What do you think is the Most Basic Cigar Box Guitar?

What do the Purist say? Just a Box a stick and wire, or thats only looks,it haz to sound like a super monster Killer guitar and look like crap, is there a general consensus on this or as many ideers as players and Builders! Are there Fraction,Left CBG Camps,Right CBG Style groeps? how is The USA Divided in to south style,midlands groove ,swampy build? whe wonder about that here in Europe, You guys live it day to day, tell us about that, are the river people more licence plate orientated, who is more wood orientated? and last but not least Must it bee Playeble?

Thats all folks Let me Know What Think,and  what you believe to bee the Rule,Fact,truth,religion on the Subject!

Your friendly Home playing,building, string, stjugging kind of a BCB guy! Let me see and hear Ye Now !Greeeetttssszzz

A.D.

Views: 584

Comment

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Comment by Uncle John on March 7, 2015 at 2:13am

Good and highly debatable topic,   I like to look at every type and admire fine craftsmanship and fine, had rubbed four layer finishes.  It's all good.

But I especially admire the history of CBGs.   Poor people's make do instruments.   I want mine to look like some poor guy scrounged parts on Monday through Friday and started building Friday night with the goal of playing it on Saturday night.

I play a lot of fretted stuff, but for me the epitome of CBGs, the classic, is an unfretted 3.

Comment by Doc on March 6, 2015 at 3:10pm
Andries, good topic. Being left handed, cbg's were the perfect way for me to flip the proverbial bird to the music establishment. After years of playing upside down, switching strings around, instructors telling me I lack classical technique. Now I do it my way with my instruments and I got to tell you it's very satisfying. I build for sound and tone. I don't believe there's a division as far as geographical location. In other words, I can't look at an instrument and tell you where it came from. I know , here in the USA , roots instruments and music are growing in popularity as a result of the current musical state of affairs. For me, 3 strings "rock my boat" , if I want a six string I'll buy one
Comment by A.D.EKER on March 6, 2015 at 6:38am

I know Pick ,Its just to talk a bout a subject that all of us like, Nice pictures Buy the way,in the heat of the keyboard rambeling,forgot to say that!! Conclusion so far and from answers ellsware on my page, Her i go ,

Most Basic Cigar box Guitar! 1 a cigarbox,2 a stick, round or square is debateble, 3 one string, metal,nylon or otherwise,4 a bridge, of some sort,5 a Nut, of any sort ,6 a wooden or otherwise ,Peg, of conical shape,in conical hole,for string tention. I think those are the Basics for the Cigar Box Guitar, all other Parafenailia are in princeple just for decoration,and amplification, and not Basic, for a first  summary!

Comment by the anonymous pick on March 6, 2015 at 5:16am

indeed  it   is a diddley  bow  .  but   you asked  for  bare   basics   .

 the  cigar  box  is actually  a step  ahead  ,  and an ad on  .   and an advancement .

 actually  ..  you asked alot  .. and  it  would be hard  to  put into  one   answer   ..   even  if    we  could actually  tell  what  your    one   question  is  ..  or what   one  answer  you are " expecting"  .

on  the   topic  of  "basic"     ,   it may  be  better   to   keep  your    question    more  basic  and  specific  /  targeted .

especially   with a language  barrier        , it  makes  things easier  .  

i  think  we all  here answered   some  aspects  of your   question   ,   your  answer  may be  in  the  combined  sum of the whole  . 

especially  when asking  multiple    aspects  . 

anyway  ..    i  hope that  helps  . ;-)

Comment by A.D.EKER on March 6, 2015 at 4:34am

That my dear Friend I Call a Diddley Bow, its not on a plack or a stick, but still is to me the same Princeple!

Comment by the anonymous pick on March 6, 2015 at 3:10am

Comment by the anonymous pick on March 6, 2015 at 2:54am

then  2  nails ,  a wire  and a    bottle  . 

a box aint  even  needed. 

nail  it  to  your     porch  post  ,   floor ,  or  a  tree  .  

Comment by A.D.EKER on March 6, 2015 at 2:47am

Thanks there Farmer ted, for your 2cents appreciated,some good fibe on the topic.Oke Pick i hear Ye but i am talking essentials here purely for debate no commercial aspects from my point of vieuw, as for speal i can relate to that,and see the point about the tuners, did not see any real good solution consurning that,but for maybee a bolt whit a hole,And sorry Darrel, that i put op the invite whit a reverens to the USA guy's ,but i mean every body conserning the CBG Nation, the hole thing is more a intend to come to the Pure form in Material of a Ideer, The Most Basic Cigar box Guitar, and what are the things whe need for that!! 

Comment by the anonymous pick on March 6, 2015 at 2:23am

cbg's  in  of themselves  are  a concept  and a product  . like   a  personalized a t-shirt   or tattoos .

when  buying  one  .    they  will look  for something  that  resembles  them      , their  image  , their  interests  . and   displays  their  personal expression  , or  close to  it  .   

 as  with  building  ,  they  will  build  while  incorporating their  personal expression .  yet  if  they are  building    to  sell  or  for   others,   they   allow  room  for  what    is   popular   in  that  area at that  time    and  what    folks  there   want  ,  

add   to  the  fact ,  that  attempting to  sell oranges at an  orange fest  ,   one  may   need an aspect  to stand  out   from  the  rest  ,   the  guy  that   paints a   happy  face on all  his  oranges   , will  stand  out and  be  remembered  ,   this accounts  for  signature  design aspects  etc  . 

then  there are  building   levels ,  craftmanship  ,    skill  level   , availability    of  tools  ,  etc etc  that all  come into  play  . 

hence  the diversity .

the    most  primitive,  basic   cbg   is  the  original  concept  in   your  head  before    building it   . then  again  when  starting  it. 

even  in  high-end  builds  .  it  is still  there   in  the  finished  product   , and  was what  it started  with  .

in some  cases  ,  its  just    hidden  more  . 

but  remains the core . 

