#3 string russian guitar how to#

I have lot of information on different tunings for a cigar box guitar in my article 9 Different Tunings For A Cigar Box Guitar

#3 string russian guitar how to#

Playing the open strings power chord, the power chord on the 5th fret and the power chord on the 7th fret allows you to play practically any song in a very simplified wayįor more information on which strings to use read my article What Is The Difference Between A Cigar Box Guitar And A Standard Acoustic?įor information on how to change the strings read How Do I Put New Strings On My Cigar Box Guitar?.

The 5th fret of the middle string is the same as the open top string.

The strings are arranged such that the 7th fret of the bass string is the same as the open middle string.

This means that one finger barre fretting or using a guitar slide plays a power chord wherever you play on the neck.

Fretting across all the strings plays a power chord.

Strumming the open strings plays a power chord.

These open tunings have the following in common:

There are many different tunings for a cigar box guitar, but they are often tuned to G D G, E B E or D A D. Specialist cigar box guitar suppliers sell packs of 3 strings suited for a cigar box guitar but you can also use 3 from a standard set of 6 strings. These are nickel if the guitar has a coiled pickup and phosphor bronze if the pick up is a piezo or if there is no pickup installed. If you would like to read more about through necks including information on suitable woods and why builders often use scarf joints read my article Why Does A Cigar Box Guitar Have A Through Neck? What Kind Of Strings Are Used On a Cigar Box Guitar?Ī cigar box guitar nearly always has steel strings. Some builders use an adjustable hardtail bridge such as those used on electric guitars with a lot of bracing inside the box and this seems to work well although I haven’t tried building one yet. The through neck helps to avoid both of these problems. I have tried and failed and eventually got the strings attached to a bridge that stayed on the box, but I used nylon strings. It’s surprisingly hard to attach strings to the box if you don’t use this method. This ensures that the box and the neck are secured together and also allows the strings to be attached to the bottom of the neck or tailpiece rather than the box: The easiest way to make a neck for a cigar box guitar is to take a straight piece of wood and fit it through the box which is the body of the guitar. If you are interested in how these different bodies are used read more in my article: Different Types Of Body For A Cigar Box Guitar What Is A Wooden Through Neck? Nowadays many builders still use cigar boxes but there are many other options available: This needs to be strong enough to support the thin wood but light enough so as not to affect the resonance or the guitar will sound flat and dead. Inside these instruments there is a fairly complicated array of wooden bracing. It’s very difficult to make a hollow bodied guitar with the well known guitar body shape. Cigar boxes were fairly easy to get hold of, not too expensive and nicely resonant if you tap the outside of the box. Why Is A Cigar Box Used To Make A Guitar?Ĭigar box guitars were originally made by those who couldn’t afford to buy a traditional guitar and wanted to make their own. An added pickup allows it to be played through an amplifier. The neck may be fretted but fretless instruments are very popular and are played with a guitar slide. If you’ve seen a 3 string guitar being played and wondered what it is, chances are it’s a cigar box guitar.Ī cigar box guitar is traditionally handmade from a cigar box with a wooden through neck and 3 steel strings attached to tuning pegs.