes all the string stress and transmits the string vibration into the body which functions as a resonator.

On the Jack and Ace cigar box guitars, the bridge is actually zither pin used to tune the string.

One consequence of having the neck transmit the vibration is that everything that happens along the neck gets amplified. That means handling noise can be a problem... but it has a good side too.

When played with a slide, not only the part of the string you pluck sounds, but the string on the other side of the slide also vibrates and is picked up an amplified. This can sound really out of tune... but if you play (5-limit) just intoned notes, the "back notes" just happen to also be harmonious just intoned notes... so you get two note harmony using only one string. Very cool.

Fingerlakes CBG Fest

CBG Fest, Canandaigua NY, Oct 3-4, 2008. Be there!

Best Thing in the World

What's the best thing in the world? Maybe it's just when you make a kid's day. Check out this email I got from Sam in Wichita:

Doc,

Thanks to our conversation about weedwacker basses, I got inspired to build a single string weedwacker Diddley Bow for my 3 year old granddaughter. I used a 1"x1" red oak stick, a "Stafford" tin (Pin and Pencil set can in it) and on old guitar tuner. I used the How to Make a Diddley Bow plans on your website, which are the best to be found on the web.

Thanks for helping me make a little girl real happy. (Better than all the high dollar things she got for Christmas!!!)

Keep on with the revolution....Hope to meet you in Huntsville.

the best,

Sam in Wichita, Kansas

(I'm thinking about making another, except with a piezo pickup and watch the looks at the next Sunday evening Gospel/BlueGrass jam.....)

Here's a picture of the diddley bow Sam built for his granddaughter

Yeah, it's just great when you make kid's day!