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Hi all, it's Shane Speal.I just made a great playing acoustic/electric mandolin from a cigar box and parts from CBGitty.com.  I also filmed the entire process and turned it into this mini documentary.  It'll show you all the stops you'll need to make your own.  In the documentary, I refer to the parts page, www.cbgitty.com/mandolin to get information. Enjoy the video and then scroll down for more photos of the entire build.  Photos of my cigar box mandolin:Here are the p …

We thought we'd look back to the cigar box guitar strings of the past... those found-objects that were used by the great blues legends when they were just starting out.  Sure, C. B. Gitty is always developing and improving our cigar box guitar strings to be the best in the world.  However, it's fun to see what they used back in the early days. Here's our top five favorites.  (Try them at your own risk!) Robert Johnson's Broom Wire - Many blues legends, including Robert J …

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 stash of parts on hand.This past weekend, I needed to let off some creative steam, so I went into my woodshop and gathered a whole bunch of various parts to make an electric guitar.  I had no use for a new guitar, but I needed to create, so I did.W …

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 strung with low E and A guitar strings, it can be tuned to an ultra-low Open C powerchord, C-G.  Here is the full video blog of the project.  We've included a parts list below along with extra photos and details not shown in the video.PARTS …

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.  Follow along in this demo by Shane Speal and craft your own custom Tone Box using a cigar box and the parts listed at CBGitty.com/tonebox.The parts include the Tone Distiller circuit, two guitar jacks, two Strat style jackplates, a batter …