Well, can't believe I've done it, but what a rush! It started when a friend gave me a copy of Guitar Player, I think it was, which had an article featuring cigar box guitars. The four beautifully photographed guitars an the feature page stopped me dead! I was hooked! Being a street busker myself, I thought, "This is just the ticket to get the real tips!"

     I found a website mentioned, and, determined to purchase one for my next guitar (I have quite a collection!), I was dashed to discover when I logged on that there were only about nine of them made, and all were sold but the ugly one".

     So that begin my search for a cigar box guitar. One thing led to another, and I was amazed to discover so many sites and online articles and postings about CBG's. I soon found YouTube videos on how to build your own, and, being handy, that's what I decided to do. How much more fun to create my own instrument, rather than buy someone else's!

     So I did my research, copying out plans and information, and ordering the Cigar Box Guitar Building book from Amazon.com.

     I was so excited, I could hardly wait for it to come in the mail. And when it did, I immediately began to devour its contents! Before I had even finished the book, I had launched my first box, a four-stringer which I named "American Willie" after the box brand, plus a flattened Willie Nelson penny I attached near the bridge for some "bling".

     I was amazed to discover that I could learn to do things I never thought I would, like building and fretting a neck successfully, and learning to do the electronics to build the pickups and things. I was hooked, netted and boated!

     Since that first project about three weeks ago, I have built another CBG, a three-string version with a "bottlecap" pickup, which really growls out the blues, and a small cigar box amp. Then I turned my attention to building a cigar box violin, which became very challenging, but very rewarding once I had finished it and strung it up. I just finished it today, except for some pegs to match which are on order. I named it "La Aroma de Cuba", after the brand name, and installed a rod piezo under the bridge. I couldn't believe the sound, ... I think I'm in love!

     One of the most serious challenges to me were the electronics for the instruments. I had never worked with such things before, and had no confidence that I could do it. But needs and neccessity create desire and interest, and I soon discovered that I could do this! The disk piezo's were easy, and a great way to start, but I was soon frustrated by working with the rod piezo's I had purchased from C. B. Gitty. There were no diagrams anywhere to explain how to wire them, and I was clueless what to do after following the simple directive to "cut the jack off and wire the cable to the hot lug on the pot". What to do with the braided ground wire that shielded the wire?

     Thanks to the Cigar Box Nation community, and especially to Randy S. Bretz who replied to my cry of help and patiently explained the procedure to this electronics dummy! I would never have figured out that I needed to roll the cut braided grounding wire into a tight roll, wet it with solder, and solder it to the ground lug! But thanks, guys, for your help, you gave me a great hand up! And the rod's do sound better than the simple disk piezos.

     I can't stop, all my friends are amazed at these guitars, and some are ordering me to custom build one for them. I took my guitars and amp to my local music store, and they loved them. They have agreed to take them in to sell for me, and have told me that they get a lot of interest, which means it's a good sign they will sell them! I have boxes, boxes and stuff, and plan to build many more. I intend to learn as I go, and push my limits until I'm building boxes with magnetic pickups, tone controls and everything. I discovered a YouTube video on how to build truss rods from stuff purchased in a hardware store, which looks easy enough, I may even try that! I plan to create uke's, maybe a mandolin, and lots of CBG's! It's like, I've discovered what I want to do with the rest of my life! All I can think about is cigar box guitars! Anybody know a link to a recovery program for a CBG addict?