David Sutton - Obsessed with Cigar Box Guitars, 2nd Edition: Over 120 Hand-Built Guitars from the Masters (CompanionHouse Books) Stunning CBG Gallery and a Step-by-Step Project to Build Your Own Cigar Box Ukulele

OBSESSED WITH CIGAR BOX

GUITARS

2ND EDITION

Obsessed with Cigar Box Guitars, 2nd Edition

CompanionHouse Books is an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishers International Ltd.

Project Team

Vice PresidentContent: Christopher Reggio

Editor: Anthony Regolino

Design: David Fisk

Index: Johanna Egert

All photos David B. Sutton unless otherwise noted.

Shutterstock photo sources: , photobeps.

Obsessed with Cigar Box Guitars, 2nd Edition (2019) is a revised edition of An Obsession with Cigar Box Guitars (2013), published by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. New edition includes a section devoted to ukuleles, filled with photographs.

Copyright 2013, 2019 by David Sutton and Fox Chapel Publishers International Ltd.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Fox Chapel Publishers, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

ISBN 978-1-62008-313-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Sutton, David, 1958- author.

Title: Obsessed with cigar box guitars / David Sutton.

Other titles: Obsession with cigar box guitars

Description: 2nd edition. | Mount Joy, PA : CompanionHouse, 2019. | Revision of the authors An obsession with cigar box guitars. | Includes index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2018053588 (print) | LCCN 2018054437 (ebook) | ISBN 9781620083147 (ebook) | ISBN 9781620083130 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Cigar box guitar--Pictorial works.

Classification: LCC ML1015.G9 (ebook) | LCC ML1015.G9 S887 2019 (print) | DDC 787.87/1920222--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018053588

This book has been published with the intent to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter within. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the author and publisher expressly disclaim any responsibility for any errors, omissions, or adverse effects arising from the use or application of the information contained herein.

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OBSESSED WITH CIGAR BOX

OVER 120 HAND-BUILT GUITARS FROM THE MASTERS

2ND EDITION

DAVID SUTTON

Perhaps were so consumed by our consumer culture that we tend to think of guitars as impossibly complex devices that somebody else has to build. One of the many beauties of the cigar box guitar is that it shatters this myth.

When I tell people about my previous book, Cigar Box Guitars, the conversation often goes like this:

I wrote a book called Cigar Box Guitars.

Whats it about?

Its about (dramatic pause) cigar box guitars.

Whats a cigar box guitar?

Its a guitar. Made from
a cigar box. You make it yourself.

Puzzled stare.
How many strings does a cigar box guitar have?

It depends on how many you put on it.

Again, the puzzled stare.
Really now. What is a cigar box guitar?

A cigar box guitar is a simple stringed instrument that you build yourself, usually by poking a dowel, board, or stick through a discarded wooden cigar box and then outfitting it with guitar strings. For a lot of builders and enthusiasts, the cigar box guitar then becomes a point of departure to begin making music.

Even at this stage, some people still give me that puzzled look. Perhaps were so consumed by our consumer culture that we tend to think of guitars as impossibly complex devices that somebody else has to build. One of the many beauties of the cigar box guitar is that it shatters this myth.

You see, while stringed instruments are bound by certain laws of physics, the golden rule of cigar box guitar building is that there are no rules. Theres no right way, no master plan, no industry standard for the design. Each instrument is its own unique answer to the question: What is a cigar box guitar?

Lets take a look at the physical heart of the matter for another possible answer.