The How-To Repository for the Cigar Box Guitar Movement!
How to Build and Play Cigar Box Guitars and other Homemade Instruments
We just added a new video entry to the knowledgebase here on CigarBoxGuitar.com – a video excerpt from a Cigar Box Nation TV episode in which A. J. Gaither and Ben “Gitty” Baker discuss two great tenor guitar tunings for 4-string cigar box guitars: “Arkansas Tenor” (low E, A, D, G) and “Chicago Tenor” (D, G, B, E).
Both tunings allow you to use partial 6-string guitar chords – Ben even shows you how to use 6-string chord forms with them.
Open G “GDG” is one of the most popular tunings (if not THE most popular) for 3-string cigar box guitars. For a CBG with a scale length between 24 and 26 inches, use these string sizes: .042” (Low G), .030” (Middle D), .009” (High G). This is one of our most popular Southbound String Co. string sets.
We have much more info about strings and tunings for cigar box guitars in our knowledgebase. Click here to browse through them.