News
The White Frankenstein Guitar (or "Why I Hoard Guitar Parts")
I have a guitar parts problem. There, I admitted it! Whether it's buying junk guitars and salvaging the good pieces or going on shopping sprees when C. B Gitty lists items on clearance or on sale, I am always looking to keep a massive sta
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14th Jun 2022
The Boat Oar Guitar Project: A Wild Two-String Slide Guitar
Shane Speal created this great sounding 2-string slide guitar with nothing but a wooden boat oar and a few CBGitty.com parts. Because of the long length of the oar, Speal opted to give the instrument a longer, 25.5" baritone scale. When s
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25th May 2022
DIY Stompbox: "The Tone Box" Cigar Box Pedal
Much like the VariTone switch on BB King's "Lucille" guitar, this Tone Box DIY stompbox will dial in and boost highs, mids or even bass levels on your guitar. The secret ingredient is the CBGitty.com Tone Distiller, an active tone control knob.
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10th May 2022
Beautiful Tribute Guitar Made by International Cigar Box Guitar Community
The international cigar box guitar community rallied around one of their own when Burton Philbrick lost his wife, Kathy last December. In order to comfort their friend and pay tribute to his wife, at least seven different makers joined together
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16th Mar 2022
We Just Love This Little Cowboy! Lin H's Custom Cigar Box Guitar
We make a lot of custom printed cigar box guitars featuring artwork or photos provided by our customers, but every once in a while, the perfect photo is submitted and we just have to marvel. This is one such guitar.Lin H. from Camp Hill,
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14th Mar 2022
Introducing the 2022 C. B. Gitty International Video Playoff Winners!
We're proud to announce the winners of the 2022 C. B. Gitty Video Playoffs which was held in conjunction with The New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Festival. There were dozens of entries submitted, with a diverse selection of music styles, all playe
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1st Mar 2022
Mark Losco's Quad-Cone Resonator Guitar Conversion
John Dopyera built the first tri-cone resonator guitar in the 1920's to give guitarists a louder acoustic instrument to cut through band settings. The quest for louder guitars eventually went to electric pickups, amplifiers and PA speakers. &nb
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4th Jan 2022
We're Blown Away By Eumonik's Tin Can Microphone Video
Our Tin Can Microphone kit ($16.99) takes center stage in this fantastic video by hip hop musician/producer, Eumonik. Not only does he talk through it, but he also uses it to record several instruments. This is just fantastic! &nb
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4th Nov 2021
Artistic Lap Steels Made from 2x4's
These started out as just scrap 2x4s, spray paint and pieces of plexiglass...Article by Shane Speal. I've been having a blast with the new 2x4 Lap Steel Kits from C. B. Gi. In a burst of creativity, I went to the craft stor
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2nd Sep 2021
The Barnwood "Mountain Tenor" Guitar - A Builder's Diary
I just strung this guitar up this morning and it was love at first strum. The instrument is a C. B. Gitty Mountain Tenor Kit. Before I get into details, here's the demo I just filmed.The kit arrives "in the white" (unfinished) which allows you
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2nd Sep 2021
FREE Online "Celebrate America" Songbook for Cigar Box Guitar & G-Bass
C. B. Gitty's founder, Ben Baker has always said, "I believe that anyone, anywhere can build their own instrument and make music on it." In keeping with his philosophy, he has written or commissioned hundreds of pages of cigar box guitar music
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29th Jun 2021
How To Play Any Song Using Just One Finger!
Cigar box guitars are one of the easiest instruments to play - especially those tuned to an "open chord" such as the standard GDG. As Glenn Watt and others have shown us, you can play all sorts of songs on open-tuned cigar box guitars using
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4th Jun 2021
Ben's Blog: "The Best Friend I've Never Met"
Like Jack Kerouac, I have always been drawn to the edges and fringes of modern society. The drifters and hermits, modern-day hoboes and wild-eyed street people who stalk the back alleys and forgotten corners of our modern world, these are the ones wh
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26th May 2021
How to Fake a Curly Maple Finish (Tiger Stripe, too!)
Give your next project a vintage curly maple or tiger stipe woodgrain look with this simple burn-and-stain technique.We sent Shane Speal our new Hubcap Howler Resonator Guitar Kit and he came back with another exciting new finishing technique th
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20th May 2021
Ben's Blog: "The Place You Want To Be"
Inspired by a customer's photograph, C. B. Gitty owner, Ben Baker takes a moment to concentrate on why we make these instruments, kits and parts. Sometimes, you see a snapshot of a time and place, a little slice of life, and immediately realize
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18th May 2021
VIDEO: Brett Gardner Plays Jazz on His Custom Hubcap Howler
When we developed the Hubcap Howler, word started getting around the Gitty workshop that this was going to be one of the most unique, old-time sounding kits. At some point, one of us said, "we should send one of these to Brett Gardner and
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14th May 2021
Youtube Superstar Plays CBGitty.com Canjo - and It's AWESOME!
Youtube guitar sensation, Samurai Guitarist has just published a new video featuring "ridiculous" instruments he purchased on Etsy. One of those instruments just happened to be a C. B. Gitty one-string Canjo! The canjo was actually t
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19th Apr 2021
![[Video & Photos] Green Heron's Banjofiddle Mutant Instrument](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-jpvnhi/images/stencil/160w/uploaded_images/banjofiddle.jpg?t=1618427201 "[Video & Photos] Green Heron's Banjofiddle Mutant Instrument")
[Video & Photos] Green Heron's Banjofiddle Mutant Instrument
We recently got to know Scott & Betsy Heron of the duo, Green Heron at a gig up here in New Hampshire. Since then, they've appeared on the Gitty Gang show a few times and have quickly become good friends.When we created the 2021 Musical Mutants B
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15th Apr 2021
![[Video & Photos] Jim Morris' Homemade Stroh Violin - Musical Mutant Contest Entry](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-jpvnhi/images/stencil/160w/uploaded_images/stroh.jpg?t=1618426059 "[Video & Photos] Jim Morris' Homemade Stroh Violin - Musical Mutant Contest Entry")
[Video & Photos] Jim Morris' Homemade Stroh Violin - Musical Mutant Contest Entry
In the early days of musical recordings, singers and instruments needed to be loud and direct enough to project the music in the acoustic horns or primitive recording equipment. The violin, in particular, was an instrument that needed extra hel
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14th Apr 2021
![[Video & Photos] The Phono-Uke - A Musical Mutant That Combines a Ukulele & Antique Horn](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-jpvnhi/images/stencil/160w/uploaded_images/phono-uke.jpg?t=1618419162 "[Video & Photos] The Phono-Uke - A Musical Mutant That Combines a Ukulele & Antique Horn")
[Video & Photos] The Phono-Uke - A Musical Mutant That Combines a Ukulele & Antique Horn
Unbeknownst to most historians Hawaiian music was all the rage during the Steampunk Era. Introducing the Phono-Uke, a wild instrument created by Benand Nellie for our 2021 Musical Mutant Build-Off. Nellie says, I call it a 'Phono-Uke
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14th Apr 2021