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November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Been kinda quiet around here for awhile. Well, here's a contribution for eccentricity, in true BFLG spirit. SWMBO opined, "It looks like a scarecrow. It has eyes, a big nose and cheeks."
So be it. It is christened.
It has been an adventure. I was going to call it "Humidor", as it probably is a cigar-box instrument on steroids.
The design and fabrication were challenging. The intonation is pretty close, given the realities of cone placement. 15 frets to the body. 1/8" at 12th-fret on low-E, 3/32" on the high-e. Ernie Ball Earthwood Medium-lights (.012-.054). Bone nut & Red Oak saddle.
I may do a bit more decoration, but functionally it is launched!
As Rod Serling said, "Submitted for your approval......". It certainly is in the Twilight Zone.
Edited by seesquare 2022-09-04 1:09 PM
 (full frontal 4- small.jpg)
 (finished body 1- small.jpg)
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 (Humidor plan- small.jpg)
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 full frontal 4- small.jpg (93KB - 0 downloads)
finished body 1- small.jpg (95KB - 0 downloads)
logo 2- small.jpg (97KB - 0 downloads)
Humidor plan- small.jpg (82KB - 0 downloads)
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December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | I like it!
Another shiny example of craftsmanship! |
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November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Thanks for the approbation, Michael! I have some construction photos with the process documented, in case anyone is curious. |
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February 2016
Posts: 1802
Location: When?? | So this is where you've been hiding out quiet in the shadows.
Always a treat to see your endeavoring exploits.
@seesquare >>>in case anyone is curious.<<<
Heck yes we're curious! Enamored, actually. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Okay, so here's a few photos. I spared every expense, obviously!
 (Humidor parts- small.jpg)
 (Support ring in box- small.jpg)
 (side view plan- small.jpg)
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Humidor parts- small.jpg (98KB - 0 downloads)
Support ring in box- small.jpg (87KB - 0 downloads)
side view plan- small.jpg (76KB - 0 downloads)
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February 2016
Posts: 1802
Location: When?? | Was the original guitar with the sinister clown headstock a specimen from which you garnered the body parts, or was that just a neck donor? Meaning.. it wouldn't surprise us if you already had all the other parts in your daily stash. What type of top wood do you use for such a configuration? I've never delved much into the physics of how a resonator gets its vibe and thrust, so I can only guess that it can be quite a calculated match (or not). The top photo reminds me of my OFC avatar with your shadow next to the guitar. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Bought all the parts- resonator kit, shaped neck, tuners, fretboard. This was not a reclamation of other instruments. The body is 1/8" birch plywood. Essentially, the resonator design is just a loudspeaker. So, the cone sits flat on the support ring & the spider bridge sits flat on the cone. The body is the reverberation chamber. There is an adjustment of tension & pressure between the bridge & cone to adjust the quality of the resonance. Getting the break angle correctly from the tailpiece to the saddle is pretty important also, to keep pressure on the saddle& bridge. |
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July 2005
Posts: 3410
Location: GA USA | That's nice looking. A lot of CBG's are 3-strings, right? I've made a couple, and been to the GA Cigar Box Guitar Festival before. All those performers also use a lot of foot operated percussion for a one man band sort of effect. |
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November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Por moi, pat-head-rub-stomach routine. Not my forte, must be missing a few genes somewhere. |
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December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | that's cool I like it |
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February 2016
Posts: 1802
Location: When?? | @seesquare - >>> must be missing a few genes somewhere.<<<
Here comes LOF to yack up another story-- genetics.
I used to run video comps for a guy who traveled the world and went deep.. like way deep.. into who knows where. Everywhere. On foot. Some of the stuff I saw on his tapes just blew the mind (a huge mud waterfall was my favorite). So they come across some ooga-booga people in some jungle somewhere, and there is a loin cloth kind of guy with a "guitar" looking instrument. Apparently he made it from a chunk of tree with strings made from the hide of some animal.. and he gets to twanging away on this thing like he'd owned it for years. Something to see and hear. My client, Jim (the late Jim.. great guy) says, "i would have offered to buy it from him, but he didn't need the money." Anyway.. it's fun to ponder that it's not just us. There definitely are those in the way-deep who dig it, too. Oh, the spirit of it all. |
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November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | All it takes is "opposable thumbs", right? |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Update: Just watched the Rosa String Works video on resonator buzzing & remediation. I feel confident Scarecrow is a better engineered & constructed instrument than a Fender. Jus' sayin'.........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxcTNdoKyRo |
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February 2016
Posts: 1802
Location: When?? | @seesquare - >>>Scarecrow is a better engineered & constructed instrument than a Fender<<<
Oh, my, yes. Character if anything else. Maybe measure that by how an audience would be checking out Scarecrow vs. the Fender in the video. I see in the video that there can be quite a balancing act to achieving the ultimate tighten and lock-down positions on it all. Have you been playing it much? How's the tone balance? |
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February 2016
Posts: 1802
Location: When?? | And..
