Cigar Box Guitar - Setting the action at the nut

This is the way I make guitars...so it doesn't mean it's Gospel, it's just my approach. In this video I explain about the action (the height of the strings above the fingerboard), particularly at the nut (ie the bit that the strings pass over at the top of the guitar). I like to play with a slide AND my bare fingers, so I can do chords, bass runs, harmonies and solos..whether the guitar is fretted or fretless, so having a reasonably low action facilitates this.

I was prompted to do this video after looking at a guitar by another maker earlier in the week - it was fretted, but had VERY high action at the nut, around 8mm, as he'd used a 10mm diam. brass bolt as a nut. This meant it was pretty much impossible to get the strings down to the frets, which was a shame as he'd gone to the trouble to put frets on it. It made me realise that many cigar box guitar builders don't truly understand the potential of the instrument, neither do they appreciate the subtleties of playing slide guitar. This is a difficult area, as you don't need to be an expert player to make a good guitar -a great example is Leo Fender...he was no sort of player at all). However, because playing open tuned slide is such a specialist field compared to ordinary guitar, and cigar box guitar is an even more niche subject, a sound understanding of playing technique and guitar set-up can be real bonus to help you make a better guitar.

Having the action a little higher than a 'normal' guitar can make slide playing a bit easier..but that means only 1 or 2mm higher than normal. If you set the action really high, then you'll only be able to play slide...but with a lower action there's a whole world of other sounds and playing techniques available to you...irrespective of whether your guitar is fretted or fretless. Once you can start using the slide AND the fingers of your left hand there's a much wider range of expression available, and lots of possibilities for a player to be able to expand their technique. The cigar box guitar has the potential to be made and set-up to open up these possibilities, rather than inhibit them.

This is something I've come to gradually. When I first started making cigar box guitars they were fretless, and had pretty high action. I started going to players' workshops with some great slide players, and I learned that there's a lot more to playing slide than just sliding. Kevin Brown opened my eyes to the whole combination of slide, fretted, partial chord and bass accompaniment played on the 6 string guitar...and I've developed my own approach to playing 3 string cigar box guitar. Kevin influenced me a huge amount..his tone and phrasing is fantastic, but I also have to thank guitarists such as Bryn Haworth, Catfish Keith, Steve James and Jim Crawford for their inspiration and guidance. Their influences on my playing style have affected the way I like to make and set-up my guitars. I really believe that the possibilities and range of the cigar box guitar can be significantly extended by having it set-up to make both slide and bare finger playing easy and comfortable..and the key to this is a properly installed nut, which I talk about in the video. Watch out for more handy hints in the near future!
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Видео Cigar Box Guitar - Setting the action at the nut канала ChickenboneJohn