Now, I am one of those people who has never build a cigar box guitar. Really!

That's because I'm living on a lonesome hill in central Portugal and I just didn't find any cigar box here. Call me a "purist" but I do not want to buy a box or any other part for that matter. Not only because of the choice once made to go and live in a place where modern gadgets haven't set foot on the ground yet, but also because all penny's made are needed to get food on the table. No, I (we) am not a misfortunate person, it's a well thought over decision to give up on microwaves, dishwashers and other modern life convenient equipment, to be able to get more into the joy of living without the daily stress of bosses, managers and dress codes. That said, it doesn't mean I live without the normal luxury of daily life appliances like fridge, freezer, washing machine, etc. but why should I have a microwave if there are no "microwave ready-made meals" available and all food comes fresh from the land. Next, to that, I actually do like to have an outside shower under the 70-year-old bucket. So what does all that have to do with building homemade instruments you might think, well....

​When I was a teenager, and believe me, that was a long time ago, all kids were dancing at the sounds of Saturday Night Fever while I was listening to Robert Johnson and Barbecue Bob. I collected old records, lived completely in another world than my schoolmates and it turned out to be not just a childhood phase. Later on in life, I organized many blues festivals, produced a radio show for over 10 years and wrote for a blues magazine in the Netherlands.
You could say it's the only thing in life that kept a constant interest. At first, you believe the romantic stories about the string up a post of the porch being used as a bass, the washboard rhythm and yes, also the cigar box guitar. In fact, it's not romantic at all, is it? It's all about dark and hard times, about being poor and looking for solutions to overcome the lack of money. People made instruments with the items that were available for free, cigar boxes, washboards, tin cans, buckets and so on. The lucky ones bought a proper instrument the minute they could afford it. Which brings me to the way I build my instruments, finally...

No, I can't compare myself with others, not with the ones that made instruments out of poverty, not with the luthiers in history that made beautiful works of art without the modern tools we have nowadays. I am this lucky guy with a 300-year-old workshop (which I rebuild from a ruin, but that's another story), living in a time where people throw so much good stuff away that it isn't hard to find the materials to build whatever you like to, I didn't find a cigar box yet though. A box is a box though and I like to recycle them into stringed instruments, that's why I call them RBG's (recycled box guitars).

Any box will do if it's not too small or too big. It's just that people throw away so many things that are usable in the process of making an instrument. At the moment there are 2 washing dryers, 2 dishwashers, a satellite dish and an old street light underneath the carport next to the workshop. The shop is nicely filled with all kinds of wood, donated by a local builder who saves up all usable pieces when he restores houses and calls me once a year to collect. I do make furniture, lamps and other items, rebuild or restore old Portuguese furniture (for a living), but I don't do new doors, windows or other structural builds and therefore I am no competition, that's why the builder doesn't mind giving me the wood.

My goal is to buy as few things as possible. Not in a "purist" way, I will use old guitar parts (or new ones if I find them on a flea market or car boot sale) if they are available, but when not, then it's a nice challenge to make parts. I mostly make my own (Fado guitar style) tuners and frets. I guess I'm the one who started using little cigarillo boxes to hide the tuners and a few other "first time" features like a "wind ashtray" to make an "open or closed" soundhole. Most o my builds find a way to someone who actually has the talent to play. Next, to Coffee, it's an addiction that seems to be untreatable! 

Les deux dernières CBG sorties tout juste de l'atelier.
Une 3 cordes équipée d'un micro 3 plots "Rola" de ma fabrication. La table est bombée et sculptée façon années 30.
Une 4 cordes équipée d'un micro Humbucker, la table est plate et sculptée façon années 30 également. Cette CBG est frettless.

Three brand new lessons for playing the Blues, tasteful slide guitar & getting the best tones from your cigar box guitars.

NEW TODAY:  Quick Blues Lick of the Week:  The T-Shape Riff   A seriously badass slide-blues riff that uses shapes to explain it...not chords or music theory!  Another great way to kickstart your collection of blues riffs.

Tasteful Hammer-On Techniques:  This is a simple playing style that will develop your rhythmic playing. I use this all the time in concert in various ways. Here's the foundations of the style, broken down in one easy video.

THE BEST ACOUSTIC PICKUP for cigar box guitar...and the simple method of installing it:    I've played every sort of piezo-equipped cigar box guitar over the last two decades and this setup beats them all.  It's what I use in my new line of guitars...and I'll never go back! 

Hey all, First of all thank you for accepting me as a member.

I have been kicking around with guitars since my 15th Birthday present of an old acoustic. Since I'm now 55, you would think i would be pretty good but life has a habit of getting in the way.