I see in your photo that your spider has some extra wire-looking strands coming off its bridge/saddle ring with the tips touching on the cone. I didn't see those on the one in the video. Are the tips hard-connected to the cone to make it all one piece, or just resting on it to where the cone and spider can be separated? Another difference I see is that Scarecrow's mounting ring sits flat on the inner back (essentially the same thickness as the body), but the one on the Fender is suspended from the top with the cone's bottom, I assume, hanging in mid air inside the body (or did it sit deep enough to touch the back?). Is the thickness of the wood ring relative to the performance? Meaning, what would happen if there was no ring.. but instead having the whole assembly simply resting on and screwed to the top wood (properly braced, of course). Sorry to ask so many questions, but I continue to learn about it. Never owned one. But now it somehow seems I must acquire. Call it RAS, I guess. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | I believe the resonance is better controlled with the suspension ring in contact with both the top & bottom of the body. It also enhances the structural integrity of the body, keeping everything in alignment. True, suspending the cone on the soundboard might get more vibration from the top. The cone & cover plate are completely separate. the cone is free-floating & not secured like the Fender. I'm sure the depth of the body would influence the magnitude & volume of the sound- kinda like a deep bowl versus a shallow bowl. I may eventually put a pickup into Scarecrow, but it's not really necessary for my playing, at present. It is being played in rotation with all my other critters. Got 4 on the wall, at present. Curiosity is admirable; you aren't a cat! |
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March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | I love it! I too have entered the world of CBG's. Going to try a reso version next. https://photos.app.goo.gl/TwHpxBLzRCYRQ5Nd9 |
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November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Pretty impressive, Mr. Lester! Just curious, what is the scale on that critter? Looks really long. And, what kind of pickup did you install? |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Pretty impressive, Mr. Lester! Just curious, what is the scale on that critter? Looks really long. And, what kind of pickup did you install?
Another thought & inquiry, what did you use for the neck & are there any fretwires?
Edited by seesquare 2023-02-03 9:31 AM
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Thanks, I'm pretty pleased with it I must say. Yes, the scale is long (27" !!). It used to be a mini 2-string bass, with inlaid fret dots and didn't want them to be wrong for the scale! Coincidentally, I bought a set of baritone strings by mistake which worked out well. The neck is a length of 1.5" square oak from the DIY store. It's fretless, and set up for slide playing but a lower nut and bridge, plus some frets would be a no-brainer. I gifted it to a friend who also has luthier tendencies, so he may fret-ify it. It's a bit quiet acoustically but sounds a-MAZ-ing through an amp, though I say so myself. I think a combination of hollow body, long scale and the neck pickup give it the sound. The pickup is a generic strato- type. |
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February 2016
Posts: 1802
Location: When?? | I swear, it was less than three hours ago.. my wife and I drove up to the lake for a picnic breakfast when I was gathering some wood to build a fire and came across a piece of fallen tree limb that was so incredibly straight you cold use it for something precise at NASA.. about 4' long and 3" diameter. I brought it back to our spot and said to her, "I know guys who could make a guitar neck out of this" (then I set it on fire). So we eat and come back home and I sign online to find.. this. Coincidental timing, I'd say.. but the fact is, y'all never cease to amaze me with your one-off inventions... with this one certainly being no exception. Nice one, Sycamore, and congratulations on the success of your brain and hands!!
Edited by Love O Fair 2023-02-03 4:13 PM
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November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Yeah, I'm sure there were a lot of possible maple necks warming Stradivari's shop. |
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March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Sorry, I seem to have hijacked this thread!
Back to you, Seesquare |
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November 2002
Posts: 3611
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | It's okay. These discussions are allowed to go into left field. We are all enthusiastic & conjectural. That's the attraction. |
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March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | OK who'll be first to build an O-themed CBG? |
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Scarecrow (not Ovation)
