We created this cigar box guitar kit with one goal in mind - to make a kit that would allow pretty much anyone put together a real, playable cigar box guitar in about an hour at the kitchen table, with only the most basic tools (a screwdriver and small hammer) - and we succeeded! This kit contains all of the parts you need to complete your cigar box guitar - the box, neck, hardware and strings. Everything is pre-drilled and pre-marked, so that all you have to do is put in the screws, tap in the string ferrules, string it up and start playing. It really is as easy as that!
This is a perfect "Sunday afternoon" kit for a parent or grandparent to build with a child!
This kit is for an unfretted 3-string cigar box guitar set up for slide playing - we even include the slide for you! We have pre-marked the hardwood neck with drawn fret lines to a 25-inch scale. We have also pre-notched the neck for the threaded rod nut, as well as the location of the special "Flying bridge". This kit builds the traditional "stick on top" style of cigar box guitar, in the style of mountain dulcimers where the neck rests on top of the box instead of running through it. The result is a nice loud CBG tuned with the popular "Open G" tuning of G D G, which is what most of the Youtube how-to-play video presenters use. The string sizes we use are .042" wound (low G), .012" plain steel (high D), .009" plain steel (high G).
We gave this kit a full test-run at a special charity event out in Los Angeles in mid-august 2014, and it was fun to watch the attendees, many of whom were Hollywood movers and shakers, putting these kits together and then carrying them around the event grounds. If they can do it, YOU CAN TOO! Check out the photo of TV actor Adam Scott (best known for his role on the hit series Parks & Recreation), holding the SECOND guitar he built with his son that day.
As mentioned above, this kit contains all of the parts and materials you need to complete your guitar, with complete illustrated assembly instructions so that there is no guesswork or confusion. All you need is a screwdriver and hammer from your kitchen junk drawer. It just doesn't get any easier than this kit.
About the Kit Add-on Options:
Adding a Pickup (Basic Piezo Harness) - This is a great way to electrify your cigar box guitar so it can be plugged into an amplifier. Installation is easy, but you do need to have some way to drill a hole in the side of your box.
Adding a Digital Tuner - If you are new to musical instruments, you probably don't have a digital tuner. These are handy little devices that you clip onto the headstock of your guitar, and when you pluck a string it tells you what the tuning is. This guitar is meant to be tuned to G, D, G, so getting it to those exact pitches is made a LOT easier if you have a digital tuner. These tuners can also be used to tune most other instruments, including standard storebought guitars, ukuleles, etc, so it is a useful thing to have if you intend to get further into music.
