The How-To Repository for the Cigar Box Guitar Movement!
How to Build and Play Cigar Box Guitars and other Homemade Instruments
If you have been wanting to try your hand at a four-string, these videos are for you! These two lessons from Shane Speal walk you through getting started playing sweet, sweet music on a 4-string cigar box guitar tuned G D G B (open G).
Click here or on the image to the left to see the full post on CigarBoxNation.com!
We’ve compiled all of the entries we received for the C. B. Gitty/Cigar Box Nation 2015 Cigar Box Guitar Fretting Tips Contest, and created a PDF document out of it. This document contains all of the entries we received, unedited and as close as possible to the original formatting, with photos. We present it here so that everyone can share in the collective wisdom freely submitted by builders of cigar box guitars and other homemade intruments all around the world. Enjoy!
Cigar Box Guitar Fretting Tips Contest Entries
(Click the link above to view the PDF Document)
This is the perfect introductory video for anyone wanting to build a cigar box guitar from scratch.
We just added the full “how-to” guide for C. B. Gitty’s new Cigar Box Ukulele Kit to the knowledgebase here on CigarBoxGuitar.com. While written specifically to show you how to assemble their complete CB Uke kit, this guide is also a good reference for anyone looking to build a cigar box ukulele from scratch.
If you have ever wondered about what it takes to build a cigar box ukulele, check out this guide. And if you want to try your hand at it, don’t forget that C. B. Gitty sells both the complete kit and also a nice range of individual ukulele parts.
Happy Uke’in!
We just added a new entry to the free cigar box guitar knowledgebase here on CigarBoxGuitar.com – a series of 5 video lesson in which “King of the Cigar Box Guitar” Shane Speal shows you some of the most famous blues riffs, licks and turnarounds. With these quick, easy-to-follow lessons, you’ll be sounding like one of the blues masters in no time.
From the classic blues “walkdown” lick to some more advanced runs, Shane presents this foundational how-to material in a clear, approachable way.
So grab your cigar box guitars, tune them to Open G “GDG”, and get ready to start belting out some blues!
DUHN DUHN DUHN, DUHN DUHN DAH DUHN…
DUHN DUHN DUHN, DAH DUHN
(dun dun dun dun dun)
Here it is, the easiest-to-play and most recognizable rock and roll riff of all time: the opening riff to Smoke on the Water. Turns out, you can play it on your 3-string Open G GDG cigar box guitar with just one finger.
If you only learn one song on the cigar box guitar, it should probably be this one. In a short video, Ben “C. B. Gitty” Baker walks you through just how easy it is to play this classic rock and roll anthem.
We’ve just added a new piece of tablature for 3-string cigar box guitars to the knowledge-base, for a song that has one of the most recognizable melody riffs in all of Rock & Roll: Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes. This is a nice easy one to play on a 3-string cigar box guitar (or other homemade instrument) tuned to Open G GDG, so download this free tablature sheet and give it a try.
There’s even a demo video where Ben “C. B. Gitty” Baker shows you how to play it!
A new set of free plans for 3-string cigar box guitars has just been added to our knowledgebase library here on CigarBoxGuitar.com. Written by Ben “C. B. Gitty” Baker, these 8 pages of how-to walk you through the process building your first 3-string slide cigar box guitar. A complete list of all the parts and tools you’ll need is included, along with links and tips on where to get some of the parts. The assembly steps are clear and easy to follow, with lots of photos to help you along the way.
It has never been easier to build your own cigar box guitar. YOU CAN DO IT!
If you have ever thought about adding a scarf joint to your cigar box guitar necks, but have been unsure whether you could pull it off, this video is for you! Glenn walks you through all of the steps it takes to create a scarf jointed headstock with just hand tools, bringing it into the realm of possibility for almost anyone.
While some care and attention to detail is required, creating a nice scarf joint is not as hard as you may think, and is definitely worth the effort. So click on through to the knowledgebase entry for the video and give it a watch (there are even some bloopers and out-takes at the end). You’ll be glad you did!
Shane Speal, the King of the Cigar Box Guitar, has been building and selling cigar box guitars for over twenty years. Recently he has begun writing a series of articles aimed at helping others get started selling their CBGs and other handmade creations at festivals. So far the first two parts of the series have been posted in the blog over at CBGitty.com, with more on the way.
Part 1 – Selling Cigar Box Guitars at Festivals for Fun and Profit
Part 2 – Selling Cigar Box Guitars at Festivals for Fun and Profit
Part 3 – (Coming Soon) Setting up Your Vending Booth
We just added a nice new freebie to the knowledgebase library: a blank tab sheet for 3-string cigar box guitars that you can download and print out for making your own tab! C. B. Gitty created this a while back for working out some of the tab that gets posted here in CigarBoxGuitar.com, and now you can use it too. Just click the image to the left to view the knowledgebase entry, then you can download the tab sheet itself for printing or sharing. Enjoy!
We’ve just added three new video how-to lessons for Cigar Box Ukulele to the knowledgebase. Dan walks you through playing these three songs with his usual wit and gusto. Two of them are old traditional songs that have been recorded many times over the years, and the third one is a much more recent composition by none other than Willie Nelson.
Click the links below to see the knowledgebase entries for each of these three lessons: