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How to Make a Diddley Bow

a low-cost homemade slide guitar

by Conor Bellew

Andrea Rochat

Section 102

Getting Started

A diddley bow is a one-string slide guitar usually made using whatever is available at the time of construction. The total cost of building this instrument will be minimal because the components are largely recyclables, garbage or spare parts. The diddley bow is played across the lap sitting down using a glass slide to change the tune of the string. The diddley bow is an customizable alternative to a guitar and it aids in the understanding of instruments. Each one sounds different and offers a whole different feel than popular music. It was invented in western Africa and popularized in the American south through the blues. Rock guitarist Jack White made a diddley bow at the start of the guitar documentary It Might Get Loud, remarking "Who says you have to buy a guitar?"

Materials

The materials to make a diddley bow can vary and are largely dependent on the discretion of the creator. The materials you use should reflect who you are and individualize the instrument. This guide will tell you in general which materials you will need and how to assemble them.

You will need:

• about 3 foot long wooden board. (something like a 2x4 that can be nailed into)

• length of wire (like a guitar string or, more traditionally, broom wire. Find wire that won't stretch much under tension.)

• something to make a bridge (These should be thick glass jars or bottles, short metal pipes or even Altoids tins.) Warning: the bridge will be under pressure from the wire. If you use a thin-glass jar, it might shatter and cause injuries.

• scraps of wood (This will be your nut, or how you will adjust the tightness of the wire. You can also use extra scraps to keep parts in place with nails.)

• at least 4 nails (you might need more if you want to nail some of the tension-held components into place or if you want to add a pickup for an optional electric diddley bow.)

• slide (Small glass like a shot glass or half pint bottle)

Tools

It is assumed that you know how to use handheld tools for this project. You will need the following:

• hammer

• saw

• pliers (Wire-cutters)

• half-round rasp file (if available and your choice of bridge is round)

Assembly

Step 1: Nail wire to your board

Nail 2 nails into either end of the board about 1 inch from the edge. Wrap the wire around the nail a few times. Wrap the other end of the wire around the nail on the other side, keeping the tension fairly tight. To keep the wire from slipping up the nail, drive another nail next to the nail, and then hammer it down over the wire. Do this to both sides.

Step 2: Position the bridge

Slip your bridge under the wire at the middle of the instrument. Slide it toward one of the nails as far as it will go.

Step 2.1: Fix the bridge in place

If you have a round bridge that looks like it can slide or roll out of position, mark where the bridge sits on the board then remove it and use a rasp file to make a groove for the bridge to sit in. If you don't have a rasp, you can use a couple nails and put it in front of the bridge so it doesn't slide away from the edge.

Step 3: Install the Nut

Slip a small scrap of wood (about 1x2) under the wire and slide it as far as it will go away from bridge, towards the nail.

Step 4: Tune your Diddley bow

If you percussively hit or pluck your wire and it makes a dull thumping sound, it is too loose. You need to take your hammer and gently hammer the nut closer to the nail. You're not looking for a particular pitch, you're just looking for a bright sound that you can call a note.

Caution: This is the part where, if you have a glass bridge, it might shatter. As a safety precaution, put a towel or heavy cloth over the bridge when you are hammering your nut. (Take the cloth back off when testing the sound of the wire)

Once you have a note coming out of your diddley bow that you can change with your slide, your diddley bow is technically done. Everything else is a matter of customization and maintenance.

Step 5: Install your pickup (Optional)

If you would like to have an electric diddley bow, you need to install a pickup. This is easy enough, assuming you have an in-tact pickup with all of the wires attached, an amp, and nails skinny enough to fit through the holes that were for screws.

Step 5.1: The base

Nail a scrap of wood beneath the wire. You will need at least two nails to keep it in place reliably. Try to position it where you will be plucking or percussing the wire when you play.

Step 5.2: Put the pickup in place

Place your pickup onto your scrap base and nail it in using skinny nails into the screw holes. An alternative to nails is duct tape, just make sure you don't cover the parts of the pickups that pickup the vibrations.

Step 5.3: The Plug

If you have screw holes in the plug of your pickup, you can nail it into the board of the diddley bow. Otherwise, you can use duct tape again. If you don't keep the plug in place, when you plug it into the amp, it will be very buzzy every time you move.

Basics of playing

Position:

Traditionally play sitting with the diddley bow across your lap, but you can also play standing with the diddley bow on a table or bench.

Changing notes:

The problem with a one-string instrument is that it has one note. Using a slide, you can move it along the wire as you pluck or hit the string and depending on where the slide is, it will produce a different note. The longer the string, the lower the note. The slide effectively shortens the string, making the notes higher.

Repeating notes:

To make a catchy song, you want to be able to repeat notes or riffs. You can do this by ear and muscle memory, which will require an intense amount of practice. Or, you can make notches or marks in the board of the diddley bow of where particular notes are. I suggest playing around randomly until you find a beat and riff that you like, and then mark on the board where the slide position was so you can play it again. You can use any notation you would like because it is your custom instrument that you made for cheap. You can number the notches in order of when to play them in your song or you can number them like frets on a guitar.

Conclusion

You now know everything you need to know to make a diddley bow. The rest is fully up to you to create your own personalized creation by decorating or tweaking it however you want. As you've seen through visual examples, there are few concrete rules in making a diddley bow; everything is up to your discretion. It's possible to make this instrument using zero money by using scraps recyclables and other things people throw away, which was the original intention of the instrument. I encourage you to explore your creation thoroughly to compose a song as equally personalized as your diddley bow.

Resources

Information:

History:

Images:

















All pictures used for instructional and educational purposes. Those not cited belong to me, Conor Bellew.

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Pictured: Jack White playing diddley bow on It Might Get Loud (2008).

Selection of rasp files

Pictured: Seasick Steve performing song Diddley Bo.

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