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Questions about cigar box guitars.

Posted by Daniel Lines on August 11, 2010 at 3:52am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion
Hey, I was thinking about making an acoustic cigar box guitar. By this I mean I don't really want to have to spend the extra money on pickups. But I want to know a few things:
I'm not gonna be able to get hold of a cigar box so I'll have to make one. What dimensions?
Would I be able to use a regular guitar neck and modify to suit the cigar box? If so, will that mean I'll have to make the box bigger?
If I can make the box, what would be the best material?
What are the best strings for it? Thick or thin?

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Replies

  • Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates August 11, 2010 at 11:56am
    Secrets of the CBG Underground, Building a Cigar Box Guitar 101, and CBG wiring & electronics groups as well as the free plans section.

    -WY

    Michael R Cossey said:
    As a CBG newbee myself I have found many if not most of my answers doing searches on this fine site....But..it would be useful to have a permanent section dedicated to some options available for neck, box, pickups, strings, tuners, nuts, bridge ,saddles etc etc. with a section on tool options..with the mention that there are "no rules"......thinking outside the "Cigar Box" is the funnest part!........and Have Fun with it.....Mike
  • Michael R Cossey August 11, 2010 at 10:43am
    As a CBG newbee myself I have found many if not most of my answers doing searches on this fine site....But..it would be useful to have a permanent section dedicated to some options available for neck, box, pickups, strings, tuners, nuts, bridge ,saddles etc etc. with a section on tool options..with the mention that there are "no rules"......thinking outside the "Cigar Box" is the funnest part!........and Have Fun with it.....Mike
  • Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates August 11, 2010 at 10:26am
    One other thing to use is pressboard . ( think this is what I used ).

    Not too expensive and can be cut with a jigsaw or table saw easily.

    -WY
  • Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates August 11, 2010 at 10:19am
    One resource for this is WoodCraft. $$$ but should have that thickness and grade. Maybe a craft/hobby Store.

    ALSO check out the vendors here. They have them.

    -WY

    Don Thompson said:
    don't discount using thin plywood for your box. Put some lining of thin wood ,kerfing. to have a larger gluing area where one piece meets another inside.
    http://home.comcast.net/~kathymatsushita/otherinstruments/htmlpages...
    Kathy used slit kerfing because that is what she had on hand.
  • GARAGE HERMIT August 11, 2010 at 8:04am
    every question you've asked, the answer's are on here, i'm a first time builder, and after looking round the site every question i had, i found the answer, take a bit of time and have a look around,
  • YeahDoIt August 11, 2010 at 7:59am
    You might make a test build using a cardboard cracker or breakfast cereal box. I made a CBG and it does not have a pickup. I play it acoustic and it sounds OK, even out on the street.

    I remember asking at a local cigar store and the clerk had a stack of boxes, various prices. You might check resale stores (Goodwill and Salvation Army in the USA) sometimes they have small boxes that might work. I do not think size is critical; when I open my cigar box the guitar sound is about the same, I don't think I need a box just a flat surface. You might also consider metal cookie boxes, just cut a couple holes in the metal, insert neck, put the strings on, something for bridge and nut and tune it up.
  • Don Thompson August 11, 2010 at 7:51am
    don't discount using thin plywood for your box. Put some lining of thin wood ,kerfing. to have a larger gluing area where one piece meets another inside.
    http://home.comcast.net/~kathymatsushita/otherinstruments/htmlpages...
    Kathy used slit kerfing because that is what she had on hand.
  • MichaelS Country Boy Guitars August 11, 2010 at 7:41am
    Asfar as size anything does go, but you asked so my best sounding acoustic Cbg is my deepest at 3" deep. Its about 7"x9" on the face and made of thin plywood, about 3/16" - 1/4" . Hope this helps.
  • LittleBigOne August 11, 2010 at 6:59am
    Hi Daniel, you didn't tell if this build is your first build, but if it is you will encounter many little issues that will
    learn you a lot of things, so better start with something simplest as possible, then build another one a little bit
    enhanced. For your first build I would not encourage you to use a six strings guitar neck, try one or two strings and
    see how the wood will work, does it bend, how to build the fretboard, tuners and strings spacing, etc.

    Building accoustic only guitar is the most difficult because you need to get a clear and loud sound.
    You will need a box as large as possible, something like 30cm x 20cm x 5cm is great and quite close to the largest
    cigar boxes I have seen. If you want to make some tests you can also do a simple build by sticking a neck
    above a round metal cookie tin with 3 screws, they usually are 20cm x20cm x 6cm or so and it will give you a good idea
    of how works the accoustic. Now when you compare with a usual wooden cigar box, you will see that the metal cookie tin
    though being smaller resonate much better, that's because most of the cigar boxes are made with trash wood that
    resonates poorly. So, try to find a large wooden cigar box made of good wood is a true challenge :D

    But nothing is lost. You will see plenty of cigar box guitars made with usual boxes and most of them resonates
    great, that is if the luthier respected some basic luthery rules. Many savage luthiers compensate the poor
    quality wooden boxes with little tricks, and in the end it sounds great :-) ... Some people like this game so
    much they may even use biggest "tricks" like building their own resonators ! :-)

    Welcome onboard :D
  • Dave Breault August 11, 2010 at 6:05am
    There are no rules when it comes to building a CBG. Average cigar boxes are 8"X 10" X 1 3/4". You can make your box any dimension you are comfortable with, however for your best acoustic sound you want to lean towards the larger size. If you want to use a pre made neck just be sure to have a solid connection to the box, you can also add interior suports. as far as tone woods go, spruce and cedar are excelent choices for sound boards. Try and find quarter sawn for this part.
    when it comes to strings, lighter strings need less tension to get to tune but don't necessairly give ther best volume. It 's really a personal choice.

    Have fun
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