Haüfcut Instruments : March 2013

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Some Blues On A 3 String CBG

Seasick Steve Tuning GgB - mrjonthehat

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Coca-Cola Dulcimer Canjo

With Diatonic Fretting - Tuned DAdd - Piezo Pick-up - All Mahogany Neck & Fingerboard

Monday, 18 March 2013

Coca Cola Canjo: Electro-acoustic Tenor Canjo

Electro-acoustic, Tenor, Coca Cola Canjo

Tenor, Electro-acoustic Canjo, using a Coca Cola Can as a resonator.

24 brass frets, abalone dots, mahogany neck & separate fretboard

Key bridge, brass nut, 2 brass tuners, 2 chrome, piezo pick up, mono jack.

Leave a message for price and further details. (Also at 'haufcut instruments' on facebook)

Here's How It Sounds, Tuned GDAE- (Sorry about the singing !!!)

Thursday, 14 March 2013

Star Player #1

Nicolette (AKA 'Honey Grain') from Colonel Mustard & The Dijon5

with her HAUFCUT Electro-acoustic Ukulele

Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 on Facebook

Tuesday, 12 March 2013

New 4-String, Electric CBG, With Bolt Lock Bridge

NEW 4-String, Electro-acoustic CBG, With Bolt Lock Bridge

Completed today, This CBG is made from a Montecristo Box, with an American white oak neck, mahogany fingerboard, white marker dots, 24 steel frets, 4 chrome tuners, bone nut, brass bolt lock bridge and 11 brass sound hole grommets. It is tuned GDgB using the middle 4 strings from a Martin acoustic Set. I've fitted a piezo transducer pick up and a standard, mono jack socket.

Here's a video of me trying it out.

Apologies for the singing and playing!

TO BUY THIS GUITAR

(at non-gallery-commission price)

Leave me a message, here or on the facebook page, or e-mail mrjonthehat@yahoo.com before March 21st 2013. CHEERS !

**DISCOUNT RATES FOR GIGGING MUSICIANS IN RETURN FOR AN ENDORSEMENT!!**

Monday, 11 March 2013

Electric Resonator CBG

Resonating metal plates attached to the sound holes of a CBG can give it a very bluesy sound, (like a dobro). Tin plates, perforated brass sheets, mesh, metal pot lids, shower and sink drain covers...all are worth experimenting with. The position of the resonator(s) is up to you. Try positioning the bridge on one, and see how it sounds.

Here is a video of my favourite Electric Resonator CBG

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Playing a CBG - Instructional Videos

Playing A Cigar Box Guitar

Instructional Videos: The Basics

Playing a Cigar Box Guitar is NOT difficult. There are only 3 or 4 strings to begin with, and THERE ARE NO RULES! - There are various tunings you can use, and you can pick, strum, or use a slide...

...but you probably want to sound cool, learn some chords, tricks and techniques, and improve your playing style...I know that I do! So how do you learn Cigar Box Guitar?

Shane Speal's Playlist Is A Great Place To Start,
There Are 28 Videos In This Series...Give Them A Look.

More 4 String Tuning Suggestions

Try These 4 String Tunings

**Depending on what strings you have available (low to high)

DAdd (Key of D)

DGdd (Key of G)

EAaa (Key of A)

DAaa (Key of D)

DGaa (Key of G)

DAcc (Key of Dm)

CGgg (Key of C)

CFcc (Key of F)

EAgg (Key of Am)

The paired string tunings are great for slide playing.

Friday, 8 March 2013

To Buy a Haufcut Instrument

For A Bespoke Instrument, Made To Your Specifications, e-mail : mrjonthehat@yahoo Or Message The Facebook Page.

click here for haufcut on facebook

For An 'Off The Peg' Instrument, That You've Seen Here And Liked, Leave A Message In The Box Below...

Thursday, 7 March 2013

Electric Cigar Box Bouzouki

Featuring a set of mandolin tuners (4 per block), 8 strings and bolts for btidge and nut.

