The How-To Repository for the Cigar Box Guitar Movement!
How to Build and Play Cigar Box Guitars and other Homemade Instruments
Friday is finally here and the weekend is only a short work day away. Why not celebrate by starting a new song to practice over the weekend?
Soutbound Strings brings tablature for “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen arranged for a 3-string, Open G (GDG) Cigar Box Guitar. A timeless and powerful classic, it’s hard not to close your eyes and get lost in the music.
Click here for the FREE PDF with a bonus instructional video!
One of the most common ways to eliminate the frustrating buzz and hum in your electric Cigar Box Guitar, is including the strings in the pickup circuit by grounding to the bridge.
But what do you do if you aren’t using a metal bridge?
Glenn Watt brings you an excellent article that explains how you can do just that.
Click the picture of a bewildered looking Glenn below to learn how you can ground without a metal bridge!
A pre-wired magnetic pickup harness are a great way to electrify your next Cigar Box Guitar. They are easy to install and can really add a great touch to your build.
In this how-to video, Craftsman Glenn Watt brings you step-by-step instructions on how to install one of these harnesses, specifically the “Florentine Screamer” by C. B. Gitty.
The instructions can even be adapted to install other pickups as well!
A frustrating problem to run into while building an Electric Cigar Box Guitar, is the dreaded Hum or Buzz when you first plug the guitar into an amp. It can be discouraging to new and experienced builders when trying to diagnose and fix the issue.
Enter this informative article by Ben “Gitty” Baker that can help to speed up the troubleshooting process. He presents some of the common sources that can cause the buzz and some tips and tricks that can help mitigate if not solve the issue altogether.
Click here to learn Ben’s tips on diagnosing the Hum and Buzz in your Electric Cigar Box Guitar!
What better way to shake off the Monday blues than learning a new song?
Glenn Watt arranged an excellent cover of “Voodoo Child” one of Jimi Hendrix’s most notable tunes. Here he provides a video showing how it can be played on your Open G Cigar Box Guitar and provides tablature so that you can play along.
The final part in a four part series, Gitty shows you some advanced techniques that can help increase the versatility of your canjo.
Click here to learn more about how to spice up your canjo playing.
The third part of Ben “Gitty” Baker’s introduction to Canjo’s jumps right into the basics of tuning your canjo, how to read tablature and demonstrates by teaching you how to play two well-known Songs: “Camptown Races” and “When the Saints Go Marching In”.
Click here to learn how easy it is to pick up and play a canjo!
Part two of a four part video series, Ben “Gitty” Baker dives into the details of what parts make up a canjo, American Canjo Company’s Diatonic fretting, the “Blue note” and more!
Click here to learn more about the composition of these instruments!
In the first installment of a four part series, Ben “Gitty” Baker broaches the subject of Canjos. Their historical origins, how they are built and what makes them so unique.
Click here to find out more about this unique and easy-to-play instrument!
After some head scratching and brain storming, Ben “Gitty” Baker found a use for those larger, thinner cigar boxes that are normally too thin to make an instrument: A Tambourine!
In this guide, Gitty walks you through the steps he took to create this modern, Cigar Box powered take on the ancient instrument.
Cigar Box Guitars have certainly become an art form in their own right. Builders from all over the world are finding new and exciting ways to decorate and customize their builds.
This article aims to give you some ideas on how you can use some interesting items, gathered from pretty much anywhere, to add a bit of flair to your next build!
Click here to read the full article
Need ideas or inspiration for your next build, or just want to see what other awesome creations others have come up with?
Check out the Customer Gallery over at C. B. Gitty. You can even submit your own project!
First published in February 1850 and written by Stephen Foster, Camptown Races is an easy and fun song to play on your dulcimer or one-string Canjo.