So I finally got around to building a smokey amp. The first hurdle was finding a pack of cigarettes that didn't have all those warnings on the pack. I beat this by downloading a scanned pack of Lucky Strike with all sides and front and back included. I got an empty pack from the bloke next door and through the wonders of publisher, I was able to superimpose the lucky strike over his pack. Looks the deal and sounds ok.

While I was printing out the lucky strike pack, I got to thinking I could do this with cigar boxes as well. Only problem is the local tobacconist doesn't have any empty boxes. So if anyone out there is willing to scan in his or her cigar box on all sides, I would be eternally grateful. High res photos would be ok as well.

When I get some scans, I would be happy to share with anyone who wants a copy and even make you a cigar box you might not have.

Looking forward to making my first 3 string cigar box guitar.

Greg

Our Story

Here at Heavy Fog Guitars we handcraft Cigar Box Guitars with premium exotic hard woods and high quality accessories. We build unique 3 and 4-string electric cigar box guitars. Our guitars are built in Canada at our St. John’s, Newfoundland workshop. Each of our handcrafted guitars is a “one of a kind” instrument possessing an original tone, feel and look.

Our love of music is built into each and every one. Whether you are a beginner or a long time picker these instruments are easy and fun to play, providing hours of musical possibilities. If you are looking for a unique gift, a musician seeking inspiration or an individual choosing a new hobby our handcrafted cigar box guitars are a solid investment.

Our History

Heavy Fog Guitars was founded by Peter Lake on August 10th, 2015 in St.John’s Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada . Since the founding, He has crafted many guitars (played by notable musicians such as Justin Johnson, and the Hub Cap Stealers)

The journey began when Peter was watching the movie “It Might Get Loud”. While watching the movie he saw Jack White build a 1 stringed diddley Bow. Having Stoked his interest Peter began searching about homemade instruments and he came across a man named “Sea Sick Steve” who was playing a “Hubcap Guitar”.  He began to do more research and discovered Justin Johnson playing a Cigar Box Guitar. He immediately knew he wanted to start building his own.

In the Summer of 2013 Peter found an old Ford hubcap laying on the side of the road. He picked it up, brought it home, and built his first “hubcap Guitar”.

In the summer of 2015, Peter decided to build his first Cigar Box Guitar. He was quite pleased with the end result, and decided to post a picture on social media. He was overwhelmed with the feedback. He began receiving messages from friends wanting one of their own, and before Knew it, it became a growing business. He called his business “Heavy Fog Guitars”.

Several months later as the company began to grow, Peter was contacted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) for a radio interview, which spread the fog across to its many listeners. Shortly after Peter was contacted by a local news paper “The Overcast” to do an article for their very popular monthly issue. This made “Heavy Fog Guitars” a buzz name in the city of St.John’s.

After designing a few CBGs and lap diddley bows that my husband brought to life with power tools, I made my first solo creation this week, and I'm smitten with my guitar style diddley bow. 

While I've made 2 lap diddley bows and 4 CBGs with 3 strings with my husband on the power tools and me on design, this is the first one I've made on my own and first one with a round neck. The pickup is a piezo disc pickup pre-wired to a jack from cbgitty.com. I used 1/8" pop rivets for string ferrules, a Ping tuner, 1" pine dowel, a craft box (I know some purists may be annoyed by that), a slotted screw for the nut, a lamp nipple for the bridge, and tarp grommets for the sound hole covers. I sawed the dowel with a hand saw for creating flats for the tuner, then I used a drill with regular bits and Forstner bits for all the rest. 

I've been a hobby guitarist for 16 years, but I'm totally new to slide guitar. This is so fun! I love the simplicity, and there is something amazing about playing music on an instrument you made yourself.

This video is a demo of a diddley bow (1 string cigar box guitar or CBG) I made on 12/30/15. https://youtu.be/vNHkUX8UAJI ;

I had to turn off the Christmas tree lights while using the Mustang amp because they were causing some electromagnetic interference and creating an annoying hum on the amp. Most of the music I played I learned from Juston Johnson tutorials. The long song I played was based on a tune by Elmore James.

OK now it's going to be more fun :)

This box has been waiting for me to get a little bit of experience, lurking on top of my cupboard. It's aimed as a gift for my daughter so my usual 'oh that will do' attitude will not cut the mustard, so to speak!!

