Three Things to Know Before You Buy Your First Cigar Box Guitar

If you are considering buying a cigar box guitar (CBG) I suggest before you buy you really think about your true purpose for buying. To summarize things, are you looking for a piece of art, a playable instrument, or a combination of both?

This article may seem long at first glance. However, it might just be the info you need to confidently buy the right CBG for your purpose(s).  If you are not familiar with CBG terms, you might find this blog article helpful.

I find it very sad, and unfortunately very common, that many people buy a nice looking but a poorly built instrument that really isn’t playable like a quality instrument should be. They struggle to learn and to play the guitar, and or to get it to sound good when they play it. When this happens often the buyer think its them, when more times than not it’s the guitar.

Here are three things I suggest you should know about and check into before you buy your first cigar box guitar.

#1: Is it well built?

First, anyone can look at the construction and detailing of the instrument to visually judge the quality of the workmanship used by whom ever made it. Here’s a brief list of things to look for:

• Strings and or the string holes through the tail not evenly space or centered on the neck and fret board
• Screws used to assemble are randomly placed, not symmetrically positioned
• Gaps or poor cuts where the neck goes into and out of the box
• Neck is bowed or twisted (maybe not be as much an issue if a fret-less guitar)
• Quality and or condition of the cigar box itself
• Strings look messy or not cleanly wound around tuners

#2: Will it play well

Visual appearance is a good start. However even a good craftsman still needs to study, know about and have hands-on experience with the science and engineering behind building a quality playable instrument. Here are just a few things I have noticed on CBGs that might look good, but because the builder really didn’t know enough about building a playable instrument, they essentially only built a piece of art:

• Tuning machines (tuners) are installed upside down. The capstan (post) of the tuning machines should be forward of the gears on the tuning knob so the pressure of the string pull forces the capstan gear tight to the tuning knob gear. If upside down the gears will be loose and the guitar may not tune well or stay in tune.
• The quality of the tuning machines is important to first help with tuning and then holding the CBG in tune.   I prefer sealed tuners. The open gear style tuners are often cheap and of low quality, they are often the ones used on lower priced CBGs offered for sale.
• Instrument not in intonation. If the intonation has not been properly set by the builder, the guitar will play out of tune as you move up the fret board towards the bridge. Not setting the intonation, worse the builder not knowing you need to set the intonation, indicates it’s more a piece of art than a playable instrument. Of course, you could ask the builder if he or she sets the intonation. The answer should be telling. Or you can check for yourself by playing it. If each string is in tune when played open, they should also be in tune, but exactly one octave higher at the 12^th
• Height of the string action. (This is less of a concern for a fretless slide guitar).   The string action is the spacing between the top of the frets and the underside of the strings. Typical for CBGs is around 1/8” of space at the 12^th  If less and playable right up the full fret board without any buzzing, it’s a sign of a high-quality build. If more than 1/8, see if you can find out why it was built that way. Some builders say they leave them high so you can play slide without banging frets, which can be true, but can make the instrument more difficult to play without a slide. Besides, a good slide player doesn’t bang the frets. Just saying!

#3: Are you really committed to learning to play?

CBGs can be beautiful, creative, and unique in appearance. If it’s only about buying a piece of art, a visual inspection that makes you happy will probably do. If only intended to decorate your space, there are so many cool looking CBGs out there to choose from! And, if it’s just about looking at your new CBG, you can probably find one without paying too much money.

However, if you really want to play, play well and are willing to put in the time and all the practice to learn, I suggest you also make sure you buy a playable instrument.  The challenges or short comings I mentioned above can make learning and playing a CBG very challenging and very frustrating. Here’s a partial list of things that can make learning and becoming good at playing a CBG difficult:

• If its hard to tune or keep in tune you may think its you and your playing, when really, it’s the instrument
• If the intonation is not set the guitar will play out of tune as you move up the fret board playing notes and or chords. If you have any kind of musical ear, you will likely notice you are playing out of tune and may think you are doing something wrong. Worse, if you are playing with others who have a good musical ear, they will notice and might not want you (really your instrument) playing with them.
• If the string action is too high using your finger(s) to press down to make chords or notes will be difficult, maybe impossible. And, if the string action is too high, the intonation will just never be right.
• Learning to play should be fun and will take a lot of hours of practice. Being frustrated by the playability and or the sound of your CBG can wipe out a lot of motivation to keep practicing.

How much are you willing to spend?

I hope you can see from what I have shared here the importance of buying a quality playable instrument if you are seeking more than just a piece of artwork. That said you need to spend enough money to buy the instrument you really need, based on your expectations. It might be tempting to buy a lower priced CBG, but will you really be saving money if its not playable and frustrates you as you try?  

It would be great if I could tell you how much you need to spend to get a quality playable instrument. I’ve seen them at all kinds of price points. Building a quality CBG takes a lot of hours and requires a lot of specialty tools not typically found in a woodworking shop. Some builders charge a fair price for their work, others seem to be giving away their time and or are building at low quality to keep the price down. That said, my CBGs start at around $300 and are typically bought by experienced musicians who can see, hear and feel the difference between a work of art and a playable instrument.

If buying the right CBG is going to be more money than you have or want to spend right now, maybe you should wait. If you buy a “cheap CBG” you’ll either get frustrated and quit trying, or eventually, because you read this, you will know you should have bought a better cigar box guitar.

I hope that helps!