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All Wood Box Fake Out

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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Comment by Scott McGilliard on June 8, 2016 at 8:28am: 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.

Comment by Joe Caruso on April 4, 2016 at 5:49am: 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!

Comment by Mark Lindsay on March 29, 2016 at 10:33am: 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.

Comment by Rusty Summer on March 28, 2016 at 11:10am: That was helpful Mark. Thanks.

Comment by Mark Lindsay on March 28, 2016 at 9:00am: 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

Comment by Rusty Summer on March 28, 2016 at 7:03am: 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.

Comment by Busyhands Slim on March 28, 2016 at 6:28am: 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.

Comment by Fomhorach on March 25, 2016 at 2:53pm: Yes. The head of the guitar reflects the maker. And yes, instruments are works of artists.

I like it.

Comment by Rusty Summer on March 25, 2016 at 10:22am: 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.