Short trip out the house to get some oak for the neck and fantastic I find some that will do nicely :) unfortunately it came in 4m length! I don't drive and I just couldn't see myself having a conversation with the bus driver saying "honest mate, it will fit lengthwise down the bus, I just need you to open the emergency window at the back because I can't bend it round the door"

So out with a block saw and there's me sitting on the side of the road hacking away.. 2 x 2m.. Done. Now I can walk with it without having many laural and hardy moments.

Next a trip into Glasgow to visit a professional luthier for some fret wire and a bit of advice.. Very very helpful and cool guy, it turns out he is planning some CBG one day classes (but it's a bit out of my price range). The guitar work shop, Glasgow, Scotland. Check out his shop pictures. I walked in and just wanted to run riot in the place. It was CBG heaven.. 

Well anyway.. I can't wait to get stuck right into day 2 .. Neck construction. This will be my first neck build so wish me luck.

 Guess this is the best place to start a progress thread so here we go.

 I've been wanting to build a CBG for quite awhile now, past attempts to find boxes were futile but I now have found a box supplier near me :D

 I found this selection of boxes, found  this site of course and started watching tutorials on You Tube.

(I was hoping to find one cool box and walked out with 7, yikes!)

 Going to start with the Hoyo de Monterrey and have almost everything I need to follow Unstrung13's tutorial. Hopefully I'll be on that within a few days. It seemed to be the simplest tutorial so I figured the best place to start.

 Of course the Brickhouse needs to be a Bass :D (which is my main goal for this endeavor. I'll make that one electric and get a few nice parts (gold volume knob) and tuners from CBNG.

 My favorite though is the Chillin' Moose'. Sweet little box, but it's small so I figure probably more of a Uke scale, definitely electric, probably piezo.

 I think I'll try a stomp box with the baccarat, though I'll probably use it more as a 'slap box'.

 I'd like to turn the Romeo into an amp, but I'm getting ahead of my self. 

 I'll post some pics of progress and or finished g when it's ready :) 

On Sunday afternoon 2015 09 13 Holland will have it's 2nd Cigar box festival.

Organized by Bo Hudson, Cafe Calluna and Cigarbox Henri

The 1st edition last year counted over 700 visitors.

This festival is free of charge and held outside at bikerscafe Calluna in Ommen (in the east of Holland) www.cafecalluna.nl and therefor the festival is called Delta Calluna.

Line up so far:

Justin Johnson ( USA)

Rocco Recycle ( Germany)

Gumbo and the Monck ( NL)

Herman Ouboter (NL)

The Boothill Stompers ( NL)

Bacon Fat Louis ( NL)

Cigarbox Henri & Friends (NL)

More info to follow.

For images of the first edition and info about the 2nd edition, check our Facbook page:

https://nl-nl.facebook.com/pages/Dutch-CBG-Festival/435222433289827

Cigar Box Guitars Have Soul - The look and sound of every CBG is unique and as different as the people playing them. So what may work great for me may not be the best fit for you. 
Here are some basics that may be helpful in finding your perfect CBG. 

Scale Size Matters - I have seen 5 year old children playing huge classical guitars like pros. So it is possible to adjust to the size and fret spacing of any guitar, but why should you? As a person with smaller hands I have always struggled with standard 6 string guitars. The frets are far apart and I have a hard time reaching. The scale of a guitar is the distance between the nut up by the head or tuners and the bridge usually located on top of the box that the strings go over or attach to. The longer the scale the further apart the frets are from each other. Many people have tried to play guitars in the past only to get frustrated because of the difficulty in reaching the right spots on the fret board.  
On a typical store bought guitar this scale length is usually between 24 3/4 to 25 1/2 or somewhere in-between. This is kind of a standard developed by Gibson, Martin and Fender and is ok for most folks with normal to large hands. But what about a youth player, lady or someone with smaller hands. Or those who play mandolin or ukulele? 
A shorter scale is one of the advantages that can be realized when purchasing a custom built instrument and can be the difference between struggling and easy to play. Even those big giant dudes that ride big motorcycles or big mud trucks will notice how easy a shorter scale can be to play. 
A shorter scale may be for you, so consider the scale when buying a CBG. I have found a 20" to 22" scale to be just perfect for most small hands players. 

Frets or No Frets? - CBG's can be purchased with or without frets. Frets are the narrow metal pieces on the neck that your fingers push your strings down on. 
Most common store bought guitars have frets but you don't have to have them to be able to get the individual notes you want out of the strings. Take the violin and chello for instance, these are examples of fret-less stringed instruments. 
There are advantages and disadvantages to both that can be considered and this topic alone can bring up much debate depending on who you ask. However there has always been something of a general rule regarding fretted or fretless. If you want to play primarily individual notes as in the lead of a song go with frets. If you want to use a slide go fretless. In my humble opinion, if the neck of a CBG is built well you can do both with either. So there is no right or wrong answer here. If you are used to frets buy a CBG with frets. If you have no preference, fretless may be a good option for your first CBG because they are usually less expensive. Typically the luthier has less time in the assembly of a fretless instrument. A good fret job takes some time and must be done right.

