Making a Cigar Box Guitar Bass

Run through of how I made my Cigar Box Bass Guitar and how it sounds - Special thanks to John for his advice

[@richardtroell6407]

Use tone bars under the resonator (either top or bottom of the cigar box) they control the bow and actually improve the sound but you have to tune them - thicker near the bridge and thinning out to the ends (I prefer the real wood cigar boxes but you need to tap them when you are picking one out some of the newer boxes are acoustically dead and when you tap them its just a thud, a good box will ring a tone when you tap it.)

[@philiphtube]

Thanks for the advice Richard. I will bear that in mind when getting my next boxes.

[@densamme1752]

Great build! about the humming IT sounds as if it is the potentiometer humming as the humming goes away when volym is maxed (ie when the resistor is bypassed) a solution is to install a rotary switch and ad fixed resistors to the different tabs (leave one with out resistor for max volume).

[@roseericson3828]

Hello from the U.S. Sometimes we put a golf club shaft in the neck to stop the bowing. Works great! 1/8 x 1/2 inch steel rod also easy to install. Your guitar sounds great!

[@philiphtube]

Thanks Rose. I might give that a try. I am working on a short scale bass now which should help to reduce the neck bend.

[@darrenchilders820]

Soldering a 500k capacitor to the Jack should take care of that tone issue. There is a video you can watch from Cigar Box Nation.

[@philiphtube]

Hi Darren. Thanks for the advice. Phil

[@kevingesch477]

that you

[@terrytrotter8859]

you need to ground the strings, check out you tube info for wiring up a guitar it explains well the benefits of grounding and shielding, best get rid of the piezo and get some mag pickups, keep it up man good effort ....especially working in yer backyard!!!

[@philiphtube]

HI Terry, thanks for the advice. I ended up grounding the strings through the bridge and that has helped but only when I am touching one of the strings. This was my first CBG build and I am now just about to start by 4th, another bass, and I am going to put a proper mag pick up in it and use a short scale neck as well. All the best, Phil

[@terrytrotter8859]

your onto it, good on yah....

[@squirlmy]

An "acoustic" (even with a piezo pickup) depends of vibration of the lid and whole box, not just the strings. The lid should actually be as thin and big as possible. Which is why the most popular homemade bass is a "washtub bass"; a bass really needs resonance of something washtub-sized, not a puny cigar box (just as classic acoustic basses are big and floor-supported). In a sense, this project was "doomed" because of important differences between how piezo and electromagnetic pickups work. No "hand-held" bass is going to produce a satisfactory sound, but installing a "normal" electric bass pickup and strings will easily solve this problem. (sorry this is a repeat post to a previous response, but I think it might save a lot of makers a lot of frustration)

[@cassvirgillo3395]

Hi, Good job on the CBG Bass. I'm not a huge fan of Piezo because of feed back and their sensitivity. I bought an old Fender Squire Bronco Bass for $60.00 to use in a CBG Bass build. I trust you grounded the Potentiometer. The hum is probably inherent to the Piezo element or some other electrical interference. Be good, C.

[@philiphtube]

Thanks for the feedback Cass and I hope your CBG Bass build goes well. I am now going for Bass #2 and will the results. i was tempted to buy an old bass neck but I want to make mine a short scale and also a through neck so I am going to make one myself again. Phiip

[@TheMaceo900]

Very good man..just little too precise and fancy for my taste. I'm thinkin a plank, pick up, tin and pickup.. then rock out.. thanks for the vid though :)

[@philiphtube]

Hi Wayne. Thanks for the comment. Your plans seem pretty thorough to me. Good luck with it, Phil

[@mlbest7000]

If the noise is 60 Hz hum, then you might try lining the inside of your box with copper shielding tape.

[@philiphtube]

Thanks for the suggestion Mike. I will give that a go on my next attempt.

[@rencov2]

Hello, first of all, congrats!! great build. I´m a bass player and also a CBG lover, and i build a few for me. Can i make you a few questions? What about strings tension? does it bow the neck? did you put a truss rod? Wich scale you use? normal Bass tunnig?. Well i hope this questions doesen´t bother you. Thanks in advance.

