I don't own one but have got to play one. They are fun and pretty straight forward. I love home made instruments. I'm trying to scrounge up materials to make an electric 3 string cigar box guitar. I love that swamp sound.
@scum, i make 3 string cigar box git-fiddles i dont use any real guitar parts or strings just what was available in the 30s check in a barn or a shed for stuff. as far as advice id say take a good broomstick like ash or hickory. and poke it through a coffee can or a box. take a screenwire, bicycle brake cable strand, or the wire off the broom and tie it to the bottom of the broom. then i usually tie the string with a leather shoelace to the top.stretch it then tie a regular shoelace on for a capo. then i stick a hand shaped knife type bridge under the string. and play with the bridge and the capo till i got the scale and sound i want. i lower the bridge if needed by sanding it on a flat surface. or i put sandpaper under the bridge on the body and move the bridge with string/strings on top till its where i want it.
hmm deaks a broomstick guy nice! @will buddy used a screenwire and his mothers hairsticks as bridges after experimenting with rubber bands. he never made a cigar box guitar he made them from lighter fluid cans and prince albert cans. a broomstick for a neck with a yardstick in top. its said he used his mothers hairsticks as tuning pegs but talks about 4 tacks top and bottom. he used .012 screen wires for strings. the guitar probably looked something like this. http://myvintagephotos.com/images/Our%20Gang%20The%20Little%20Rascals%20Allen%20Farina%20Hoskins%202.jpg
Thanks for the advice billy. I agree that they are a found art form ant that no two should be the same. I've been debating on shaping a 1x4 or splitting an old shovel handle.
if the handle is oak id avoid it oak sounds horrible drop it on the ground it clunks. doesnt ring like ash, hickory or even rock maple. if you do your homework on the actual artists they always used broomsticks or 2x4s. gus cannon used a broomstick through a breadpan with a broken guitar fretboard nailed on top. furry lewis carved his out of a 2x4 with a masonite fretboard on top. pine has a very good sound ive tried all woods on diddley bow nothing sings like pine.
Last Edited by on Jan 16, 2012 2:32 PM
If I was gonna make a 3 string I'd still use it but I'd probably shape the nut with a slightly exaggerated radias to off set the strings a smidge to make it more playable. For the bridge I am not sure what I'd use I'd search pretty hard for one that has relief on the 1st and 3rd strings
I'd either mount a piezo at the bridge or a pickup for each string on a couple risers
Last Edited by on Jan 16, 2012 5:56 PM
i could see a radius bridge if you wanna play with a violin bow. but i usually keep everything flat. as for a bridge i play tumbi... its like a one string banjo. i seen pics of them with jingle bells tied to the bridge, so i tried it. the jingle bell on the skin makes it sound like a distorted electric guitar. its really cool. i saw an old jugband pic this guy had a dry goods box bass and had huge jingle bells hanging below the bridge. i also heard big joe williams had a pie pan hanging loose over his speaker for distortion. i saw an instrument looked like a two string tumbi from nigeria called a gurmi. then i saw one made of a coffee can( well it looked like half a heineiken mini keg). but the bridge got me it was just a round dowel. after some research i found out these bridges are hollow and filled with bits of metal or shells. they do the same thing the jingle bell does. i havent tried this on a d bow yet but im really itchin to. oh on a side note i have a flat back indian tanpura i play on the road again in my lap with my left hand playing harp. i use the harp as a slide for the very end of the tune.