Action or String Height - The action of a guitar refers to the distance between the bottom of the strings and the frets or neck. A stringed instruments action or string height determines how much downward pressure must be applied to the strings in order to make solid contact with the fret or fret board. Like the decision for frets or fretless there are players that like both. Here are a couple of considerations regarding whether a low or high action may be best for you. 
If you have strong calloused fingers the action will not be as critical for you. If you are a new player, you can look forward to developing those much needed finger muscles and callouses and, you would want the action to be as low as possible starting out. Typically a guitar set up for slide play tends to be just a bit higher and this is normally what you see with fretless instruments. I have always been one to try and get the action as low as possible. The straightness of the neck and the fret job determines how low you can get the action on any guitar. If the action gets to low the strings can rattle on the frets. This is called fret buzz and its not a good thing. Fret buzz can also happen if the neck has a bend or twist, or if the frets are not correct. If you desire a low action you may want to look closely at the construction of the guitars neck. Hardwoods or necks made of 2 pieces (neck & fretboard) glued together are usually stronger and straighter possibly allowing for a lower action setting.

How Many Strings ? - Cigar box guitars are available with any number of strings from only one to six or even more. 
Certainly there are no rules, however the most common are the 3 and 4 string CBG's.
If you currently play a 6 string you may consider the 4 string. It may also be a good choice for the mandolin or ukulele player as well because it can be tuned and played the same. Both 3 and 4 string CBG's are well represented on YouTube with help-full teaching videos and this is a great resource. 
With exception to the above folks, I would recommend the 3 string to everyone because of the great sound you can achieve and the way it can be tuned making it easy to learn. There are many different ways to tune a guitar. The most common tuning for CBG's is open chord tuning.  Strumming all 3 strings makes a chord without pushing any down or in the open position. Depending on the size of the strings you can tune it to any chord you like, allowing you to play in different keys. 
3 strings will allow you to combine 3 separate notes to make a chord. The more notes you include in a chord the better it will sound. While many chords really need more than 3 notes, you can learn tricks to cheat just enough with 3 strings to make it work. So a 3 string is an all-around great choice.

Well there you have it! It’s all just my opinion and what I try to convey to the folks who have chosen to play one of the CBG’s I built. Hope it helps. 

Hi,

I just found cigar box nation. I sure would like to get one of their kits and make a simple one with a pickup on it. Have you heard of 'Sea Sick Steve'? He is great, check him out!

I want to share this resonator played song I wrote.

I hope you enjoy my song, slide playing resonator style as much as I enjoyed making the video.

Best wishes from Rick Washbrook

Rick Washbrook ' Whisky Drinkin' Woman ' Original ' 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3ZeXvGQQsc

                            So, 6 months after my first European Tour I thought it was time to go do it again,only smarter.The first smart thing I did was cut the time on the road in half.Instead of 16 days away it'd be 8.I figured I could earn around the same without missing the family too much and getting knackered.Second smart thing I did was plan in a few rest days.These adjustments made a huge difference to my enjoyment of the tour and as I've intimated the financial implications proved negligible.

The first gig is in Bristol,England,a favourite city of mine to play.The Mother Beef are playing and want me to support.Always happy to join the Bristol boys I set off north for the first 80 miles of a 1550 mile journey.We soundcheck and all goes smoothly.Downstairs is a solo punk guitarist called Rita Lynch, so I go and check her out.She looks my age yet has retained a fabulous. blonde, slim, glamourous rock chick image.Her set is enjoyable and when I watch the crowd watching her I'm reminded of why I like Bristolians-eager,open minded and ready to party.Later on,she buys me a drink and we swap cd's.

     (Rita Lynch)

                                                                                  I get the call,go back upstairs and hit the stage-all goes well enough though the trouble free soundcheck proves a little misleading, as weird booms seem to be emerging from somewhere or other.I plough on regardless, sell a few cd's then watch The Mother Beef do their thing.

