What the Hell IS a "Cigar Box Guitar"???

As a musician myself, I am shocked how many other guitarists---even those older than myself---have never heard of a "cigar box guitar". When I started wanting to experiment with my strange "hybrid" cigar box guitar builds about a year ago, I was somewhat familiar with what a cigar box guitar ("CBG") was, but in its more raw "OG" forms, like the "stick-through-a-box" 3/4-string short-scale rustic homemade instruments meant to be tuned to a chord and played with a slide. Also I recalled about 10 years ago having seen some cat on eBay listing a "kit" which was basically a plank of wood for a center-block, a pre-cut craft box as a substitute for a cigar box, some OEM hardware, pickups/electronics and a neck like you'd find on a "DIY" electric guitar kit (in all likelihood actually bogarted from one of said kits), and instructions to make your own fully-functional 6-string, more-refined rendition of a CBG. It was a cool concept, if not very niche and a wee bit inauthentic. Ultimately though, there are NO RULES to making CBGs, as I found when doing a little rabbit-holing on the subject.

As it turns out, premium cigars represent something that is purely “Central American;” thousands of miles away lies the birthplace of an American musical tradition: the blues, rooted in the Mississippi Delta. Enjoyed together, music and cigars share a significant connection, stirring an emotional response within the listener and the smoker. But it would take a purely American invention – the cigar box guitar – to forge the crossroads between cigars and music tradition. Dating back to the early 19th century, the cigar box guitar and its even cruder, one-string, “diddley bow” ancestor was created out of necessity by the very poor of the American South. And since necessity is the mother of invention, they were exceedingly resourceful. Soup cans, frying pans, washboards, broomsticks, and buckets, among other common household items, became the means through which these people expressed themselves through music. At the time of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln imposed a tax on consumer products; cigars, then packed in chests of 100, 500, and 1,000, were among the goods taxed, and each box required a tax stamp. Soon, manufacturers began packaging cigars in boxes of 25, also known as the “8-9-8” – eight cigars on the bottom, nine in the middle, and another eight on top. Made mostly of cedar, these smaller boxes – usually discarded as trash – gave musicians a better “base” for building their guitars. Moreover, these primal instruments produced an excellent wood tone and resonance when the box was fitted with a wooden stick and a couple of haywire strings. 

Cigar box guitars and fiddles were played throughout the first half of the 20th century and remained popular up to World War II, with DIY plans being published in magazines like Pop­ular Mechanics. Yet, by the 1960s, affordable, mass-produced guitars had made the cigar box guitar an archaic novelty, and it eventually disappeared. Or did it? Artists like Lightnin’ Hopkins, Albert King, Blind Willie Johnson, Little Freddie King, and dozens more “bluesmen,” many of whom grew up in the Deep South, honed their guitar-craft on their own cigar box instruments. In addition to their music, credit also goes to these musicians for introducing the cigar box guitar to worldwide audiences. By the end of the 20th century a renewed interest in the cigar box guitar had emerged, which today has blossomed into an international community of musicians and craftspeople with a passion for building and playing these instruments that carry their own unique sound qualities.

A couple of familiar examples of recent usage of  cigar box guitars include Samantha Fish (who unfortunately has more of a reputation of being a fetish object for weird old dudes who like "bluesy" music than anything) and none other than Sir Paul McCartney, who even used his custom made CBG (rumored to have been a gift from Johnny Depp) in performances/recordings with the surviving members of Nirvana. I'm honestly shocked that the McCartney-connection didn't spawn a whole revival of CBGs in and of itself, because it was definitely fun, unique and inspiring.

Lots of other well-known guitarists have dabbled with CBGs (Prince, Josh Homme, Joe Perry, Jack White, Slash, Keith Richards, Zakk Wylde, and Johnny Depp, among many others), but it's rare to find many artists using them exclusively or extensively, as they're usually relegated to a song or two for a specific sound/feel and then it's back to a more contemporary guitar for the rest of the show.

As a gigging guitarist/bassist myself, I understand the limitations of the "traditional" CBG, and the reason I build mine with a practical mix of old-school techniques and modern features/components is because I wanted to have the option of playing a CBG for an entire set, or the whole gig, not just a couple songs as a gimmick. So when I assemble "junk" parts and a full-scale, 6-string neck (for example) into a working, playable full-featured guitar, I build it FOR a guitarist, with the intent of that instrument holding its own against a factory-built instrument in every functional sense. Putting it bluntly, you can perform with these just like your store-bought guitar, period.

Visit facebook.com/LaneCBGs to see my builds, and reach out there or via email (LaneCBGs@gmail.com) if you'd like to purchase one of my in-stock models or discuss one of your own. There are many, many builders who can get you a "traditional CBG" if that's what you're looking for, but if you want an instrument assembled BY a player FOR a player, I'm your guy.

H