[@philiphtube]

Thanks very much for the feedback. I made it to a standard bass scale, 34 inch I believe and it's tuned E,A,D with normal sized strings. The neck does bow bit which makes it hard to get a low action without getting fret buzz. I am thinking of putting a truss rod into my next one to see if that helps or to use carbon strengthening rods. I am just trying to track down a really nice cigar box.

[@philiphtube]

Hi Fernando, sorry for the late reply. Yes, the neck on this bass did bend too much even with only 3 strings. It was too long. I made a much better bass later with a short scale neck and I used carbon fibre reinforcement rods in it. It works great. There is a video on my channel of this bass build.

[@matthew65536]

I have kind of a stupid question, Would it be possible to make a guitar with any cigar box, or does it have to be specially made for it.

[@philiphtube]

Hi Matthew. It's not a stupid question at all. You can make a guitar out of pretty much anything that's a box of sorts. Tin cans, biscuit tins etc. all work. In terms of cigar boxes, you want one that's going to be big enough to hold the bits you want inside. Normally the neck thickness for an acoustic and extra thickness if you are going to fit a pick up. Ideally you want an all wood construction as they are stronger, with less of a tendency to bow under the string pressure. I also think they resonate better giving a better sound. If you have the choice of a few, try tapping them to see which sounds best. Most importantly, you want one that looks cool. Good luck with it. Phil

[@squirlmy]

An electric (with electromagnetic pickups) can use any cigar box. An acoustic (with or without piezo pickup) needs attention to strength. Cardboard boxes often need some reinforcement and a neck-through design. Wooden ones are obviously stronger, but then, thin tops work better as soundboards. Overall size of hollow area inside becomes important, bigger is better and bulky wood inserts are problematic. Sound-holes are needed on the front. The possible bending of the neck over time might be a concern on any handmade stringed instrument, but if it's going to mostly be a decorative or conversational piece, not so much. It's best to experiment with a first build and not count on a daily-playing version til your second or third at least.

[@prodigaltrev]

What scale did you use? 30” I’m trying to find a fret template for 30” scale

[@philiphtube]

Hi Trevor, the scale length on this bass is 34 inches. It's actually too long. I made a much better cigar box bass with a short scale neck. You can download the fret measurements from the StewMac website. Just input what scale length you want and it will tell you the dimensions you need.

[@philiphtube]

The problem with it being too long is that the neck bow was too large and the action too high for my liking. My Mark 2 bass build is a much better bass. I used carbon fibre reinforcement rods in it for added stiffness.

[@henryschaechterle2108]

Thanks for posting this - very useful. I've built about 15 cigar box guitars so far and my son has asked for a cigar box bass and I know nothing about basses. What is your scale length and what type (size) strings are you using? Couple of thoughts for your guitar and your next guitar -- put braces under the bridge by cutting some thin wood strips that sit on both sides of the neck where the bridge is and are glued the bottom of the box and just meet the top of the box(I've used popsicle sticks or tongue depressors), looks like your neck is level and not angled this will help with playing and setting action its very easy to do, lastly try something like a mini-humbiucker for a true electric sound and output. Email me if you have a question.

[@philiphtube]

Hi Henry, thanks for the comment. This bass is a standard 34 inch scale length using the standard gauge strings, 105,85,65. Although the neck is in pretty good shape, there is quite a lot of bend on it due to the sheer length of it and this makes it hard to get the action down to how I like it without all the usual fret buzz problems. it also puts a lot of pressure on the bridge and bows the box lid. I am going to make another bass now and I am probably going to make it a short scale length bass. My daughter is learning bass on a 3/4 scale bass guitar and this has a scale length of about 28 and 3/4 inches. Not only does this make the neck shorter and hence, less likely to bend, but the string tensions are lower in order to get the same EADG tuning. The other option I guess is to fit carbon neck strengthening rods or even a full truss rod. However, I'm not sure that goes with the whole CGB guitar vibe. I am also going to fit a magnetic pick up as the piezo does not sound that great. Thanks for the advice on strengthening the box lid.

[@henryschaechterle2108]

philiphtube Thanks for the scale info I will look at that. Do consider adding some neck angle to your next build as its easy and helps with playability and setting the action. Your current bass has a straight thru level neck where both the front and the back (by the tail) are cut to the same depth - thus the neck is level. Consider cutting the back of the box (by the tail) about 6mm less deep - this will put the neck at about 2deg downward slope going to the headstock. Most modern guitars and basses have some amount of neck tilt for the reasons I listed. Best of luck going forward.

