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All Wood Box Fake Out

Posted by Rusty Summer on March 17, 2016 at 1:36pm

I have a cigar box that "appeared" to be solid wood. The top looks like a glossy natural oak. When I drilled the sound holes, it looks like the oak is only a thin veneer and the rest is mdf. The holes are beautiful but I am concerned with how it is going to sound. What are your thoughts?

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Comments

  • Scott McGilliard June 8, 2016 at 3:28pm

    I built a guitar from a corrugated cardboard shipping box and it sounded really good.  I also built one from a kitty litter box (the box the litter comes in) and reinforced the inside with regular plywood and it sounds good too.

  • Joe Caruso April 4, 2016 at 12:49pm

    Rusty - happy the verdict was a great sounding box! I started building my own boxes for fun out of scraps - and I do have some poplar veneer and thin mdf lying around - will have to give it a shot - would have never thought of it without your story. Thanks! 

  • Mark Lindsay March 29, 2016 at 5:33pm

    You're very welcome. I got caught up in the wood vs pressboard vs MDF debate too, but then started paying attention to what people were actually building and, more importantly, actually playing. I just didn't hear a ton of difference between them. A cigar box guitar is supposed to sound unique - if we wanted to create something that rivaled a store bought 6-string, we would be building them and not bothering with the cigar box in the first place. At the end of the day, it's still just a stick in a box - don't overthink it.

  • Rusty Summer March 28, 2016 at 6:10pm

    That was helpful Mark. Thanks.

  • Mark Lindsay March 28, 2016 at 4:00pm

    I posted a video on this very topic about a year ago. For future reference, here you go...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9mKqGZMvg0

  • Rusty Summer March 28, 2016 at 2:03pm

    BusyHands Slim, it actually worked out really well. It has quite a warm tone to it. I still don't like the mdf for long term durability reasons but it turned out beautifully in this case. 

  • Busyhands Slim March 28, 2016 at 1:28pm
    My guess is that it will sound about like all the "solid wood" boxes, which are actually plywood. The acoustics of any box this size are going to be pretty poor compared to a real guitar body, but that's what cigar box guitars sound like, so that's what we get. Let us know how it works out.
  • Fomhorach March 25, 2016 at 9:53pm

    Yes. The head of the guitar reflects the maker. And yes, instruments are works of artists. 

    I like it.

  • Rusty Summer March 25, 2016 at 5:22pm

    Nope, it is actually kind of a trademark of my guitars. I drill a recessed hole in the headstock so they can be hung up as a piece of art.  It is also where I attach a guitar strap. I have designed a frame (haven't built one yet) that allows you to display your gitty like the art that it is. It uses one of the pegboard hangers you find in the grocery store. 

    306544648?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

  • Fomhorach March 25, 2016 at 4:27pm

    Is that a coin embedded in the head?

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