Calli's Custom Cardboard Guitars

[11harrison11]

I was looking over some of the comments, one suggested Bondo to smooth the edges, it got me thinking (again lol), in keeping with the cardboard medium, (which is just a sandwich of paper) why not use paper mach'e over parts of your cardboard? You can shape it, sand it, even make an "arch top" Les Paul! It would strengthen joints, make a sweet neck heel... just a thought. By the way, did you try any of my suggestions from my first response a year ago? lol !!

[DareToDream01]

@11harrison11 Paper mache is a great idea. The carved "arch top" is very appealing to me. I might start mixing some flour and water this week! Is it true that a cheap flour/water mix can get moldy? I've got a request for a les paul with a blue sunburst as a wedding gift. It would look SO much better with an archtop. Thanks again.

[sgowsika]

Nice! But next time could you make a video actually showing you don it! Your great, and a got a A-, thanks! 

[biancaz00]

@sgowsika so true it would have gotten an A+ if he made it step by step

[kieranxRHCP]

you have some talent man

[DareToDream01]

@kieranxRHCP Thank you

[gunboy544]

That is so cool Im going to make it like 5 times and Chang it up

[DareToDream01]

@gunboy544 Go for it, and have fun. Impress some people!

[BrownHarper1991]

is the music pearl jam

[DareToDream01]

@BrownHarper1991 Creed, "Torn"

[stevetheurkmanurkel]

Oh and that guitar you made rocks!!

[stevetheurkmanurkel]

@daretodream thank you so much.I appreciate you telling me that. I'm fix in to make one of these and I did a test with cardboard and it came out curved.but thanks for telling me that. :)

[stevetheurkmanurkel]

How did you cut the neck so straight?!I can't cut straight if it was to save my life.

[DareToDream01]

@stevetheurkmanurkel The secret is in the way you hold the box cutter. Just like carving a pumpkin, hold the knife like a pen and saw up and down, kind of like a jigsaw or a sewing machine. Of course, drawing a straight line to follow is important. I used a long ruler and neck width measurements to draw the lines.

[notsooutcast]

I need a replica of Matthew Bellamy's red Manson glitterati before October 31st. Will pay 45 for you to make it.

[Augustas05]

do you have some blueprints or something , maybe the real guitar ?

[DareToDream01]

@Augustas05 When I made this one, I did not yet own a real guitar. So, I judged the shape of the body and the length of the neck by photos I saw on the internet.

Starting with my third guitar (the flying V), I got ahold of a real guitar so that I could have accurate dimensions and measurements. Needless to say, my later guitars have turned out better with less effort!

Live & Learn

[HOUNDDAWG]

My compliments to a clever, talented and resourceful individual and fellow member of the SPIRIT OF THE SIX STRING LODGE.

By the way, instead of wearing hats with buffalo horns (like Fred Flintstone while he sits in lodge) the blond, '80s-hair-farmer-corporate-roc­k-wig is perfect. Different wigs can be used for the various chairs, with new initiates wearing that weird Lady Gaga hair beast. In order to escape that wig the newbies have to learn and play CROSSROADS and STAIRWAY for the members.

[DareToDream01]

@HOUNDDAWG Hilarious! I'll be sure to wear my crimped Dee Snider wig when I visit. I better freshen up my guitar chops-- I want to avoid the Gaga hair!

[vtgandalf1]

Where are the strings.

[gigaDparkinator]

how much did it cost to make it

[DareToDream01]

@gigaDparkinator Let's see... $4 on the whammy bar (the real guitar part), $1 on black spray paint, $3 on neon orange spray paint. I think that's it! I already had the cardboard, box knife, masking tape, dowel, silver and white calligraphy ink (for the skull), construction paper for stencils, 3D paint for frets and tuning posts, screws for tuners, random plastic pieces for knobs and switches, and an old cord. Oh yeah, the chrome cardboard from "take out" food! Did I leave anything out?

[vidiosdave]

You know...I play guitar, and I'd be willing to bet, that if you used steel rebar, instead of dowling, and coated the whole thing in f-glass, you'd be able to play it too.

Well, with real pick-ups too.

You could skip that by making it an acoustic.

[MeanrBeanr]

You reminded me of some fake guitars I made back in college for an air-band contest at a night club, musta been in 83'. I used thick styrofoam, painted and detailed them. The fun part was smashing 'em at the end. We "covered" JP "Heading out to the Highway" and won.....hahaha.

