Why the Cigar Box Guitar Revolution Really is a Revolution

Back in the mid 1990’s, Shane Speal played a primary role in the rediscovery of the cigar box guitar. Drawn to their primitive, raw sound and power, and how far removed they were from the main-stream musical establishment scene, he declared the start of the Cigar Box Guitar Revolution.

Cigar Box Nation LogoThese days, 20 or so years into the modern CBG revival, people sometimes roll their eyes or scoff a bit when we still refer to this movement as a revolution. I am here to tell you it still is, and I just a reminder of why this morning.

A couple of days ago, I posted a knowledgebase article on Zero Frets, with the goal of introducing cigar box guitar builders to this often overlooked or misunderstood topic. This morning I found in my inbox a comment from a man who is a luthier, and runs a website dedicated to luthiery. I will not name him or his site, that is not the point of this blog post. Suffice to say, it is the sort of site where the subcellular structures of certain strains of Sitka spruce grown in certain soils, and the effects of all of that on tonal quality, are discussed.

His comment on my zero fret article was this, and I quote: “Utterly wrong. Sorry. Indefensibly so. Back to the drawing board.”

Immediately, I thought “what did I get wrong”? Continue reading “Why the Cigar Box Guitar Revolution Really is a Revolution”

Zero Frets – What they are, and Why and How to use them on 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.

We have just added a new how-to article by Ben “C. B. Gitty” Baker to our knowledgebase, which deals with the topic of zero frets. Zero frets are sometimes considered an arcane topic by cigar box guitar builders, and in this article Ben tries to demystify them, showing you in simple terms and clear pictures what they are, why to use them and most importantly how to use them.

Click Here to View the Zero Fret Knowledgebase Article