Comment by Scott aka Farmer Ted on March 6, 2015 at 12:40am

Disclaimer: "no toes were intended to be stepped upon during this reply".

If you're wanting to know who makes the most basic cbg, my 2 cents says Shane Speal. While he does use modern tuning pegs on his guitars, the theme and approach to his builds, as well as his playing style, I think nails the proverbial nail on the head for basic, traditional, and playable cigar box guitars.

The evolution of the cbg, I believe was spawned from the "non-slide playing" crowd who wanted in on the idea of cbg's. From there, it was only a matter of time that builders and players would begin searching for something more akin to a standard guitar. Once the piezo was introduced, the search for other amplification options like magnetic pickups and hand made amplifiers took flight.

Now we see so many variations of the once primitive, rhythmic one string thing, and all of them are amazing. Bolts for nuts/bridges, eye bolts for tuners, fretless, fretted, scarf joints, no joints, juke joints...ok I threw that one in there for fun.

Spun brass resonator cones, hand wound pickups, door buzzer pups, old box, new box, no box. Tongue & groove flooring tops, a witches brew. F-holes, sound holes, maybe one or two. One string or six string, or others in between.

In 150+ years since cigar box guitars were born, we have seen many changes in the approach to this wonderful, inspirational, addictive, and often debated instrument. It makes me wonder what a cigar box guitar will look like in the next 100 years.

The Essential Pages

New to Cigar Box Nation? How to Play Cigar Box GuitarsFree Plans & How to Build Cigar Box GuitarsCigar Box Guitar Building Basics

Site Sponsor

Recommended Links & Resources


Forum

crossover guitar.

Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 21. 11 Replies

Tune up songs

Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies

Duel output jacks

Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies

How to Get Your Own Music on Spotify

Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 21. 2 Replies

CB Bass Guitar

Started by Mi Rankin in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Justin Stanchfield Jan 27. 5 Replies

Latest Activity

A.D.EKER commented on Dar Stellabotta's video
Thumbnail

A Cigar Box Guitar Six Stringer Built by Louie Lamanna

"i See Your ready to Blow away the GRAND STADIUM ! tree strings more of DAR DELIGHT !! Shine Girl !…"
3 hours ago
A.D.EKER commented on A.D.EKER's video
Thumbnail

Im Troubled (Tribute) Mc K Morganfield by BCB - A.D .Eker 2024.

"Thank you for the kind comments Doug! Glad you liked the Picture !"
4 hours ago
BrianQ. commented on Dar Stellabotta's video
8 hours ago
BrianQ. liked Dar Stellabotta's video
8 hours ago
Southern Ray commented on Southern Ray's photo
Thumbnail

Project Punch!

" Thank ya again Keith!"
10 hours ago
Southern Ray commented on Southern Ray's photo
Thumbnail

Punch Project!

" Thank Ya Keith!"
10 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on AGP #'s photo
Thumbnail

AGP #527 - ''Led-Zep 2''

"This build really strung you along Alan! Reminded me of all my fishing line experiments; a lot of…"
12 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on A.D.EKER's video
Thumbnail

Im Troubled (Tribute) Mc K Morganfield by BCB - A.D .Eker 2024.

"Diggin’ the slow blues. I like that last pic Andries! Look at all those cool guitars. Yeah!!!"
12 hours ago
Dar Stellabotta posted a video

A Cigar Box Guitar Six Stringer Built by Louie Lamanna

This video is the unboxing and the demonstration of a beautiful, six stringer built by Louie Lamanna. Join Louie and I June 15 at the second annual Pittsburg...
13 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on Doug Thorsvik's video
Thumbnail

Hail the Resurrection Day: 2-String Violin Chugger Cigar Box Guitar

"Happy Easter to you too Andries! The passion is definitely in full swing. Turns out I’m…"
14 hours ago
A.D.EKER commented on Doug Thorsvik's video
Thumbnail

Hail the Resurrection Day: 2-String Violin Chugger Cigar Box Guitar

"Happy Easter Doug ! the Passion is in full swing !"
14 hours ago
A.D.EKER commented on Ricky D's photo
14 hours ago

Music

© 2024   Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

\uastyle>\ud/** Scrollup **/\ud.scrollup {\ud background: url("https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/963882636?profile=original") no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent;\ud bottom: 25px;\ud display: inline !important;\ud height: 40px;\ud opacity: 0.3 !important;\ud position: fixed;\ud right: 30px;\ud text-indent: -9999px;\ud width: 40px;\ud z-index: 999;\ud}\ud.scrollup:hover {\ud opacity:0.99!important;\ud}\ud \uascript type="text/javascript">\ud x$(document).ready(function(){\ud x$(window).scroll(function(){\ud if (x$(this).scrollTop() > 100) {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeIn();\ud } else {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeOut();\ud }\ud });\ud x$('.scrollup').click(function(){\ud x$("html, body").animate({ scrollTop: 0 }, 600);\ud return false;\ud });\ud });\ud \ua!-- End Scroll Up -->