I’m always on the hunt for cigar boxes. I definitely have way more than I need at this point, but I can’t help myself. I’m in search for those cool looking, rare and or unusual boxes that will make for unique guitar builds. One day headed out Rt. 101 in Bedford NH I discovered Castros’ Back Room. That’s where I acquired the Castro’s branded cigar box for this fun CBG build.
Castro’s Back Room is both a cigar shop as well as a lounge
When I first walked in I could tell Castro’s is a great laid-back place to hang out in, have some fine bourbon and smoke cigars without your someone complaining about the smoke or the smell. On that first visit I met the manager Roger. I introduced myself, shared I made CBGs and asked what they did with the boxes. He was nice enough to let me check out and grab a few from their stack of empties. The Castro’s branded box caught my eye because of the camo on the box. Right away I knew I needed to build a guitar out of that box.
Building the Castro’s guitar
The box was a bit smaller than I might prefer so I decided to use a 23” scale to keep the build in proportion. I spent a bit of time in my shop planning the build and pulling together the parts and pieces I would use. The neck is poplar and the fret board is mahogany. I laminated the poplar headstock with a thin piece of mahogany I found inside a cigar box so it matched the fret board.
Inside the box I used two piezo pickups as well as volume and tone pots so it can be played through an amp. I also added two springs inside the box to help give it some reverb and increase the sound volume when played acoustically. It has a total of four metal grommet sound holes, two on the face and two on the top edge; one either side of the neck. The Salignac Cognac volume and tone control knobs came from the bar. The tail piece is a door strike plate, and the strap is a thrift shop necktie I chose to mimic the camo theme.
Making it different and unique
What make this cigar box guitar very unusual are the copper wire frets. They are actually made from 14 gauge Romex wire, sit in grooves cut into the fret board and wrap around the neck. This is one of five copper wire fret builds I have completed so far. If you’re into building CBGs, or just curious about how they’re made, make sure you subscribe to my blog from my contact page so you won’t miss my future blogs, including one about how to install copper wire frets and the lessons learned doing so. I finished the guitar off by using sealed brass tuning machines as well as two cigar bands. Also the very top of the head stock is painted to mimic the ashes of a lit cigar.
Visit the shop to check out the guitar
Castor’s Back Room cigar shop and lounge, located at 132 Bedford Center Rd in Bedford NH, is a friendly place to visit, so I’m sure you’re welcome to drop in to check out the guitar; as well as their fine selection of cigars of course. I suggest if Mike the bar tender is there, a guitar player himself, introduce yourself and ask him if he can strum a few notes on the guitar for you. You can tell him Shaw
n from Dude Van Guitars made the suggestion. 😎
Thanks again Roger for your generosity with the boxes and the bottle toppers.
PS: I’m still on the hunt.
Check out Castro's Facebook page for more pictures
