Cigar Box Guitars

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sky Blue Lou
  • Start date Start date
Sky Blue Lou

Sky Blue Lou

Well-known member
Somebody posted a thread in the Cave about building one of these and I was intrigued. In thirty years of playing I've never done shit with slide. A couple weeks ago I set up an acoustic and one of my Les Pauls in Open G and I was just messing around with it when the thread came up.

Good timing. I followed a few links to this guy...

http://www.snowdenguitars.com/index.html

...and bought Lot 23 today. Should be here Thursday.

This is gonna be cool.


lou
 
I live in Marietta, GA, and have met Mike. (He probably won't remember it, took me about 5 minutes on his site before I though, "Hey, this stuff is looking familiar..."

Nice guy and good craftsman. I don't quite get paying that kind of money for something that is not that hard to source and make, but whatever floats your boat.
 
Listened to "porch song".I liked it.I've seen cigar box guitars for sale at one the local beer distributors a while back.I don't know if they still carry them or who made them.They always had 2 or 3 in a display case for sale but i think they were only acoustic.Those acoustic electric on his site look cool though.

I gotta agree with stevieb,that's a lot of cash for something that fragile.I'm sure they're well made but i can't imagine they're as sturdy as a regular acoustic.I've always thought of them as more of a novelty.Never played one but i'm sure i'd enjoy it for a while,then go back to my ibanez.
 
stevieb said:
Nice guy and good craftsman. I don't quite get paying that kind of money for something that is not that hard to source and make, but whatever floats your boat.
Click to expand...
I don't know. $250 is pretty cheap as far as I'm concerned. I don't have the patience to build one myself. Maybe I'm paying for the nice guy, good craftsman component.


lou
 
Why open G as opposed to open E? I thought open E was supposed to be the slide tuning of choice. :confused:
 
I liked the sound of Open G on my Lester. I tried D and C as well. Open G puts the A at the second fret like a basic barre chord. I imagine you can put anything you want on. I don't know the particulars of preferences of the various tunings. At some point I would imagine it's what works with your voice if you're singing.


lou
 
What works if I'm singing is just something that's loud enough to drown me out. And someone else doing the playing, of course.
 
Around here you can buy cigar boxes for a buck or two and slap one together easy enough, I helped make a lap steel model with 6 strings for my Sister in-laws boyfriend as a christmas gift. He loved the thing!

I have enough parts laying around at the moment to make a handful of them if needed but just have not put all the stuff together, anybody who wants to spend that kind of money should talk to me first :D
 
guitar junkie said:
Around here you can buy cigar boxes for a buck or two and slap one together easy enough, I helped make a lap steel model with 6 strings for my Sister in-laws boyfriend as a christmas gift. He loved the thing!

I have enough parts laying around at the moment to make a handful of them if needed but just have not put all the stuff together, anybody who wants to spend that kind of money should talk to me first :D
Click to expand...
Well build a couple and put 'em out there. Guys like me with more money than brains or patience may just snap 'em up. If yours had been up last week...


lou
 
Slide guitar is a buzz once you get the hang of it. Cigar boxes are more of a novelty. The actually sound pretty crappy unless you put a pickup in it.

I would suggest getting an acoustic-electric resonator guitar. The have way cool tone and are built to last, especially the brass ones.
 
I will slap a couple together in a few weeks and see what happens, I got a lot of guitars to slide on but few as fun as the cigar box stuff that I have tried.
 
Sky Blue Lou said:
Somebody posted a thread in the Cave about building one of these and I was intrigued. In thirty years of playing I've never done shit with slide. A couple weeks ago I set up an acoustic and one of my Les Pauls in Open G and I was just messing around with it when the thread came up.

Good timing. I followed a few links to this guy...

http://www.snowdenguitars.com/index.html

...and bought Lot 23 today. Should be here Thursday.

This is gonna be cool.


lou
Click to expand...

Tomorrow is the big day LOU.......
That lot 23 looks kinda cool!
can't wait till you start posting all your new hit songs with it.
Keep me informed.




:cool:
 
moresound said:
can't wait till you start posting all your new hit songs with it.
Keep me informed.
Click to expand...
You berry funny man. Actually it showed up at work today but I'm still a bit laid up - didn't feel like going to get it. I'll snag her tomorrow.


lou
 
Sky Blue Lou said:
I don't know. $250 is pretty cheap as far as I'm concerned. I don't have the patience to build one myself. Maybe I'm paying for the nice guy, good craftsman component.


lou
Click to expand...

I got my two string variety on Ebay for $60. I'm using it as a template to make a nicer one with my granfather and his wood shop.

Free plans are available here:

cigarboxguitars.com

and

cigarboxnation.com
 
Hey, Okie - are you the guy that posted the Cigarbox Nation link in The Cave? It's all yer fault, dude.

Thanks.

;)
lou
 
Glad to help!

Hope mine will be done by tues- i'll try to post some pics.
 
2010 CIGAR BOX GUITAR EXTRAVAGANZA

THIS SATURDAY in Huntsville AL at the Flying Monkey Arts Center!

Saturday - 26th - Cigar Box Guitar Festival 2010, Admission $10 (includes film). Cigar Box Guitar Vendors at Flying Monkey Artist Market, Admission FREE (12-4pm), All Events on 2nd floor. "Songs Inside The Box" (4pm) showing of Max Shore's Cigar Box documentary shot at Lowe Mill. Live Music (6pm) Microwave Dave, One String Willie, Johnny Lowebow, Eric "Joker" Baker, Gerry Thompson, Johnny Kantreed
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top