Cigar Box Guitars
The Ultimate DIY Guide for the Makers and Players of the Handmade Music Revolution
by David Sutton
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Pub Date Mar 01 2012 | Archive Date Jun 06 2013
Description
Cigar box guitars have never been more popular and now you can
learn to make your own. You don't need to spend a lot of money and you
don't need to have a shop full of tools. All you need to do is follow
the author's step-by-step instructions for making three different styles
of guitar. They're fun (some would say addictive) to build and even
more fun to play!
The guitars that can be made with this book:
• Basic CBG: A simple build with the minimum number of components. It's a three string acoustic instrument built from a paper covered box and played with a slide and has burned-in fret lines, but no real frets.
• Slightly Nicer CBG. Uses a nicer cigar box, has a more decorative, built-up headstock. Also has burned in fret-lines and three strings. In addition, this one incorporates a very simple piezo pickup so it can be played through an amplifier. Slightly more complex in woodworking terms and involves a bit of wiring and soldering.
• Cigar Box Telecaster. This one would be built from a cigar box and a pre-fabbed six-string guitar neck. It would use commercial pickups and volume/tone controls. I'm picturing it as a tribute to the Fender Telecaster. It involves more complicated woodworking and much more wiring/soldering, as well as filling much of the box with wood to support the tension of six steel strings.
More than just a how-to guide, this book chronicles the modern revival of the cigar box guitar. You’ll learn a bit about its roots, influential personalities and the cultural trends that are bringing this instrument back to the musical landscape. Author and professional photographer, David Sutton introduces readers the faces of the CGB movement with in-depth profiles and photographic portraits of fascinating builders and performers.
Basic information about learning to play and tune a cigar box guitar are also included.
A perfect opportunity to put a real American tradition in your own hands.
The guitars that can be made with this book:
• Basic CBG: A simple build with the minimum number of components. It's a three string acoustic instrument built from a paper covered box and played with a slide and has burned-in fret lines, but no real frets.
• Slightly Nicer CBG. Uses a nicer cigar box, has a more decorative, built-up headstock. Also has burned in fret-lines and three strings. In addition, this one incorporates a very simple piezo pickup so it can be played through an amplifier. Slightly more complex in woodworking terms and involves a bit of wiring and soldering.
• Cigar Box Telecaster. This one would be built from a cigar box and a pre-fabbed six-string guitar neck. It would use commercial pickups and volume/tone controls. I'm picturing it as a tribute to the Fender Telecaster. It involves more complicated woodworking and much more wiring/soldering, as well as filling much of the box with wood to support the tension of six steel strings.
More than just a how-to guide, this book chronicles the modern revival of the cigar box guitar. You’ll learn a bit about its roots, influential personalities and the cultural trends that are bringing this instrument back to the musical landscape. Author and professional photographer, David Sutton introduces readers the faces of the CGB movement with in-depth profiles and photographic portraits of fascinating builders and performers.
Basic information about learning to play and tune a cigar box guitar are also included.
A perfect opportunity to put a real American tradition in your own hands.
Advance Praise
Smoke 'em if you've got 'em - and then get creative!
"It was pretty fun how this all came together," says David Sutton, whose book, Cigar Box Guitars: The Ultimate DIY Guide For The Makers And Players Of The Handmade Music Revolution, will be issued by Fox Chapel Publishing on 1 March 2012. "Through the years I've been active in woodworking, guitar playing, photography and writing. So this project combined my interests beautifully."
Five years ago, Sutton wanted to give his young daughter an acoustic guitar for a birthday present, but he didn't feel right about parting with one of his vintage beauties - and besides, they were too large anyway. "I had heard about cigar box guitars, so I thought, Hey, why not just build her one?" says Sutton. "I was stunned to find that there was hardly anything on Google about building a cigar box guitar. That really surprised me."
There was one site, however, that offered useful information on how to build a wooden cigar box guitar. Sutton followed the instructions and built not one, but two guitars, one for his daughter and one for himself. "The whole experience really got me excited," he says. "I knew I wanted to spread the word."
Sutton contacted Fox Chapel Publishing about putting together a book on cigar box guitars. He figured that he wouldn’t hear anything at all, and if he did, it would be a rejection. But the next morning, a rep from the company called to say they were keenly interested – and when could it be finished?
“I was so unprepared for that,” says Sutton. “But I think I threw them when I said I wanted to do a book with three separate components, the first showing people how to build straight-up acoustic models for slide, the second for fretted electrics, and a third and last chapter for six-string electrics. Before long, they realized that the three-section approach was the way to go.”
In reaching out to fellow cigar box guitar builders, Sutton was more than impressed at how the movement had grown in the time since he had first thought of crafting a model for his daughter. “It exploded almost overnight,” he says. “All of these people are building cigar box guitars. They’re totally into it, and they’re very into helping one another out and creating a community.
“The guitars people are building range from simple, cardboard diddley bow-type instruments to wooden box electric six-string models that are just as good as something you can buy in a store. At first I was fascinated by the guitars alone, but then I got into the folks making them. Their stories are incredible."
Sutton insists that the makers of cigar box guitars aren't luddites; rather, they're discerning craftspeople who yearn for a personal connection to their instruments. "They occupy a niche, but they're a growing niche," says Sutton. "Mass market guitars exist for many people. For others, there's something else - and that's beginning to mean cigar box guitars."
"It was pretty fun how this all came together," says David Sutton, whose book, Cigar Box Guitars: The Ultimate DIY Guide For The Makers And Players Of The Handmade Music Revolution, will be issued by Fox Chapel Publishing on 1 March 2012. "Through the years I've been active in woodworking, guitar playing, photography and writing. So this project combined my interests beautifully."
Five years ago, Sutton wanted to give his young daughter an acoustic guitar for a birthday present, but he didn't feel right about parting with one of his vintage beauties - and besides, they were too large anyway. "I had heard about cigar box guitars, so I thought, Hey, why not just build her one?" says Sutton. "I was stunned to find that there was hardly anything on Google about building a cigar box guitar. That really surprised me."
There was one site, however, that offered useful information on how to build a wooden cigar box guitar. Sutton followed the instructions and built not one, but two guitars, one for his daughter and one for himself. "The whole experience really got me excited," he says. "I knew I wanted to spread the word."
Sutton contacted Fox Chapel Publishing about putting together a book on cigar box guitars. He figured that he wouldn’t hear anything at all, and if he did, it would be a rejection. But the next morning, a rep from the company called to say they were keenly interested – and when could it be finished?
“I was so unprepared for that,” says Sutton. “But I think I threw them when I said I wanted to do a book with three separate components, the first showing people how to build straight-up acoustic models for slide, the second for fretted electrics, and a third and last chapter for six-string electrics. Before long, they realized that the three-section approach was the way to go.”
In reaching out to fellow cigar box guitar builders, Sutton was more than impressed at how the movement had grown in the time since he had first thought of crafting a model for his daughter. “It exploded almost overnight,” he says. “All of these people are building cigar box guitars. They’re totally into it, and they’re very into helping one another out and creating a community.
“The guitars people are building range from simple, cardboard diddley bow-type instruments to wooden box electric six-string models that are just as good as something you can buy in a store. At first I was fascinated by the guitars alone, but then I got into the folks making them. Their stories are incredible."
Sutton insists that the makers of cigar box guitars aren't luddites; rather, they're discerning craftspeople who yearn for a personal connection to their instruments. "They occupy a niche, but they're a growing niche," says Sutton. "Mass market guitars exist for many people. For others, there's something else - and that's beginning to mean cigar box guitars."
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9781565235472 |
| PRICE | |
