Cigar Box 'Ukes - What's Up With Them?

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carolbonomo

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I saw a really cool cigar box 'uke on Craigslist (subsequently gone before I could register here to ask my question). Short of the coolness factor, what's up with them? Can you really play them? What's the sound like, given they're resonating off a box?
 
Cigarbox guitar's are just cool. You take that cool and cram it down into a ukulele and it's that much better. I'm not sure how loud they would be, it all depends on thickness of the box, how you have your bridge mounted and if your neck goes through the body and stiffens up the lid.

I've made several CBG's but never a ukulele(yet). I want to find a good cheap neck to glue/bolt and make a fancy fretboard for it. I do have a nice Don Tomas and Punch box to make a ukulele version of other CBG's I've made shown in the pictures below.

DSC_0068.jpg

DSC_0405.jpg
 
woah I feel a UAS coming on ! How awesome are these ? Do you see many going second hand ? what sort of prices are they ?

:shaka:
 
why three strings?
Interesting number......

Man, I wish I had a cigar box uke.
I wonder how bad my classmates would trip out
 
I just scored a Sonny Daze cigar box diddley-bo for dirt cheap. (Everyone else was watching the Superbowl apparently) It's two strings, tuned in an octave seems to work best and you play it slide style. (I've been playing it flat in my lap.) It's got a crazy sound. The video demonstration he did was more blues based, but I think it's got a lot more of a Middle Eastern vibe to it. Like a poor man's oud. Very nicely built too.

Not really a uke, but it is a cigar box and I wanted to share...

I am much more curious now about those three string ones...
 
MiaRosie said:
woah I feel a UAS coming on ! How awesome are these ? Do you see many going second hand ? what sort of prices are they ?

:shaka:
Click to expand...

I've seen them range in price from $40 to $4000 but are usually anywhere from $100-$300 USD.
 
I imagine that the real coolness factor may be to play something that you made with your own two hands. There is a guy: Papa's Boxes who sells kits that appear pretty easy to make, and inexpensive. Unfortunately he is currently not taking orders as he is overwelmed with business at the moment.
 
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