       At something o'clock I bid farewell and drive west towards London.My plan is to drive until about 2am then pull into a service station to sleep.I pull down the bed and settle in for a nice kip in The Bellybus.I wake rested at 8am and see a sign I hadn't noticed in the dark-two hours parking are free, its £10 a night or a £90 penalty fee-this is bloody typical of England.On the continent you can pull in and sleep or rest to your hearts content-not in UKPLC-where every opportunity is taken to squeeze every last penny out of joe public.I jump bleary eyed into the drivers seat and scarper.I pull into the next service area and cook up some breakfast in my bus in rather less hurried fashion.(If you are entertaining the notion I got away think again-I just paid a £50 fine this morning).Thank you England, you sclerotic old witch.

                I take the M25 round London and on into Folkestone towards the Eurotunnel.I pull into a shopping area and cook a meal.A mum is watching her two kids ride their bicycles in the deserted carpark.Eventually its time to board the Eurotunnel.I drive onto the train and 30 minutes later emerge in France.I pass roadsigns showing the names of towns and cities I've played before..Kortrijk,Brussels,Ieper,Lebbeke,and so on.My next stop is an area familiar to me-Roeselare in Belgium, where I will be entertaining The Outlaws MC West side chapter party.I arrive on time and Francky shows me around the Clubhouse.Its a mighty fine clubhouse it must be said.Outlaws from England,Germany,Belgium and many other countries arrive on their Harleys and mill around.There are Outlaws guarding the entrance-a necessary precaution-two of the Outlaws were shot to death in a white van recently and three of them attending this party carry bullet wounds from run ins with the Hells Angels.I wonder if there's another drive by whether the guy on the stage gets spared-somehow I doubt it.

        After a lovely veggie meal I do my thing-it proves to be hard work-its kinda difficult singing your heart out to peoples' backs..but I realise after a while The Outlaws are not here because it's a Hollowbelly gig-they're here to meet and chat-they haven't seen each other since last year and naturally they've a lot to catch up on.The guy providing the music is secondary and thats fair enough.Certainly Francky looks unperturbed-he's having a great time.I set my ego aside,dig deep and deliver my show.

        I retire to The Bellybus.I have a comfortable nights sleep,which is remarkable given that The Outlaws like to party all night long ( til 10 am the next day to be precise). Francky and his rather lovely wife take me back to their pad where I shower and eat a nice breakfast.I pass on some bands he might be interested in booking-Left Lane Cruiser being one of them.

                     I set off for Lous bar in Leige-150 miles east-a nice distance.I plan my tours so they make logistical,geographical sense because diesel costs will of course eat into your profits.All is well until I get to Leige,where I find a festival is on- cops have set up road blocks-I hit the sat nav to 'avoid road blocks' but every effort it makes to find me an alternate route meets with yet another road block.I give up,jump out the bus and phone Lou.His English is limited and in desperation I thrust my mobile into a cops hand and get her to talk to him and tell him where I am! Eventually I am rescued,and we both jump in the Bellybus and make it to his bar.

                             Lou's bar has a great reputation amongst touring musicians as a super enjoyable venue to play.It doesn't disappoint.It is small and lo fi- the tiny stage is made up of used wooden pallets with a carpet thrown on the top.No pa.The punters are here for the rum and the music and they know what they're getting.I drink white rum and my late afternoon sets go down a storm.I eat some great pasta made by an Italian bloke.Then its dark rum and coffee.A black dude from Chicago gets up and sings the blues whilst I grin,drink rum,whoop encouragement and generally lap it up.Unusually, the bar closes early-this is done to avoid drunken idiots later on apparently.Its great for me cos I can leave the bus parked up,drink then walk over to my hotel for a relatively early night.

           The hotel turns out to be a sort of hip,internet savvy hostel.I go to my room (which uncannily is room 101-again!) to discover there are 2 bunk beds! I have no idea I'll be the only one in there all night-I choose a top bunk cos I'm already carrying quite a bit of cash and I dont wanna get ripped off in the middle of the night. The walls are unrendered breezeblock,the ceiling bare concrete-I guess its supposed to look minimalist, but juxtaposed with the bunks,the effect is rather like staying in a nuclear fallout shelter. Being slightly drunk I fall off the bottom step when going to the loo and mash up my toe-oh well.I decide to pull on a clean sock and not look at it for a day or two-lol.Anyway, my early night plans are sabotaged when I hear an explosion outside, followed by more-its a minute or two before I realise it's fireworks.

                          I wake with a mildly throbbing toe,brush me teeth and check out.I have time to walk around Liege.I sit by the banks of the river and watch the heavily laden boats go by.It occurs to me that this is the way to earn your living.I feel good.I feel confident being onstage.It feels natural.I'm making good money so I can take it back for my family.

