Hammond Music

Cigar Box Guitar - Goin to Brownsville

I’ve been playing, or should I say learning, the guitar for over thirty years but I’ve only recently discovered the fun that can be had with a simple cigar box guitar.

If you are new to cigar box guitars I should explain what they are. The clue is in the name, a cigar box guitar is a guitar made from a wooden cigar box. They tend to be home made instruments that use a cigar box as the resonator in the same way that an acoustic guitar uses its guitar body to amplify the sound from the strings.

Back in the 19th century cigar smoking was far more popular than it is today. They began to package cigars in wooden boxes from around the middle of the 19th century and people soon found a use for these boxes in various home made instruments.

Turning a cigar box into a guitar like instrument is relatively easy to achieve with a length of wood for the neck and a few tuning pegs. The simplest of cigar box guitars might have only one string, but they are commonly made with three strings and no frets. A bottleneck slide, knife or even a piece of animal bone can be used to fret the steel strings.

Cigar box based musical instruments are a traditional form of folk instrument that could easily be made using items that would otherwise have been thrown away. In recent years there has been increased interest in these simple instruments with people sharing their building expertise, tips and advice on the internet. And its not essential that you use a cigar box to make home made musical instruments. Many builders of cigar box guitars use other boxes for the resonator including biscuit tins oil drums and childrens lunch boxes.

If you are struggling with your fancy six string why not get yourself a three string cigar box guitar and join the revolution.

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