Tuned in pairs GGDDAAEE (low to high)

Video to follow

Electro-Acoustic Cigar Box Ukuleles

Just like a CBG, but with Ukulele Fretboard, either stopping at the box, or overlapping in a recess.

I have piezo pickups in all the ukes i make. Steel or nylon strings.

I tune tenor tuning, because I like it, and am used to playing the mandolin. (GDAE low to high).
More conventional tunings are gCEA and aDF#B (which sounds brighter to me.)

These Ukes were made using the legs of a discarded easel

I realised that the box below was too long, so moved the neck INTO the box.

It now belongs to Nicolette, AKA Little Wing, from Glasgow supergroup

COLONEL MUSTARD & THE DIJON 5

CBU 'Freebird' Video - Featuring mrjonthemuppet

CBG - Slide - 'Stay With Me'

Another CBG Video

3 string CBG tuned to open A chord (AEa low to high)

More Slide CBG on a 3 string - 'Stay With Me' by The Faces

CBG - Some Cramps (with Deano Dinosaur)

Another Silly Video

On a 4 string CBG that I built with tone and volume pots. Played through a Wah pedal with some reverb and distortion. Deano's vocals are drowned out in places, but that's a good thing!

Legendary Rock dinosaur Deano performs 'What's Inside A Girl?' by The Cramps. mrjonthehat on CBG

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

Electro-Acoustic Coin Cake Tin Canjo

Unplugged 4 String Electro-Acoustic Canjo Video

This canjo looked and sounded great. Made from a gold sovereign coin design cake tin, with an American white oak neck, brass frets, and mother of pearl marker dots, on a mahogany fingerboard. Piezo pick-up and 4 strings tuned to 'Banjo' open G chord (DGBd low to high).

Electric Mandolin

How to build a 4 string Tennis Racquet Banjo

find an unwarped old wooden tennis racquet

cut and shape a headstock

fit tuners and ferules

make sure one side of racquet head is smooth

sand down one side of the handle

make a tension ring to fit inside the raquet head

Cut and sand the ring to size...drilling inside the ring helps saw access

pegs or scrap wood will hold the ring in place

get an old drum head

glue and staple the cut head to racquet and glue headstock

carefully drill pegs and add screws to hold tension ring in place

fit a bridge and nut

add screws to the tail to hold strings

tune and play

Handmade Instruments Jam Session Video

All together - WEIRD !!! ... but fun.

Electric washboard

A Washboard with a piezo pick-up and a jack located in a tobacco tin. Horn and chicken optional !

Old Washboards can be found online, or in junk shops. The 'board' tends to be glass or metal, and can be played with thimbles, banjo picks, drumsticks or brushes. I attached a piezo pickup (cost £1.09) to this one, and installed a mono guitar socket (£1.49 - Maplins Store) in an oldtobacco tin. The whole mechanism is easily removed, and trfansferred to another instrument, if required.

Electric Cajon Box Drum

Make an Electric Cajon Box Drum

Video with construction details

A 9mm thick plywood box drum on 3 feet, with a metal soundhole and piezo pickup

The 'tapa' side is thinner 3mm plywood, screwed in place on lower half, so top half hits sides and internal 'snare'.

The internal snare, attached to a strut, is made from old bass guitar strings, held in a hinge

Single String Things

Cremola Foam Can Electric Diddley Bow

Very easy to construct. - A can resonator, screwed to a plank. One string, one tuner, one fret, one piezo, one jack. Holes drilled in the can to allow screwdriver access. Tuned to open A - Played with a slide. MAKE ONE! They are great fun.

Diddley Bow Video

Electric Walking Stick Cane Canjo

Really just another diddley bow, with a sweetie tin resonator and a neck made from an old walking stick. I had to cut a small headstock for the tuner, and a small 'zero' fret. The string is 'ball ended' so it won't pass through the drilled hole at the heel of the instrument.

Walking Stick Video

Steampunk Cigar Box Theremin

The Theremin is one of the world's first electronic instruments. I built mine from a kit made by Harrison : CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

I fitted it to a nice cigar box that was too small to be a CBG - Some brass Fittings made it look Steampunk. It has an internal speaker, and a line out through a 3mm jack.