#1 resource for Cigar Box Guitars, Free Plans, How-To, Parts & More!

Back of the box or the lid?

I just picked up a Perdomo box from CB Gitty and it is absolutely gorgeous! Dark stain, deep, resonant size and a contoured, ornate lid. But, that brings me to my question: As much as I like the looks of this box and would love to show it off, I can already tell the bottom of the box is going to be a much better soundboard than the lid. I've built quite a few 'upside down' guitars, using the floor instead of the lid, but never with a box this pretty. What would you do, go for ascetics or sound? Right now I'm leaning toward sound over appearance, but I could easily change my mind before I start.

1 member likes this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chance on December 2, 2023 at 10:18am

I think your thinking is correct in choosing sound over appearance. I am always most concerned with how a build will sound.

I have built quite a few using the thinner bottom as a soundboard just to improve the sound.

You could ghost a magnetic pickup under the lid, both Gitty and MGB have pickups designed to ghost.

Good luck with your build.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Justin Stanchfield on December 2, 2023 at 10:46am

Thanks!

Right now I'm thinking of using the bottom for the soundboard and maybe put some kind of design or artwork on the bottom.just to try something different. Good idea about the ghost pickup .

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 2, 2023 at 10:56am

Hi, I have not tried this but could you not copy the design on the front print it out on suitable paper, and paste it on the back? I have copied old photos and pasted them onto a box. What is the actual difference between the back and the top?
Cheers Taff

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Justin Stanchfield on December 2, 2023 at 11:20am

That's an interesting idea. The box looks like dark cherry wood with labels and ribbons running down the sides, but the bottom is unstained with the logo embossed into the wood. I need to remove some of the shipping labels from the bottom, so doing a mirror of the top wouldn't be all that hard. Thanks!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on December 2, 2023 at 2:04pm

The bottom vibrates a lot easier than the lid, especially with some bracing? But since it’s thinner, you’ll need some bracing under the bridge if you want to prevent warping? The bottoms of wood cigar boxes have always been thinner than the top, the bottoms are also made with a higher grade of wood since the cigars will sit on them? Kind of like a drawer, thicker, wood for the frame & thinner cedar for the bottoms?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Justin Stanchfield on December 2, 2023 at 3:08pm

Yes, exactly. My second build used a very similar box - in fact I think it may have been exactly the same box used by a different brand - and I built it through the lid. I put an old Strat pup in it, so was glad for the extra depth I had to play with, and while it sounded great plugged in, it was a little quiet acoustically, which is another reason I was thinking of doing this one upside down..

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on December 2, 2023 at 5:00pm

Hi, unfortunately, the small soundboard area provided by a cigar box does not lend itself to efficient sound reproduction, and mounting anything on that surface limits its effectiveness even further. If I'm looking for acoustic quality as well as amplified, I do not mount my pickups into the top.
Taff