Tondeleo: One thing that Doc and Marilyn are kind of known for is that they use instruments that aren't very nice. I have been with them when they show up at events with other bands. In the same way that women size each other up by looking at their shoes and purses, bands size each other up by looking at each others' equipment.
This has always been a sore spot for Doc and Marilyn and the band, because for years all Doc had was home made guitars that he made by re-purposing old parts that people gave him, and fixing warped or broken necks. He learnt how to mix and match pickups until he got the sounds he liked, and how to put slab wood into the wooden boxes he would use for the guitar bodies, but still, his guitars and amps were clearly not commercially made. Now, there are times when they use regular instruments like other bands, and they don't feel as self conscious...
Doc: Yeah, well, you get used to people with nice stuff lookin' down on you, Tondy. It ain't nothin' new. Like when I was in school we got made fun of for bein' poor. People lagh at you if your clothes are torn or don't fit right. In high school, the girls went for the boys who had store-bought underwear and cars and money. We had to make do with what we had.
But we learned how to work hard and make a penny stretch. My daddy used to say that two of his uncles invented copper wire... they were fightin' over a penny. But, yeah, we had bad hair. Mama cut our hair with scissors so it never looked right. That's why we wore hats when we could. We had hand me down everything.
And that's where I learned to make guitars from. My first one was a diddly bow. It was a board about 3 feet long and a wire stretched tight between two eye screws. Then, Daddy showed me how to put a single edge razor into a block of wood and put it under the string. When you slide the block of wood with the razor in it back and forth it makes the notes higher and lower. That was the beginning.
Later when the boys at school started gettin' guitars for their birthdays and Christmas, I started wantin' a guitar real bad. Well, as the other boys would break their guitars or tore them up, I'd get them from 'em for a couple dollars and bring 'em home and try to fix them. I'd take 'em apart and use whatever I could to try to get somethin' I could play.
We had old wooden boxes sittin' around and I started usin' those for guitar bodies...
Tondeleo: What kind of boxes?
Doc: Boxes like dinner knives came in, that mama would pick up at the thrift shop, or what other things came in. I picked out ones that was the right size and then figured out how to make 'em play good and sound good.
Tondeleo: Did you ever build cigar box guitars?
Doc: Yeah, sure I did. But I didn't like 'em too much. They are small, so you got to have a shorter neck and that makes 'em harder to keep tuned. Plus, they didn't have so good of tone or sustain. I like sustain. Cigar boxes aren't too strong and I kept breakin' 'em.
I started makin' guitars out of tackle boxes back in the 90's 'cause they are strong, cheap and the right size for a full size neck and three pick ups... plus I got room for a couple sandwiches and drinks in them, and a guitar cord. I still got one of my first tackle box guitars.
I still make guitars out of smaller boxes. Some people like smaller guitars for when they're ramblin' around or whatever. I sell 'em or trade 'em for somethin' they have that I might want.
I like makin' bigger guitars, with six strings - my cigar box sized ones also got 6 strings - so you can actually play a whole show with 'em. They ain't a novelty for me, Tondy, they are tools.
Tondeleo: What do you do to get them to sound so good. I hear that all the time from other musicians, that your box guitars sound good and play well.
Doc: Well, first of all, I balance 'em pretty good, so the neck ain't heavier than the body. I put in a slab of like two inch thick wood inside, so they feel right and so they sustain real good. Also, I ain't stuck on one kind of pick up. I mix and match til I find some that I like how they sound together. Same with the pots. On the necks, I usually just use a regular guitar neck, but sand it down til it is slimmer and has better action. Like I said, these ain't toys to me. They are what I use when I play.
Tondeleo: Tell us how you use those home made guitars to get other guitars.
Doc: Well, I'll be playin' somewhere, and someone hears my home made guitar, and then they want to play it for themself. Sometimes, they want to trade one of their store bought guitars for it, and if I like what they got, I'll do it. If not, then I don't. I got a couple of old Telecasters out of that over the years, and some other guitars. Got a couple steel guitars. Some acoustics, too.
I done that with amps, too. I got some that I put together from old parts and speakers and they sound real good. If people want to trade for somethin' that I like, I'll do it. Last Summer, a guy traded me a 100 watt Marshall 410 cabinet and amp for an old tube amp I had what was only 60 watts. He's happy and I'm happy. Got a 100 watt Peavey Valve King 410 the same way. Our lead player Jerry only had a small amp, so I got that one for him to play with. Those amps are louder and sound good. I'm a tradin' fool!
