Getting the action right on fretless cigar box guitars

[@tunnel7]

Thanks John I will now have a go at building a fretless not one in my collection yet.

[@Liesl_Cigarboxguitar]

Go for it my friend....fretless CBGs are so rewarding 🙂👍

[@jamesbarr1521]

This is a massive help with improving my self build. Thankyou.

[@ChickenboneJohn]

Thanks for letting us know.

[@whatthepluck4126]

So informative thank you 🙏

[@Liesl_Cigarboxguitar]

Thanks for the information Chicken Bone John. I have been struggling with getting the action right with these 🙂

[@mghenry7540]

curious on how you made the fret lines for this guitar

[@johnallenrichter]

Thanks for the tips. I'm new to CBG. May I ask you a question? I. I finished my first fretless guitar 2 weeks ago. The action is over 1/2 inch because I didn't think it mattered for a slide guitar. But the slide sounds like crap. Is the slide supposed to press the string down onto the fretboard? Others have told me to just press the slide slightly on top of the strings. That's why I thought the action width didnt matter.

[@ChickenboneJohn]

The slide only rides on the string, with enough pressure to stop it rattling. Playing a guitar with a slide, is in my opinion much more than playing ONLY with the slide (unless you are playing lap steel/Hawaiian style), which is why I always have the action on fretless guitars quite low, 2-3mm at the 12 fret position, less at the nut.

[@johnallenrichter]

@@ChickenboneJohn I'll try that.Thank you. I might even install frets too.

[@shadowminister4090]

With a high action, if you push hard, your notes will be sharp. I have an acoustic guitar with a high action, and it's dreadful.

[@MichaelBall-uu5lg]

Does it really make that much difference if it’s a couple of mill higher

[@ChickenboneJohn]

A couple of mm is a lot if you are aiming at low action.

[@betterlivingwithbitcoin]

Could one just not add metal frets to slotted board on kits and still get same results

[@ChickenboneJohn]

Adding metal frets would make it a fretted guitar, not fretless! Sorting the action out applies just the same, but fretted guitars are much more difficult to get to play with a very low action and free from buzzes and rattles.