Stumbled into cigar box guitars by accident, now I want to make one for my brother. Have a 3 bottle wine box he gave me and would like to make a six string resonator. Is it reasonable for me to make it electirc or is that too much for a first timer? And any recommendations on books, guides, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

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  • From what I have gleaned here is my plan: the wine box is 10" x 12.5" x 4" with 3/8" thick sides all around. I will have to reinforce it, but it has to be disassembled anyway since it is a little beat up. I plan on getting a six string neck - Fender style on eBay and using CBGitty's 7" resonator cone and cover. Not crazy about the cover but there doesn't (don't?) seem to be many more that size. Then will add piezo pickups inside the box.

    My main question is do I need to add more than some sound holes front and back or does the resonator need more enclosure? Some bulders add on, some don't. I plan on adding another layer of wood under the top with some struts as reinforcing so the thickness will probably be about 3/4" on top anyway.

    And how do I figure placement for the bridge? Is it the same as for a standard Fender - 25.5"?

  • Six-string designs put quite a lot of tension on the structure, and usually require a board-through-the-body design. This will not leave much room for a resonator.....
    All my resonator designs are 4-string models with a bolt-on neck and the resonator mounted inside the box. You will see a wide variety of devices used for resonators here.... Everything form small commercial jobs used for ukes and such to nearly anything you can think of.
    Take a look at mine:
    http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/resonator-build-in-progress?con...
    • I thought that since it was a wood box this would not be an issue, guess not.

      Maybe I will have to go with a regular electric six string. I don't want to go with fewer strings since I know my brother can play six string. Thanks for the input.

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