“What is a Chord?” With Ben “Gitty” Baker and Glenn Watt

Click the image above to get downloadable PDFs of 3 different Chord families!

In this instructional video from Cigar Box Nation TV, Ben “Gitty” Baker and Glenn Watt of C. B. Gitty get right down to the foundations of chords for 3-string GDG Cigar Box Guitars.

They cover what makes a chord, how read them from diagrams and how to play them!

Back to Basics: What are Chords?

In this instructional broadcast, Ben and Glenn will get right down to the foundations of playing 3-string Cigar Box Guitars, talking about Chords. What they are, how to play them, how to read chord forms and diagrams, and more. Tune in at Noon (U. S. Eastern Time) and join in with your questions and comments. Or just play along!

Posted by Cigar Box Nation on Friday, April 7, 2017

The Basics of Zero Frets and How They Relate to Cigar Box Guitars

This photo shows a fretted cigar box guitar with a zero fret installed. We'll be showing you how (and why) to do this in this article. — This photo shows a fretted cigar box guitar with a zero fret installed. C. B. Gitty shows you how (and why) to do this in this article.

Today’s feature is an exposition written by Ben “Gitty” Baker on the subject of Zero Frets, and what they can do for your Cigar Box guitar.

In this article he answers three key questions; What they are, why they are used and how to install one on your next Cigar Box Guitar.

Click Here to View the Zero Fret Knowledgebase Article

How-To Video: Creating your First Cigar Box Guitar Fretboard

In this video, Glenn Watt walks you through making your first fretboard for a cigar box guitar. Of course you could always buy one of C. B. Gitty’s Pre-made CBG Fretboards, but why not have a go at making your own? You can find most of the supplies you’ll need here.

Click here or on the photo above to see the video!

New How-To Article: Install a Bone Nut on a Fretted Neck

Fretting directly onto a guitar neck is a great option to showcase the natural beauty of the wood you have chosen for your neck, rather than using a fretboard.
This new knowledgebase article shows you one method of installing a bone nut blank onto your fretted cigar box guitar neck.

Click here or on the image to the right to read the full article!

New Building Tip: Sinking a Humbucker in a Cigar Box Guitar

JUST ADDED TO OUR CIGAR BOX GUITAR ‘KNOWLEDGEBASE’: Cigar Box Nation founder, Shane Speal demonstrates how to reinforce internal bracing on neck-through cigar box guitars. The tutorial includes a demo video, photos and more:

>>Cigar Box Guitar Building Tip: Neck Reinforcement with Humbuckers

New How-to Article: Using Hard-tail Bridges on Cigar Box Guitars

This black bottom-loading 4-string hard-tail bridge is great for cigar box guitars and electric ukuleles. Available from CBGitty.com.

The third entry in our series of foundational How-To articles by Ben “Gitty” Baker is now available!

This article covers how and why to use hard-tail bridges on your electric cigar box guitars. Ben covers the different styles available, how to properly mount them and the benefits of using them.

Be sure to check out the line of 3, 4 and 6-string hard-tail bridges available on CBGitty.com!

New How-to Article: How and Why to Use Strap Buttons

Here’s another new how-to article by Ben “Gitty” Baker: how and why to use strap buttons on your cigar box guitar! Strap buttons (along with a guitar strap) are a great addition that help an instrument appeal to performing musicians. If you aren’t using them, read this article to find out why you should!

To pick up some quality strap buttons on the cheap, head over to C. B. Gitty and check out their selection!

New How-To Article: Using Sealed-Gear Guitar Tuners

We just published a new how-to article in our knowledgebase here on CigarBoxGuitar.com! This article, written by Ben “Gitty” Baker, walks you through the basics of using sealed-gear tuners.

Ben covers some of the different styles and varieties, as well as how to mount them correctly. This is one of our “foundation” series of articles that cover some of the basic building blocks of cigar box guitar building, and we hope that it helps you in your own building!

For great deals on sealed-gear tuners, be sure to check out the selection over at CBGitty.com!

VIDEO: 3-string Finger Picking Technique for Cigar Box Guitar

Shane Speal shows his fingerpicking technique for 3-string Cigar Box Guitar.

3-String Cigar Box Guitar Tunings

Shane Speal shows various ways to retune a 3-string cigar box guitar.

The guitar is strung with A,D,G strings and tuned to GDG to start.

Tunings discussed:

G7, the Jazz Tuning – G,D,F (low to high)
G6, Hawaiian Tuning – G,D,E (low to high)
G add Gb, the New Agey tuning – G,D,Gb (low to high)
Dirty D – D,D,A (low to high)

New to the Knowledgebase: How to Make a Simple Cigar Box Guitar

In this photo-packed article, cigar box guitar guru Glenn Watt walks you through the simplest method for building your own cigar box guitar. No frills, no fluff, just the basic, easy-to-understand steps that you need to follow.

So read this article, gather your tools and materials, and you’ll be building cigar box guitars in no time!

New Knowledgebase Entry: How Cigar Box Guitar Tuners Work

Glenn Watt has been busy cranking out fantastic new cigar box guitar how-to articles for us lately. This latest one goes in-depth on open-gear tuners (machine heads) commonly used on cigar box guitars. Their parts, how they are best installed, and pitfalls to avoid. Glenn even shows you a great trick on how to switch the alignment of one of these little babies.