               Eventually the bar reopens and I load out.Next country is Holland.I head north towards Amsterdam,stopping off en route to feed the bus with oil and screenwash,and me with rice and coffee.I reach OT301 and load in smoothly enough.

                                            Its great to see Dawn and Joe again and I decide to stay an extra day in Amsterdam after tonight's show.Its a Monday night but my seemingly realistic expectations of a quiet night are not to be fulfilled-this is the first of several shows where people who have seen me before in March have returned to see me play.I can't believe the crowd that shows up-theres only me playing,its Monday,surely there's been some mistake..I play my set and we all have a great time..I begin to understand that they are coming back to see the show and that that's a good sign for my future.I come offstage and Its more cd selling/signing and t shirts too.

Mark of Cain live @ OT301 Amsterdam-ee my page for the video

             We catch a cab to Dawn and Joes flat, and Dawn wants to learn CBG-after a quick lesson,she treats me to a drunken rendition of Long Road "ooooooooooh baby'sha long long road"  heh heh its great.Eventually I sleep in the spare room amid Joes records and guitars.

               The next day we enjoy Amsterdam,eat a nice meal out,stroll in the park, that kinda thing.I am in much better spirits than the last time I was here thats for sure, for reasons you may recall.I eventually depart for Germany the next day.I have forgotten my drum mat during load out but it aint worth turning around for a grotty bit of carpet.I reach Bremen a little later than planned due to traffic.Its great to see Andreas and Daniela again (last time was Muddy Roots Festival,Belgium) and I join them for some lovely pumpkin soup.By now its Thursday and I have time for a quick tour around Bremen with Andreas as my tour guide.Its fab to have time to actually see the city and its these time outs that have made all the difference on this tour.

           (My German contact and good friend Andee aka Tourette Van Thom  and me-Bremen sept 2012)        

           In the evening we load in-I'm playing onboard a boat-the Betonschiff Treue.Yet again a good sized crowd turn up-theres a few Hollowbelly t shirts in the crowd.Once again,the people who saw me play in March have turned out.Dani tells me later people were singing along to the songs.The show goes great.As usual when in Germany I leave Andee to sell my shit-when I eventually go across to the merch table I wonder where the hell it's gone he's sold so much its untrue.Excellent.I meet a dude from Bear Family Records and I'm also offered the opportunity to record my album in Hamburg.I'll be flying out for a week in November to do just that.

         (Yeah Yeah Yeah Studios,Hamburg,Germany-my home for the week beginning 3rd November 2012)

           So the next day I set the dials on the Bellybus to 'south'.I feel sad leaving Andee and Daniela and the feeling doesn't wear off until I reach the autobahn later on.

             Next stop Dusseldorf.I haven't played this city before-the gigs are being organised by Patrice (Slydog on cigarbox nation) at his art/tattoo gallery and I am unsure what to expect.I needn't have worried.Patrice is a class act.His art gallery is cool and I set up ready for tonight's gig.The gig is intimate-it really encourages the storytelling aspect of my show-the crowd and I have a great time-somebody tells me he's travelled three hours to get to the show and it was well worth it-I tell him its much appreciated.

 (photo credit:Christoph Heuer.)

                                        Next morning I awake on a sofa amid lovely artifacts and feel confident about the final show tonight.I feel like I've got a cold coming on but I know I'll be fine.The gallery becomes packed and I set about giving it my all, as I can afford to go a little extra crazy given its the last night.It gets recorded and I may very well release it, as it does capture what the live show is like.It's lovely to see some old friends in the audience-

and after the show we head behind the scenes for a private party-the food is totally vegetarian and delicious..I contemplate staying the night, but decide to load out late and do a 100 miles or so that night, thus making the final homeward leg of the journey a little shorter.

                  So it is I find myself driving into a Belgian truck stop at 2 am.I try to sleep but can't stop coughing when I lie down-it's so bad I nearly puke.It's autumnal and cold.I cough up phlegm and blood.I pull on my woolly hat and curl up in a ball under my duvet.I should be pissed off but,after a successful tour, my spirits utterly refuse to be dampened.I'll be fine.I eventually drift off around 5am and wake around 8.I piss in a bottle,(I'm a classy guy).fire up the bus and drive on to Calais and board the Eurotunnel train.

