Our friends John Nickel of Nickel Cigar Box Guitars and Joe McCormack of ALNA Cigar Box Guitars recently spent some time in front of the cameras, talking cigar box guitars with Fred Hunter of the Absolutely Alamaba TV show. John and Joe run the world’s first cigar box guitar retail shop down in Huntsville, Alabama, and are the center of an amazing community of builders and players in that area.
2015 Sound Hole Contest Winners Announced!
Congratulations to Logan Maxwell of Shinnston, WV for the winning entry!!!
Maxwell won the $100 C. B. Gitty gift certificate for his Tree of Life soundhole design. Maxell says about his design,
“I used curly maple for the neck and walnut for the body as well as the fingerboard. The sound hole for the back of the banjo is my rendition of the tree of life. I free-handed the outline then cut it on a scroll saw; then I took a dremel and rounded the edges. I did not keep track, but up to that point I probably already had about 3 hours in it. I’m sure I at least doubled that on sanding, by hand, making sure all the previous grit or cutting marks were taken off.”
More Winners & the Torturous Judging Process:
To say that judging this contest was a torturous process is an understatement. We received 54 amazing entries (see all of them here), each one unique and pushing the boundaries of homemade instruments. From scroll saw art to eye catching design work, each one could have been a winner.
But we could only pick three top winners and three honorable mentions. Sigh… These results will surely cause discussion and debate. Good art does that.
And this is good art.
Second Prize: $75 C. B. Gitty Gift Certificate is awarded to The 57 Chevy Flames by Jim Derrenbacker of Floral City, FL
Third Prize: $50 C. B. Gitty Gift Certificate is awarded to Jeff Cox of Fort Worth, TX and his popping skulls
Honorable Mentions: C. B. Gitty added additional prizes in the final weeks, including three honorable mentions. These builders will each receive a $25 C. B. Gitty gift certificate.
Thanks to everybody who submitted entries to the contest. Look for a new build-off contest coming soon…
-Ben and the C. B. Gitty Staff
Get Rooted! A Celebration of Playable Art gathers Australian performers and builders for a day of cigar box guitars
On Sunday, May 31, cigar box guitar builders and performers converged at The New Globe Theatre in Queensland Australia for the Get Rooted Festival. Organized by Penny Nelson, the fest featured headliner, The Nigel McTrustry Cigar Box Explosion who delivered a blistering set.
Other performers included Miss Gertrude on hub cap guitar, the Jollie Angelinas featuring Mama JuJu, Dusty Stockroute and a cigar box guitar workshop by Pat Curley.
The fest also featured instrument vendors including hubcap guitars and cigar box amps by Krazy Kaatz Guitars by Barry Kaatz along with cigar box guitars by Rob Brighton of Stogey box strings.
Special thanks to Nigel McTrusty for photos and information!
Summer 2015 Cigar Box Guitar Festival Guide
CigarBoxNation.com has just posted the Summer 2015 guide to all of the main cigar box guitar festivals taking place in the United States and abroad. From the oldest festival (11th annual in Huntsville, AL) to the ones just getting started, it’s going to be a great year for CBG fests! Come on out to the ones nearest you to see great live music, check out cigar box guitar vendors and meet some of your fellow enthusiasts.
Celebrities with Cigar Box Guitars – New Gallery
We’ve just added a new photo gallery to the library, this one made up of photos of celebrities holding/playing cigar box guitars.
The photo to the left shows Tom Johnston, one of the founders of the Doobie Brothers, checking out a cigar box guitar made for him by Greg Campbell.
Click here, or on the photo to the left, to view the full gallery.
Patriotic Songs for Memorial Day Weekend
Did you know that we have a collection of Patriotic and other “Americana” song tablature in our knowledgebase library?
For the one-string canjo, we have My Country ‘Tis of Thee.
For 3-string Cigar Box Guitars (tuned to Open G GDG), we have America’s anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, arranged by Glenn Watt.
As an added bonus, we have Woodie Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land, a classic folk song celebrating the wide expanse of America’s beauty.
Have a happy Memorial Day weekend!
Two new homemade instrument video clips added – New Orleans 1928-1929
We have just added two new historical video clips to the library here on CigarBoxGuitar.com, both from the late 1920’s in New Orleans. The first shows a “spasm band” in action, complete with homemade drum sets and dancing kids. The second shows more dancing and another homemade drum kit, with the player being possibly identified as “Cocomo” Joe Barthelemy, a long-time New Orleans jazz musician and street performer.
Click here to check out the Historic Video section of our knowledgebase library, or click the image to the left (a screen capture from the video, thought to show Cocomo Joe Barthelemy playing his homemade drum kit in 1928).
These early spasm band performers were some of the forerunners of the modern Jazz genre, and it’s really cool that so many of them utilized homemade instruments.
Play the famous opening riff from Smoke on the Water on your Cigar Box Guitars!
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.
New Cigar Box Guitar Tablature: Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes
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!
Free Cigar Box Guitar Plans
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!
How to make a Scarf Joint on a Cigar Box Guitar Neck – new video how-to from Glenn Watt
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!
A Real “Roots” Instrument: a Fifth-grader’s Tree Branch Diddley Bow
Nick Krissie is a teacher at the Sunset School in Coos Bay, Oregon. He recently started a series of handmade instrument building workshops with students in the school, focused on teaching them to both build and play instruments like cigar box guitars.
Recently Nick sent us some photographs of something special one of his fifth-graders had brought in. Entirely of his own volition, outside of school, this youngster build his very own diddley bow out of a tree branch, some screws and a length of wire.
“From what he told me he has a hand saw he used to cut the branch and I am not sure about a drill for the screws,” Krissie said. “The bridge is nailed in but it was loose so he lashed it with tape. He wanted to use a can for a resonator but he couldn’t get it to fit. I might help him make a pickup to put on it. The string is very tight and the stick is fairly short so it is high pitched. He was using a little plastic flashlight as a slide.”
For us, this strikes right to the core of what the handmade music movement is all about. A simple instrument like this, built by a creative and inquisitive child, takes the idea of musical instruments back to its most fundamental, personal roots, as far as you can get from the shiny, clear-coated, mass-produced Tele clones being cranked out of factories all over the world.
This is where it begins, and what it’s all about. We need more fifth graders making diddley bows in this world.