Good job, cool hobby and sure, why not....make 'em and sell 'em. Pretty unique. \m/ \b/

[v3nours]

for sure, the cardboard sounds better than a real guitar ;)

[DLBlack93]

do you live in a Cardboard box mate

[DLBlack93]

do you live in a Cardboard mate

[DLBlack93]

Why are you doing Cardboard Guitars you bean. just come and do my proper guitar that works. are you a hobo cos you like Cardboard do you?

[DLBlack93]

Why are you doing Cardboard Guitars you bean. just come and do my proper guitar that works. are you a hobo cos you like Cardboard do you?

[airborneassasin]

cool idea for decorating a young music lovers bedroom. Nice idea. as above stated, a little bondo and it would make them look very real.

[Realrpg]

Lol sell it on ebay and say its a real guitar :P

[chikigirl234]

that looks awesome dude but i think it would be the greatest guiter ever if it would actually work like a real guiter in cardboard ;)

[gatsu29]

si ma perche?

[hanahfoster]

are you able to play the guitars like a real Guitar? like tuning it and playing songs and so on... and what do you use as strings?

[xoverbang]

@GlassByThaddeus he is right dude make a real guitar make up (:

[block99h5]

lol that is sik:P

[contact1araya]

hey you can use rubber bands for strings or nylon fishing string

[contact1araya]

hey you can use rubber bands for strings

[Herbert2k10]

can u do a tutorial for it, fukin sick guitar!

[Extremest242]

Great, What would be if you could put strings on it?(That would be new era of cardboard guitars )

[GlassByThaddeus]

All that time and effort for cardboard? Dude, make a real guitar. You do awesome paint work, go for it.

Also, on your cardboard jobs, bondo the edges and make it smoother.

[DareToDream01]

@GlassByThaddeus Thanks for the compliment and the good idea! You're right, someday I'd love to buy some woodworking tools and learn how to make a real guitar.

[pieface1726]

@DareToDream01

just buy an unfinished guitar body off ebay for like...40 bucks, get a neck that fits and get all the components. hell if you need a hand wiring it i could easily help you out.

but its painful to see such a good painter not doing it on a real guitar.

see I know how to paint a guitar but i am shockingly SHIT at it... i envy you =P

[DareToDream01]

@pieface1726 Thanks for the encouragement. Do you know anything about putting on layers of indestructable clear coat AFTER the paintjob?

[pieface1726]

@DareToDream01

just realized I had a comment reply on this, ya I do, what do you need to know?

[guildgsx]

@DareToDream01

Yes. Don't use a laquer, but urethane clear (used to paint cars). If you're on a limited budget and / or don't have a spray equipment, you could try to use a urethane intended for hardwood flooring. I'd recommend spraying the first few coats very light in order to seal the colors, then go heavy. Any runs and imperfections can be later fixed and buffed out. Good luck with your hobby!

[DareToDream01]

@guildgsx Thanks for your intelligent and experienced tips!

[SuperNewboy14]

awww man do u sell those guitars man

[Zsquared2]

necks a little long, but still pretty cool! CHECK OUT MY VIDSS

[DonXter]

The neck is WAY too long... Looks like a bass.

[DareToDream01]

@DonXter Good eye! That's what happens when somebody eyeballs the size and shape of an object from pictures on the internet (I didn't own a real guitar back then). I started MEASURING when I made my third guitar. I took a measuring tape to the guitarcenter and measured a flying V!

[DareToDream01]

@DareToDream01 My current guitar will be more accurate. One neck will be a bass neck, so it will be long, while the other neck will be a short six-string guitar neck (a little shorter than standard, just for contrast).

[AqworldsSaenten]

There's a wepon in aqworlds which is the shadowsythe reaper guitar it's a guitar that doesn't exist in real life and i am planning to make it!

[proggod876]

very cool video man, very creative

but why dont you actually buy a guitar? just askin

[DareToDream01]

@proggod876 Thanks for the compliment. I actually do own a couple of REAL guitars now, but I don't make cardboard guitars just so that I can own or sell a guitar! The first one I made was intended to be a funny halloween prop. The next two were made for buyers that wanted to mount them on a bedroom wall. The double-neck I'm working on now is for my own "decorating." I plan on showing it off to people to say, "Look, I made this!"

[proggod876]

@DareToDream01 thats cool man, im actually making my first 6 string bass

its a single cut bass with peduke and maple, im gonna post vids on making that bass

[hellpasopride676]

does it work?

[TRIVIUMrocker123]

Wow

Awsome misfits shirt too :D

[loknloll]

can you make one out of........cheese?

[DareToDream01]

@loknloll Not a bad idea.

[boarder1219]

and what did u use to cut the cardboard so easily on the black strat widd flames?

