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Shopping for your instrument parts can be just as fun as building the instrument, especially when there's freebies involved!  We've just revamped our Gitty Rewards Program, giving you an opportunity to score even more free stuff, including our brand new Hard Times Make Great Music gear!  The Hard Times aprons, shirts, glassware and mugs all appear in different rewards levels.  The more you spend in a single order, the bigger the freebies.Some new items in the Gitty Rewards:  …

C. B. Gitty presents the winner of the 2024 New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Build-Off, Will Dermady of JEB's PoBox LLC. We asked him all about his wild instrument and himself. Here's his story in his own words. I started making cigar box guitars in 2016 with parts and pieces I’ve collected thru the years. The first one was originally made to just hold wine and hang on the wall. I took it apart 8 times to make it a playable bass. Losing heart, I stopped making them.  After visiting C …

This gorgeous five-string sports a handmade box that was crafted from exotic wood off-cuts.  From the screened in F-hole to the hand-machined Mercury symbol on the headstock, everything is beautifully made. C. B. Gitty presents the first runner-up in the 2024 New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Build-Off, Michael Cain of Mercury Lab Guitars.  We had a chance to chat with him to learn all about this gorgeous instrument and also about his other guitars and interests.  Here's his story …

On a request from a long-time customer, Ben Gitty recently sat down to arrange tablature for the beloved Scottish song "Flower of Scotland". This piece, often thought to be traditional, was actually written in the 1960's by Roy Williamson, a member of the Celtic band The Corries. It quickly found its way into the hearts of Scottish folks all around the world, and is one of the country's unofficial national anthems (it does not have an official anthem). We are happy to present it here as a free d …

Recently, Gitty customer Vince Wesley sent us a couple of pictures of recent builds, and one of them really "shone" - a homemade ukulele with light-up fret position markers! In the builder's diary below we'll share Vince's photos and step-by-step journal of how he created this strikingly unique instrument. - Ben GittyVince writes:Following are 16 pics that show the main steps in my build of a CB Ukulele with illuminated fret markers. The technique could be used for any instrument with an applie …