The Improvised Instruments Thread (Cigar Box, etc.)

[JamesM]

First, go to any smoke shop or liquor store. They practically give them away.

Second, I just winged it. Following a guide really ruins the spirit of the whole thing.

 

[Lucas_061287]

Damn, I kind of want to make an improv violin all of a sudden.

 

[All_¥our_Bass]

I've actually got a semi-working PVC guitar prototype.
I it's 30" long with 28" scale length, big quick-ties as frets they are moveable but stay in place pretty well. At the moment it has three strings and has about 12 or 15ish frets spaced for 19EDO.

I'm gonna have to redesign the setup with the tuners though since the strings are getting snagged on the PVC on the way to the tuners and as a result tuning is difficult.

Luckily the initial PVC pipe was 10 feet (3 meters and some change) long.
So I can use it as a guinea pig for how the tuners are setup.

I knew the first one probably wouldn't work 100% in the beginning so I'm not disappointed. I'll post pics when I can.

It was inspired by this btw:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/st...-22-glowing-optic-fibre-frets-per-octave.html

 

[Stealth7]

First, go to any smoke shop or liquor store. They practically give them away.

Second, I just winged it. Following a guide really ruins the spirit of the whole thing.

I completely forgot about my post in this thread! Thanks for the advice I'll get around to doing it one day.

 

[espman]

Here's my afternoon project in all its shittyness

 

[RickSchneider]

Hahha cannot help but remember the video my mate showed me awhile back, so brillianthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YtusvyquBU&feature=player_embedded

 

[Forrest_H]

Had a terrible day this friday, so I decided to vent into something constructive and make this.

It's fun to play, and it's fretless, because I'm lazy

 

[Gregori]

Ok, so I just found this thread and figured I would post the cookie-tin banjo and cigarbox guitar that started me down my path of instrument building.

Cookie-tin banjo:

3-piece red oak neck
Jumbo fretwire
Biscuit tin from a thrift store
Some 1st battalion plate things I found in the garage

Cigarbox guitar

Maple neck
Cigar box
2 99cent piezo pickup "buzzers" from Radioshack
Faux frets from a wood burning tool
Box corners from Lowes

These are great ways to get your feet wet. Being able to improvise is a great skill to have.

 

[bloodrunk666]

The Buckuitar - When a bucket and strings unite - Guitar/Banjo/Bucket hybrid - YouTube

That's my Buckuitar - A guitar/banjo/bucket hybrid that i built a couple of years ago and pretty much improvised as I went along.

Its neck is Tassie blackwood with a maple fretboard and a rosewood nut.

 

[Mattmc74]

The Buckuitar - When a bucket and strings unite - Guitar/Banjo/Bucket hybrid - YouTube

That's my Buckuitar - A guitar/banjo/bucket hybrid that i built a couple of years ago and pretty much improvised as I went along.

Its neck is Tassie blackwood with a maple fretboard and a rosewood nut.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing the clip.

 

[vansinn]

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/lu...-7-4-string-custom-build-video-pix-bacon.html most certainly deserves to be listed in here

 

[BaconBeardman]

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/lu...-7-4-string-custom-build-video-pix-bacon.html most certainly deserves to be listed in here

thanks!

 

[crg123]

Here's my cigar box guitar I built a few years ago. It was fretless and high action so I could use it as an electric slide guitar. Maybe from scrap tuners, stained poplar neck, cigar box, home made piezo pickup and improved nut and bridge haha.

Cigar Box Guitar - a set on Flickr

I always love the way the back of the neck came out.

 

[STGuitarworks]

Here's one I built (in 7 days) a few years ago!! Now, with the upgraded work space + the CNC, these Lunch Box Ukuleles should take about a day to fabricate!

Cheers!!

Sean

STGuitarworks - Lunch Box Ukulele

 

[MBrian0000]

Build from years ago, when i was much younger. Maybe not quite up to par with some of the builds in this thread, but it still plays great after all these years. Piezo pickup, and it's got a great twangy, delta-bluesy sound.