[DareToDream01]

@boarder1219 I just used a box knife. The secret is how you handle the blade. I learned the trick from a book about carving pumpkins! You hold the knife like a pencil and use saw-like movements (up and down) to cut carefully along the line drawn on the cardboard. It's tedious and makes my hand tired, but it can be surprisingly precise. If I thought there was a market for it, I would charge people for online training videos! It's amazing what you can do with cardboard.

[boarder1219]

real guitar strings?

[boarder1219]

so when u turn the guitar arnd it will show the stick

[DareToDream01]

@boarder1219 That depends on which of my cardboard guitars you're talking about. The first two (white strat and black strat with orange flames) showed the stick or "truss rod" behind the neck. On my Flying V, I decided to put two narrow strips of cardboard on the back of the neck to cover the dowel. On my current project (double neck Les Paul), I used one strip of thin cardboard to cover the dowel completely and give a rounded look to the back of each neck.

[GreenDayBabe500]

do you sell these?

[DareToDream01]

@GreenDayBabe500 Sold 2 of them so far. Do you think $30 each was too cheap?

[GreenDayBabe500]

@DareToDream01 nahh, but it depends on what they were. if they were personalized or something like that than maybe a little more like $50, but $30 ia pretty good :)

[vidmachine07]

@DareToDream01 yeah I do. you should figure your labor cost at about $25 an hour. Just sayin'

[333omgitsme]

@DareToDream01 I REALLY NEED A REPLICA OF JOAN JETTS BLCK AND WHITE GUITAR I WOULD PAY 35 ....

[emosausen17]

can you try playing it ? lol

anyways awesome dude

[oren4kill2]

one word poor!!!

[DareToDream01]

I've got my new cardboard guitar completely built, but I can't decide how to paint it. It's a double-neck Les Paul (6-string electric with 4-string fretless bass). ANY IDEAS?

[isildur255]

cool

[carlosemmanucarrillo]

yeaaaa men!!! jejejeje you did it fantastic! jaajajja

[swesso]

i think i going to cry,it,s so awesome!!!!!!!!

[BionicSam]

Very original and creative, much better than focusing on guns, or other negative crap, good job

[kisukeurahara121]

dude. these are amazing! my friends and iI are doing a L4D thing this halloween and i have been searching for cradboard tutorials so i can have something to do this summer. thanks for the help.

[DareToDream01]

Cool. So, you're making cardboard weapons?  Or, are you designing cardboard guitars to hypnotize the infected with music??

[kisukeurahara121]

well, we are doing a mix thing with both left 4 dead games. so we want to incorperate melee weapons along with guns. im being a hunter, my friend is being a smoker, 2 more are being the sruvivors. ta are gonna try to either scare, or humor people, while handing out candy. but back to the point, we are making cardboard guns and props.

[rabbitfish2222]

wow im making loads of props for my bedroom ima give this one a try :D 5/5 good job!

[DareToDream01]

Thanks. Bedroom props-- that's exactly what my buyers wanted these for! Almost 2 years later, the guitars are still hanging on their walls!!

[warwickshovel]

who is that band and song, i know its from the 90s but i cant think of who it is ????

[DareToDream01]

creed. torn.

[warwickshovel]

@DareToDream01 yea thanks

[snickers763]

exactly that wat i thought

[DareToDream01]

@OakPark11MileRd: I appreciate your voice of experience... thanks for sharing!

[CalenCoffman]

I'm making an acoustic guitar for my class Valentines day party.

[DareToDream01]

@CalenCoffman Good luck with that! Post a video of it for us

[CalenCoffman]

OK! It's not finished though... I need some posterboard from the craftstore to finish, and some tuners; any ideas for tuners?

[DareToDream01]

So, what did you use for tuners? Screws? Thumbtacks? Nails with folded-up aluminum foil? Eye bolts? Headless bolts with wing nuts?

Hope it worked out for ya.

[DareToDream01]

Thanks for the suggestion. Only problem is that my goal was $0, since I'm cheaper than cheap. I did end up spending a few bucks on the spraypaint, but the cheapest Squier on ebay is over $100.

Laying a durable coating on a real guitar gets more complicated too.

Maybe someday when I really want to make some money I'll give your idea a try.

[FromBackForever]

i had do this same thing withf my e-bass

:D

[blast2hart37]

Lol sweet element symbal!! On the bottom of the neck

[hotshot4525]

wow im impressed

[jackhaslegs]

That is the coolest thing ive ever seen!!

Can you please please do a step by step guide on how you did it because i'd love to make one myself!!!

[gkmaster25]

Dude you are almost there, use those cardboard cutouts as templates and make one out of real wood!!

[ryushiRj38]

i wanna see a video of yourself playing it.