                   I reach England but my excitement at being nearer to home and my girls is sabotaged by the weather-last time by fog, this time by extreme,driving rain.I nearly aquaplane twice before I see sense and slow down.Someone is going to crash the conditions are so bad and sure enough the traffic slows as we reach two freshly mashed up cars being attended to by the cops and ambulance dudes.Its square wheels,so I stick one of the cd's Joe has given me on-Little Richard-damn! I'd forgotten how wild he sounds-I sit there in the traffic screaming "Luciiiiiiiiillle!!!" and dancing in the drivers seat like a man possessed-lmao! I eventually reach home-the kids don't hear me come in-Maisy turns round, sees her dad and her little face crumples-she runs into my arms and won't let go.Suits me.My 14 year old walks up and holds me too- we both look down at Maisy but all we can see is the top of her head as she's squashed between us.The embrace lasts a good while.Maggie is in the bath and later on she welcomes me home too, but that, dear reader, is a story decorum forbids me to share ;)

            Cheers, HB.

Hi All

Here are the tabs for my latest lesson 'Bluegrass Cigar Box Guitar'. Will be posting up more videos on this topic. Watch this space....

 Download tab here: Bluegrass%20Cigar%20Box%20Guitar%20Lesson%20%E2%80%93%20Joe%20Cribb.pdf

 My cigar box guitar lessons playlist is HERE

 If you enjoy my lessons please take a look at my latest releases and music here: http://joecribb.bandcamp.com 

Facebook -Twitter - Youtube - Bandcamp - Reverbnation - Cigarboxnation    

Keep on keepin' on

Joe Cribb :)

SONGWRITERS CONTEST APPLICATION

2^nd Annual Cigar Box Guitar Festival held on June 7^th, 2014 at HWY61 Roadhouse located in Webster Groves MO.

Mail your entry to:

Steven Miles – Event Coordinator

The St. Louis Cigar Box Festival 2014

1419 N. 2nd St.

Edwardsville, IL  62025

Songs submitted must be original work. Songs may have multiple co-writers, but please designate one name only on the application. Contestant may submit one or two songs, but each entry requires a separate form, song, and lyrics.  Song must include a homemade stringed instrument (in the spirit of the CBG festival).  It does not need to be made by the contestant, just not mass produced.

Each entry must consist of:

·         Completed and signed application entry form (or photocopy).

·         CD(s), MP3(s) or audio cassette(s) must contain one song only and be four minutes or less in length.

·         If the song contains lyrics, a lyric sheet typed or printed legibly is required (please include English translation if applicable). 

All entrants must be willing and able to attend the finals on the event date above.

Entries must be postmarked no later than May 15, 2014.

Prizes to be awarded for:

1^st place prize – Custom CBG (cigar box guitar) and recording gear

2^nd place prize – Custom CBG and a songwriter’s software tool

3^rd place prize – Custom CBG

Name(s)_______________________________________________________________

Address_______________________________________________Apt._____________

City___________________________State_______Zip__________Country__________

Phone_____________________________________________Age________________

Email Address__________________________________________________________

Song Title______________________________________________________________

Check one:     [  ] Lyrics included           [  ] Instrumental composition

Songwriters contest held at Highway 61 Roadhouse in Webster Groves Missouri during the2^nd Annual Cigar Box Guitar Festival on June 7th, 2014.

Entries will be judged by a panel of music industry professionals who volunteer their time.  Please know that all submissions are treated fairly by the team of volunteer judges, but individual tastes are different including those of the judges.  All entries will be judged on originality, lyrics, melody and the song's overall appeal.  All decisions by judges will be final.  No entrants will be provided with scores or evaluations of their entries.

Judges and Festival host are not responsible for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, postage due, stolen, or misappropriated entries. Judges and Festival host are not responsible for faulty file uploads accompanying online entries.

Twelve entrants will be notified of being selected for the finals that will be performed live at the festival at 10am at the main stage.  Non-finalists will not be notified.

Live performances will be scheduled on the day of the festival.  Therefore all finalists who were chosen by the panel will be given a schedule ahead of time.  Finalists can check in 30 minutes before and must be checked in 10 minutes before the start time.  Failure to do this will result in a disqualification.

12:00 - 1:30 Justin Johnson

1:30 - 3:00 SW Competition

3:00 - 4:30 Justin Johnson

4:30 – 5:00 Judges and Awards

5:00 - 7:00 Justin Johnson

Thanks to everyone who came by our booth at the Rockbrook Village Craft Show on Saturday and the Aksarben Village Farmers Market on Sunday! A great turnout both days. And the weather was perfect was it not? I appreciate the folks who saw the uniqueness of these instruments and made the purchase. I hope you enjoy these instruments whether they hang on a wall, sit on a shelf or get played wherever you take it. Keep looking for us at Aksarben Village Farmers Market and the Old Market Farmers Market both in Omaha, Nebraska. Please contact me anytime via e-mail if you have any questions or would like to see one of the guitars or amps.

