Twanger's Corner.

[Brian Thompson]

Spot on Colin, another legend lost.....sadly one of so many in recent times.....

Chuck Berry wrote the book on rock 'n' roll licks for guitar, and we are all still playing them. His lyrics were also pretty special when you dig into them a bit deeper...many have commented on their almost poetic form.

Those are the things I will remember him for.....

Brian.

[Brian Thompson]

In addition to the 'Spade' guitar, I'm also accumulating parts for my three string fretless dog bowl resonator cigar box guitar.....

This is where I'm at so far, with the first pic giving an idea of what I'm aiming for.....I think I'm going to cut a pair of 'f-holes' in mine, rather than go for the stainless sink drainer soundhole covers though.....but I am tempted.....

Neck is mahogany, fretboard is black walnut......not decided yet if I'm going to use bolts for the nut and bridge, or a nice bit of bone....if I can prise it from the clutches of the neigbours Jack Russell.....

Brian.

[Brian Thompson]

Being as I'm getting seriously back into slide playing again, I thought I'd better find a home for my old collection and various recent new aquisitions....so I made a box....! Came up quite nice with a bit of walnut wood dye and some satin lacquer, with a rub over with some ultra fine steel wool to finish.

I've been having a lot of fun recently with my new ceramic slides. The 'Delta' stubby ones (see below) are hand made by a new aquaintance/ex pro musician/teacher in Stoke-on-Trent and the glazes he uses are so beautiful, as is the craftsmanship, all thrown on a potters wheel. The blue/grey/white 'swirly' one is made from different coloured clays and is tapered inside for a better fit and straight walled on the outside....so hard to do, and it's perfect. They sound incredible too, with the warmth of a glass slide and the brightness of metal...the best of both worlds really, and they are so tactile and nice to use.

The larger 'Starsinger' ones (red/'ruby', black/'jet' and blue/'lagoon') are also hand made by a guy in Glastonbury, and each one is unique due to the glaze forming it's own pattern when it's fired in the kiln. I think these things are works of art in their own right!

I've collected all sorts over the years, glass, pyrex, brass, stainless, copper, anodised aluminium, chromed steel and now ceramic following a tip from a guy in the cigar box guitar community in the USA. It's amazing how different they all sound, and I have different sizes for different L/H fingers, depending on what I'm playing at the time. Great fun, and nice to get back to the 'roots' of it all....

Brian.

[Colin Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Brian Thompson

In addition to the 'Spade' guitar, I'm also accumulating parts for my three string fretless dog bowl resonator cigar box guitar.....

A nice bit of bone....if I can prise it from the clutches of the neigbours Jack Russell.....

Brian.

Looks a bit like something Seasick Steve might have concocted...

Will the bones of any dog do, or does it have to be a JR?

[Brian Catt]

I didn't know JRs had clutches, are they cable or hydraulic?

[Brian Thompson]

Originally Posted by Colin Sparrow

Looks a bit like something Seasick Steve might have concocted...

Will the bones of any dog do, or does it have to be a JR?

Well Colin.....Brontosaurus is the best stuff (*), but it needs a lot of digging so adapt, improvise and overcome I say....however, I draw the line at Poodle.....

But seriously......

Indeed, Seasick Steve has done a great job popularising these wonderful primitive (but not always...!! see pic 5 below...c'mon, how nice is that!!) instruments in recent years, but there's a rich and fascinating history going back to around 1840, the earliest known traces that have been found.

There are so many variations and types of instrument too, with the the Morris Minor Hubcap Banjo below being a great example, and one of the nicest builds I've seen of this type....and Seasick Steve also plays one of those of course.

I've attached a few other historical pics for interest, with a couple of the earliest lithos depicted by an artist called Edwin Forbes which he drew while recording the American Civil War as an artist/correspondent, dated from around the mid 1860's.

Great fun these things, and with a wonderful tradition and heritage. It's playable folk art.... How about a Greeves Logo'd version in Moorland Blue with some well chosen/adapted bike parts for hardware (control lever bridge maybe....) The sky (and your imagination and ingenuity) are the only limits with these instruments, and best of all the first rule of CBG's is...the are no rules....!!

Bilious Brian.

(*) ......and you can make a fossil record......groan.....

[Colin Sparrow]

Trust you, BT, to come up with something so wonderfully "off the wall". I never realised Seasick Steve's creation had an authentic basis in antiquity. Never stop learning, do we?

Looking forward to hearing how the dog-bowl special turns out.

BC, JRs have automatic clutches - especially when near a lady JR...

[Colin Sparrow]

Whoops! No offence intended.