[DareToDream01]

I've already got it for you! Look at my other video, "The Cardboard Rocker." About 1/3 of the way through the video (1:20 or so), I'm in my cardboard halloween costume playing my cardboard guitar.

[thegorysaint]

actually you gave me a great idea, thanks man

[criticacapullos]

patetic

[1fatja1]

is this thing working

?!

[MasiCool232]

did you use real strings?

[goomanskeeto]

Make a tutorial plz 5/5 stars

[agentsteell]

whats the song?? a guy below says its van halen but i really doubt it... great job btw :) just dont trash it on stage its gonna evaporate:P

[DareToDream01]

He said, "nice choice in Van Halen" because 9 months ago, I had Eddie VH's "Eruption" for the background music. Then, the music company pulled it, so I traded the sound for Creed's "Torn," which is available without copyright problems.

Thanks for the advice!

[sasdori01]

creed

[theMist09]

is there a truss rod in it

[DareToDream01]

Great question! There is a truss rod, if you can call it that. Same idea, anyway. I placed a wooden dowel through the guitar body and attached it along the back of the neck for stability. You can see the dowel through the "access panel" in one of the photos in this video.

[speaker3600]

you should try to sell it on ebay

[speaker3600]

what good does a cardboard guitar do for you

[hellohippo123]

what good does trolling awesome youtube videos do for you?

[speaker3600]

it doesn't

[DareToDream01]

You'd be surprised!

There's nothing like the satisfaction of completing your own unique artistic creation from scratch.

Besides, the lightweight material makes it a perfect customized display on your wall

[fireitup9]

it needs a little bit more detail to it but or else its cool

[slayermik]

haha fair enuff then

i must say though your attention to detail is amazing

i reckon you should do a copy of joe satrianis black dog

[slayermik]

you have far to much spare time

[DareToDream01]

I can see how that would appear to be the case, but the majority of the time I actually spent building my cardboard guitars was in the middle of the night! That seems to be the only spare time I have to waste these days.

[holysab7]

1:47 lol those aren't humbuckers. i bet someone will reply for me being critical =D

[DareToDream01]

I almost forgot to thank you for clearing up my error. I changed it to just say "pickups" instead of humbuckers. I think the ones on the next guitar (the V) do look like humbuckers though, don't they?

[doonbugie]

nice choice in song Van Halen

[xStrikerX99]

thats tight man, like dayum, you good, man, you shoul've participated in the Gibson go for the gold Slash GoldTop contest, you wouldve stood a pretty good chance making a LesPaul goldtop =P

[yagotmilk]

that looks super real i would pay for one

[DareToDream01]

Thanks for the compliment! If I ever figure out how to ship these safely (They're pretty fragile), how much do you think I should ask for one?

[yagotmilk]

what do u mean how much u should pay for it

[DareToDream01]

You know, what kind of minimum price should I set if I sold it on a web auction or something?

[yagotmilk]

i say 15.00 the highest would be 50.00 for 50 dollars it has to look as glossy and very much similar to the real guitar it has to have full detail of the guitar your making for 50.00 great job ill post the 2nd video maybe next week i dont know

[DareToDream01]

Thanks for your opinion. I actually sold this one to someone I know at work for $30, so I guess that's right in the range you gave me! Btw, the guitar is quite glossy, I don't know how visible that is in these photos. My other guitar (The Flying V) is more similar to a real guitar in detail than this strat-ish one. Some people say I should charge more than $30 for these because of the original artwork. I don't know? It didn't cost me much except a LOT of TIME!

[yagotmilk]

Thats cool you should open up a buisness or a store selling those, since your so good at making those guitars can you make a gun that looks real like the guitars, and if you can do that, will you put a video of it up.

[nicholasbang]

Sell each guitar at a time that would be better...Sell it on ebay shipping international...I think don't sell it 20$ or Higher Because its made of Cardboard Materials....Fragile you can use some strong boxes and put some newspapers,paper,and some soft stuffs

[DareToDream01]

Thanks for the tips!

[nicholasbang]

Youre welcome...but i just check if youre really keen on selling your awsome impressive work you should check around about cardboard items sold online

[xSaintGuitarStudiosx]

dude u can make a ton of cash selling those guitars lol :p i know i would buy one for sure

[DareToDream01]

How much do you think I could get for a meticulously-made piece of garbage that doesn't have any strings to play? Remember, it's all about "looks"!

[DareToDream01]

My 3rd guitar is finally done! (Pink and black Flying V.) Stay tuned for the video within the week...

[kieranblacker]

i am making a trivium guitar like that but made out of wood

[mtroth1]

Fabulous!