Guitars and Short Vindication



Antique Cigar Box Guitar

The guitar that we are modeling ours on.

Some of the first 'merican guitars, Cigar Box Guitars have a simplistic beauty to them. Over the summer, I plan on making either one of these beauties, or if I get more inspiration and ideas on how to go about it, an acoustic guitar. I've been doing some research and have found the costs and types of materials along with the construction techniques of the trade.

A Cigar Box Guitar is really just a cigar box with a stick on it with some strings.

A Cigar Box

 The box itself isn't difficult to make and the box can in fact be replicated. The fret board and neck itself constitute the most difficult parts of the guitar to build. The scale length of most guitars is 25.5 inches.

Just a Fender electric. The scale distance is measured bridge to nut.

The formula of how to place the frets is simple. You take the scale length and divide it by the inverse of the twelfth root of two. that is only for the first fret. The next fret is the amount of length left two the inverse of the twelfth root of two. This continues until you get to about 22 or 24 frets. The twelfth fret will be half of the total scale distance. Each fret is a piece of metal wedged into the wood with a saw, a hammer and some glue. Each fret brings up the pitch a half step and essentially is the difficulty of playing guitar.

The reason that I am wanting to build this is a sense that I need vindication. I need vindication that what I can do is worthwhile like the machinist in my class, the spiritual giant at church or the bassist that has had gigs since he was 14. I feel like there is this hyped up sensitivity that that I am experiencing from my own mind. I want to make something, no matter how small or large.

I want to do something that is admired and impressive. I want something to my name, so I thought why not now. Mid-Life crisis is hitting early for me I guess, but at least I'm not bald.