[@philiphtube]

Thanks Henry. I am definitely going to incorporate some neck angle into the next guitar.

[@wyldeman]

Fret layout? Where can I get it at? What is the nut to bridge layout? Looks and sou ds great

[@philiphtube]

Hi there, for the fret positions, you can use the free fret calculator that's available on the Stew Mac website. All you need is the scale length ie. nut to bridge distance (34 inches in my case) and then it will calculate all the fret positions. Fret positions and bridge location should be measured from the nut. Be sure when you measure from the nut that you measure from the place where the strings touch the nut for accuracy. This will be different if you use a bone nut like I did or if you use a bolt like a lot of people do. I really recommend making a full scale drawing of the guitar before starting to make it. It helps to see problem before you have cut materials up. Old wallpaper rolls work perfectly. I made a 2nd, much better, cigar box bass after this one and you can see the video of this at the link below. It talks about the problems with this build and how I changed the design for the new build. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions. I'm always happy to help out if I can. Philip kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2Swq36JbbNmp9k

[@philiphtube]

Hi Wyldeman, sorry for the late reply. You can get fret dimension info from the StewMac website. Just enter the scale length you want and it will give you the info you need. Philip

[@davidanderson4414]

With regard to the box top bowing why not glue a timber brace on inside of lid to stiffen it?

[@philiphtube]

Hi David. That's a good idea. I have given up on this bass now as I have nearly finished constructing a new Cigar Box Bass. This one has a nice wooden box with a strong lid but I am doing all 4 strings so there may be bowing issues. There will be a new vid in due course.

[@squirlmy]

with an electromagnetic pickup, this makes perfect sense. An "acoustic" (even with a piezo pickup) depends of vibration of the lid and whole box, not just the strings. Any bracing on the lid will muffle the sound. The lid should actually be as thin and big as possible. Which is why the most popular homemade bass is a "washtub bass"; a bass really needs resonance of something washtub-sized, not a puny cigar box. In a sense, this project was "doomed" because of important differences between how piezo and electromagnetic pickups work. No handheld bass is going to produce a satisfactory sound, but installing a "normal" electric bass pickup would completely solve this problem.

[@1bobvideo]

I've been looking for a video on making a base cbg. You're right when you say there aren't many videos. I was almost certain there would have to be a truss rod for a bass and I'm guessing you would now agree on that. As far as your sensitivity problem with the piezo...if you can find rod piezos, they sound so much better than disc piezos, and there is little to no noise coming from touching the box or sliding on strings. I haven't used a disc piezo again since I tried a rod style. Anyway, nice looking guitar! if you look for Angry Rooster cigar box guitars, you might find a couple videos with a couple of my builds. Happy building!!!

[@philiphtube]

Thanks 1bob. I will try out a rod piezo next time. When I do it again, I may well use a truss rod or a couple of those neck strengthening carbon rods. The only problem will be space in the neck. Also, I would probably make it a shorter scale. My daughter has a 3/4 scale bass and that has a much shorter neck. This means that the strings are under less tension and so neck bending will be less of an issue.

[@1bobvideo]

philiphtube I watched another video right after watching yours. A guy made 3 bass cbgs. one with a 34" scale and one with a short scale...I believe scale from a standard guitar. the shorter scale definitely had more sound and actually sounded pretty good. he also had trouble with fret buzz so I'm guessing he had no truss rods either. I've never used one but I thought about appoxying a thin steel bar...maybe 3/8" wide or 1/2". Maybe that would be enough to keep the neck straight.

[@philiphtube]

Interesting. I will try to find this video. I think a carbon fibre bar will be stiffer and lighter than a steel rod but hey, give it a go and see if it works. I will definitely go for a shorter scale bass next time.

[@1bobvideo]

philiphtube "Jimbo's cigar box bass"

[@philiphtube]

Thanks Bob. Useful vid.

[@waden404]

Its beautiful.

[@philiphtube]

Thanks Wade. Very nice of you to say so. Check out my Mark 2 Cigar Box Bass at the link below. It's a much better instrument. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2Swq36JbbNmp9k

[@philiphtube]

Thanks Wade. Philip