What Inspires My CBG Builds?

What inspired me to start trying to cobble together these kinds of instruments? Simple...

Sometimes you (I) just go sorting through your guitar parts bin from years of playing and working on guitars, and you end up finding all these extra parts. Then you think to yourself how much of a shame it is they aren't being used. Well, that's not happening here anymore. I dug up several bridges, pickups, guitar necks pulled from thrift-store buys and random bits and pieces, stumbled upon some real wood cigar boxes and some scrap lumber, and decided to challenge myself. In the spirit of our forefathers, I grabbed a bunch of hand tools and started working. I began to make several of these at once, and they all had their own character. Some were very basic, while others are fancier. Some were straight-to-the-point, while others had more versatility and unique features one normally doesn't find on a CBG.

What sets these apart from what most people build out of cigar boxes is that for one, these are fully-functioning 6-string instruments and not just a three or four string. So it's not a "guitar-like" instrument, it's a GUITAR. You can play it like a standard guitar, or tune it to an open tuning and whip out your bottleneck slide and go to town. Next, aside from a few special cases, mine come with real electric guitar pickups and a Piezo disc installed under the top (not just a simple Piezo like a lot of folks do). I usually make these so that each pickup has its own volume control, and all can be blended independently. Just plug into your pedalboard and/or amp, no different than your store-bought guitar. No learning curve except for figuring out what settings you want to use with the passive Piezo, which gets those old school, low-fi, raunchy sounds people associate with this kind of instrument when ran into your guitar rig---or run it through an acoustic simulator for something less raw-sounding, even "pleasant". Be careful, though, the Piezos can bark and howl at ya' if you run them through your fuzz or overdrive pedals! 

Another thing you'll see I do differently than a lot of the fellow 6-string CBG builders in most of my builds is that I also try to make sure and install the neck fully clear of the body so you can reach all the frets. Most cigar box guitars you find have seven or eight frets inset at the neck joint that are completely unreachable and utterly useless, but I wanted to be able to utilize the entire neck. These might even have better fret access than your regular electric (unless you're playing an SG or another guitar with full-fretboard access). This is a definite advantage whether you're fretting OR using a slide.

As with any authentic cigar box guitar, remember that they're not perfect. They are glorified "upcycling" at its best. Frankenstein's monsters built in a garage. They have character, natural wear and tear just from the existing parts that were fused together, and like with any instrument, you may want to do a little setup work on yours to make it play more to your liking--although I have heard nothing but praise about the playability of my creations, some even saying theirs plays as well as or better than their off-the-shelf/factory-built guitars. These aren't examples of "fine luthiery", they're home built, roots rock, Americana, Blues machines for somebody who wants something a little bit different in their collection, or to get noticed onstage. And trust me when I say that PEOPLE NOTICE. I've played one of my more fancy and "out there" builds live a few times and they are definitely a conversation starter with other guitarists and audience members shocked at how good these little boxes with a neck on them actually sound. And even if you're not gigging, at the very least, I find playing these to be quite inspiring. Something about the Piezo's plunky, unrefined sound of these along with the versatility of a regular electric guitar definitely makes you play differently, and gives you a lot of ideas. Anyhow, if you have any questions please ask, I'd love to see more of my builds go to good homes, where they will inspire someone to, if you'll forgive the pun, think outside the 'box'.

Go ahead and take a look at other builders on Etsy and beyond, and see what comparable (or not-so-comparable) instruments are selling for, and you'll see the occasional nicely-built model or two, but you'll see a LOT of rough-looking, thrown-together basic CBG's offering less versatility (and less PLAYABILITY) costing as much as or much, MUCH more than what I'm charging. Head on over to my Facebook page (facebook.com/LaneCBGs) to see what's currently available, and feel free to message me through the page or directly at LaneCBGs@gmail.com to get a quote on one that fits your needs. Thanks for looking.