Least now, if I need to have a real store bought guitar somewhere, I got a couple I could bring so people ain't starin' at me all the time.
Doc: Yeah, well, you get used to people with nice stuff lookin' down on you, Tondy. It ain't nothin' new. Like when I was in school we got made fun of for bein' poor. People lagh at you if your clothes are torn or don't fit right. In high school, the girls went for the boys who had store-bought underwear and cars and money. We had to make do with what we had.
But we learned how to work hard and make a penny stretch. My daddy used to say that two of his uncles invented copper wire... they were fightin' over a penny. But, yeah, we had bad hair. Mama cut our hair with scissors so it never looked right. That's why we wore hats when we could. We had hand me down everything.
And that's where I learned to make guitars from. My first one was a diddly bow. It was a board about 3 feet long and a wire stretched tight between two eye screws. Then, Daddy showed me how to put a single edge razor into a block of wood and put it under the string. When you slide the block of wood with the razor in it back and forth it makes the notes higher and lower. That was the beginning.
Later when the boys at school started gettin' guitars for their birthdays and Christmas, I started wantin' a guitar real bad. Well, as the other boys would break their guitars or tore them up, I'd get them from 'em for a couple dollars and bring 'em home and try to fix them. I'd take 'em apart and use whatever I could to try to get somethin' I could play.
We had old wooden boxes sittin' around and I started usin' those for guitar bodies...
Tondeleo: What kind of boxes?
Doc: Boxes like dinner knives came in, that mama would pick up at the thrift shop, or what other things came in. I picked out ones that was the right size and then figured out how to make 'em play good and sound good.
Tondeleo: Did you ever build cigar box guitars?
Doc: Yeah, sure I did. But I didn't like 'em too much. They are small, so you got to have a shorter neck and that makes 'em harder to keep tuned. Plus, they didn't have so good of tone or sustain. I like sustain. Cigar boxes aren't too strong and I kept breakin' 'em.
I started makin' guitars out of tackle boxes back in the 90's 'cause they are strong, cheap and the right size for a full size neck and three pick ups... plus I got room for a couple sandwiches and drinks in them, and a guitar cord. I still got one of my first tackle box guitars.
I still make guitars out of smaller boxes. Some people like smaller guitars for when they're ramblin' around or whatever. I sell 'em or trade 'em for somethin' they have that I might want.
I like makin' bigger guitars, with six strings - my cigar box sized ones also got 6 strings - so you can actually play a whole show with 'em. They ain't a novelty for me, Tondy, they are tools.
Tondeleo: What do you do to get them to sound so good. I hear that all the time from other musicians, that your box guitars sound good and play well.
Doc: Well, first of all, I balance 'em pretty good, so the neck ain't heavier than the body. I put in a slab of like two inch thick wood inside, so they feel right and so they sustain real good. Also, I ain't stuck on one kind of pick up. I mix and match til I find some that I like how they sound together. Same with the pots. On the necks, I usually just use a regular guitar neck, but sand it down til it is slimmer and has better action. Like I said, these ain't toys to me. They are what I use when I play.
Tondeleo: Tell us how you use those home made guitars to get other guitars.
Doc: Well, I'll be playin' somewhere, and someone hears my home made guitar, and then they want to play it for themself. Sometimes, they want to trade one of their store bought guitars for it, and if I like what they got, I'll do it. If not, then I don't. I got a couple of old Telecasters out of that over the years, and some other guitars. Got a couple steel guitars. Some acoustics, too. I done that with amps, too. I got some that I put together from old parts and speakers and they sound real good. If people want to trade for somethin' that I like, I'll do it. Last Summer, a guy traded me a 100 watt Marshall 410 cabinet and amp for an old tube amp I had what was only 60 watts. He's happy and I'm happy. Got a 100 watt Peavey Valve King 410 the same way. Our lead player Jerry only had a small amp, so I got that one for him to play with. Those amps are louder and sound good. I'm a tradin' fool!
Least now, if I need to have a real store bought guitar somewhere, I got a couple I could bring so people ain't starin' at me all the time.