Thought i would put up some tabs for my lesson video 'The Claw Grip' part 3. Hope they help. You can download them using the link below

The%20Claw%20Grip%20Part%203%20%E2%80%93%20Joe%20Cribb%20%E2%80%93%20Cigar%20Box%20Guitar%20Lesson.pdf

You can find all my lessons on my youtube channel or my cigar box guitar lessons playlist

Have fun...see you soon

Keep on keepin' on :)

Have now set up a bandcamp page to sell my tunes @

www.joecribb.bandcamp.com

For those new to cb fiddle building, permit me to share some hard-earned tips to get you started right.

1.   Getting Started:   If you want to build a full-size (4/4) violin, it is critical that you get the correct measurements for the string length from the nut to the bridge, and the height of the bridge must be the same as a real violin. Bear in mind that a violin has an arch top, which raises the bridge height. Your cigar box will have a flat top, so to compensate, you must angle your neck to match the correct angle of a violin. If you do not get this right, your strings will not be the correct height on the neck or at the bridge.

2.   Choosing A Box:   You want to find a box that is long and narrow; the body of a 4/4 violin is about 14" long and about 5 1/2" wide at the bouts. It is critical that it be as narrow as possible, close to a real violin, or your bow will hit the sides of the box when playing on the G or the E strings. Also, a real violin is about 1 & 1/2 " deep, and if you want to attach a chin rest, you will have to cut down the height of the box in order to fit it on.

3.   Creating A Template:   I know this next step is time-consuming and counter-intuitive for those who just like to jump in and build, but neglect this step at your own peril! Once you have chosen your box and adapted it for the correct height, (and this is how I do it: I take the box apart at the hinges, and cut out from the middle section all around the sides, so that when I re-section it, it will be 1 & 1/2" tall.) Next, I stand the box on its side on a large sheet of drawing paper, and draw the outline of the box. Then I locate where the bridge will fall on top of the box, which is determined by the correct tail piece spacing, copied from a violin. I draw the bridge to its full size dimensions. I then lay out the neck, paying careful attention to the correct height of the strings to the neck at the nut and the bridge, and also by getting the correct string length from the nut to the bridge. I transfer all measurements from a 4/4 violin neck so that the neck and fingerboard thicknesses will be the same for the custom neck I will build. NOTE: YOU MUST CREATE YOUR OWN CUSTOM BUILT NECK, as it will be longer than a real violin neck, to make up the difference in the length of your box to that of a 4/4 violin! Once I have drawn out my cb violin to its full size, I can then transfer all measurements for my build, and confirm that the neck is properly angled to be playable.

4.   Building The Neck:   Building the neck is without a doubt the hardest and most time-consuming part, but if you get it right, you will be rewarded with a beautiful violin that will actually play like a violin! I go the whole route, hand carving and tooling the scroll volute by copying from a real violin. It is critical that you make templates for the peg holes from a real violin, and transfer them over. NOTE: CAREFULLY DRILL THE HOLES SMALLER THAN THE PEGS, and use a round file to carefully enlarge each hole to fit the peg. Bear in mind that the peg hole will be slightly larger where the peg goes in than where it comes out, so take your time with each hole. Get it wrong, and you will have to plug and re-drill the holes, which is time-consuming and not as pretty! I create my neck out of 2" x 2" poplar stock, and splicing together two pieces to get the neck angle, but it would be better to use a 2" x 4" piece of wood to cut the neck out of in one piece. This would also make the neck stronger, but either way, the joint will be re-inforced once the neck is glued into the box. At the part of the neck inside the box, I cut away some of the bottom portion, leaving only a bit to touch the bottom of the box at the front and back of the inside of the box. This lets the box sound better and have more volume.

5:   Finishing Up:   Once you have the neck correctly built, the rest is easy! You will follow through much the same as building a cb guitar. I do use a piece of 1/4" dowel rod to build a sound post, set just to the back and right under the bridge. Soundholes can be made up of the same kind of things you'd use on a cb guitar, or you can make a "f" hole template from a 4/4 violin, and cut them out with a sharp knife. If you find that your bow will hit the sides of the box when playing on the outside strings, you may have to cut out some of the top of the box where the bouts would fall. Otherwise, if you have chosen your box carefully, it will be narrow enough to play without too much difficulty! You can create your own fingerboard and tailpiece and pegs, but I prefer to order mine for a more professional look, and you can find these sets online. EBay is a good place to get an entire set for less than $20.

Hope this helps, good luck with your build!