The String Section

From right to left:
- Kala Solid Swamp Ash California Ubass
- Fender Acoustic Electric Dreadnaught Guitar
- Cigar Box Electric Guitar built by Milton Cable
- 4-string Kodacaster Duo Humbucker Canjo*
- Gibson SG Special Bass
- Fender Telecaster Custom Guitar
- 4 string Utah License Plate Electric Guitar*
- '64 Fender DuoSonic Guitar
- 3-string Kodacaster 4 Electric Canjo *

In Front:
- Kala Concert Ukulele

*instrument built by me

Canjo Gig Bag

 

A few weeks ago I was visiting the Acoustic Corner Music Shop in Black Mountain, NC. They are always worth a visit when Anita Gayle and I make the 15-minute drive from Asheville to shop in Black Mountain, which is a wonderful place, BTW.

This particular day I was looking for a new brass slide to use with my cigar box guitars. As always, Acoustic Corner had a few nice ones to choose from so I picked one up to take with me. On my way to the cash register I noticed a blue banjo gig bag hanging on the wall so I went over to check it out.

One of the interesting things about cigar box guitars is that, by nature, they are "non-standard", which is part of their charm as hand-made, rather rustic instruments. Because of this fact, I have been looking for a gig bag that would fit and protect my funky stringed creations that wouldn't have to be custom made and therefore, expensive.

Well, as my fortune would have it on this particular day, I had my three-string Kodakaster 4 Film Canjo in our Big Red Jeep in the parking lot so I went out, got it and brought it in to the shop. To my happy surprise, it fit perfectly, even where the neck sticks out of the bottom of the film can. So, I snapped that baby up faster than a bee-stung stallion and took it home.

Not only does it protect my canjo, it's well-made with a luggage-grade nylon exterior, soft no-scratch interior lining, has a number of roomy zippered pockets on the front, a water bottle holder, and removable back pack straps for hand's free carrying. It's a Boulder Alpine Series Deluxe Banjo Gig Bag. You can find them online from various suppliers, but if you're anywhere around Western North Carolina, I'd head on over to the Acoustic Corner in Black Mountain. They've got a great selection of most kinds of stringed instruments (except cigar box guitars or canjos) and the folks working there are nicer than your grandma with a glass of ice tea.

Sho' nuff!

Kodakaster 4 - Sapele Gold

I saw this 35mm bulk film can for sale on eBay a few weeks ago and had the thought that the gold color might be a nice color contrast with Flatpup humbucker that I wanted to try with my next canjo build. So, I went online and bought the gold can (the buy now option), and the hand-wound copper wire humbucker made and sold online by Elmar Zeilhofer in Vienna, Austria.

The film can arrived here first and, since I already had stained and polished the dark red, mohogony-like sapele wood neck from C. B. Gitty, I began assembling my next Kodakaster 3-string electric slide canjo, my fourth attempt since I began building them 6 months ago.

The humbucker arrived here in Asheville from Austria a few days ago and the first thing I did was glue it into place on the top of the film can under where the strings would be strung above it. The glue took about 72 hours to cure and since we have been having thunder showers almost without stop for about three weeks, I figured I'd better give the glue a few extra days to harden because of the unusually high humidity we are experiencing in the Blue Ridge Mountains this summer.

This morning, I wired the pup to the electronics, installed the strings, plugged it in and fired up my newest Kodakaster through my little Fender Rumble 15 bass practice amp. It really sounds great with a more full-frequency spectrum from the humbucker than from the other piezo pickups that I used for two of my first three Kodakasters. It amplifies the slide chords without any hum or feedback and has a very clean, bluesy tone.

And, I think my Kodakaster 4 looks pretty cool, too.

Live and learn, eh? Onward!