What's a 3 string Cigar Box Guitar? It can take your playing back to the roots of early Delta Blues

[MrMattmccall]

where can i purchase a 3-string fretted neck? I wanna make my own but the fret work is such a chore

[3lmnop3]

John, this has got to be one of my favorites of yours, nice sound

Kevin

[CreatorForLife]

Damn! YOU ARE GOOOOOOOD! Ef Ef Ef Ef Ef! That is so awesome :D

[MargaretsLight]

WHEN YOU GOT NO MONEY, YOU GOT THE BLUES!!!

[bulldogdirect1]

kind of boring , could be more to the point

[bulldogdirect1]

kind of boring could be more to the po

[gi0vanni888]

Over dramatic.

[JohnnyGrass]

Wow! Awesome video. The cigar box looks and sounds beautiful.

[jamirosmajicrocks]

very inspirational mate, i am gonna make one myself or buy one if i can find one!

[MegaAnarcist]

wat strings hav u used??

[CoolKwstas123]

just smoked a joint on this. God ,man your amazing!!!

[RumbleGuts2112]

Total arse and not what i was expecting

Your playing should define you not all the dramatics. It makes it worse cos you are playing with a ton of reverb and echo/delay. The cigar box is as natural as the harmonica and should sound raw because of it.

Peace

[SuperMegaR]

@RumbleGuts2112 who wrote the rules?

[AUSSIESniperfi]

fantastic playing, nice guitar too.

and was tha house in the south? civil war age?

[scody311]

What's that tuning? Gorgeous by the way.

[johnmcnair]

@scody311 try A-D-a and check out 3 string guitar dot com too for more info

[ryanpumpkin01]

The slow intro is lame. Otherwise killer video

[PENTADACTYLON]

"Crossroad " by Ry Cooder

[BRIANTOWN33]

14 people got no mud in their blood

[WereWolfDan1991]

@BRIANTOWN33 Make that 17.

[GuillermoHerrera000]

the OOLD WEST....dude

[Jouwl]

You got some crazy talent there, homie.

[reno145]

Nice improv on "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground"!



[MrBlackLid]

@reno145 Too right!

[skyreep1]

I have a 4 string electric CBG that I bought from a vendor at Merlefest. I love it, but I'm not very good at guitar and don't really know where to start with a 4 string. Can you offer me a suggestion of an online guide or something?

[tafxkz]

love it

[TheEluviums]

in love with that tone!

[OAKnSTEEL]

i want to buy you a beer

[tlazhokamatly]

thats cool bro!! nice to see you again! GB!

[MusicByTheMoon]

What pickup so you have in it?

[corpralkirsch]

you aint got no money thats the blues

[Zackr27]

And whats the tuning?

[Zackr27]

Where did you get the neck?

[LizzyisMichael]

That Thin Amp, who is it made by?

[johnmcnair]

@LizzyisMichael It made by "AXL" johnson

[harleythehat]

@johnmcnair I can here your tuned to E. Can you let me know what strings you are using and what gauge please.

[weezyFshady]

1:32

[Speekerful]

I give them away < are you serious? My heart is beating quickly.

[QuaziGNRLNose]

what are the strings tuned to?

[ElvisBluntman777]

Beautiful tone....what are the strings made out of?

[Soulmansuperstar]

i just bought one of those a kerville folk festival mines plexiglass

[MrNothing43]

i want one of these so bad......

[chuckdeville]

Love this sound, thanks.

[kuiperuhgh]

mannn this is wonderful, great playing, n great vid

[electriceric100]

Beautiful, both the playing and the old civil war era houses, you got my attention

[MrMattmccall]

what are the strings tuned to if you don't mind me asking?

[YRFKD]

As we all watched this...over and over and

and then the next day and the next...

[depass67]

wow... this gives me goosebumps. Absolutely love it! Gotta build my own now

[corpralkirsch]

tabs please

[SmallBizMrktng]

What a sound... I love it. Going to build one and learn how to play it. Fantastic!!!!!!

[croshayallday]

Hauntingly beautiful. . .

[ricardosousa11]

Which do you think should be made 1st , a 3 string or a 6 string CBG ? I want to get into CBG's but dunno where to start.

[johnmcnair]

@ricardosousa11 to build a 6 string would be a sin!...only a three sting can give you this tone.

[ricardosousa11]

@johnmcnair Thats what i tought , I am to build a Ciguar box guitar out of a Cohiba's box, it will be fretless. Lets see how it turns out.

[tom27j]

@johnmcnair may i ask where you get all the footage of old houses and run down countryside from?? and where is it? i see you use lots of it in all you vids, its really cool.

[johnmcnair]

@tom27j I sample alot of it and alot of it people give me, I collect old footage and try to use it when I can

[selimsaim]

i would love to have that guitar.. nice tone and nice smooth clean design. i really like the screen part. good job man

[toddallenhooper]

That "Thin Amp" is cool too, is that vintage? Never seen one before.

[8150rpm]

magic sound

[funkyfunker]

awesome... awesome mr john..love the tunes m8....:) a big up from Scotland

[STERNrogering]

wow thats some bone chilling there man, never seen that type of amp before, where would I purchase one of those eh?

[niloc1949]

if all you got is a4 by4 you can make a steel guitar sound realy sweet everything else is purely decorative Les Paul got the same results for his Les Paul pickup.Testing

on a4 by 4 and 6 machine heads for the humbucker pickup. true.Col

[strongbadian4747]

If you don't mind my asking, what strings do you have on there?

[johnmcnair]

@strongbadian4747 the 5 4 and 3....but there is much more you'll need to know...Google "Red Dog Guitars" and check out the site....lots of answers....there is more than just string size to get great tone.

[Farmaz]

I can allmost see the levee, cotton fields, smell the moonshine & see robert johnson standing at the crossroads with sonhouse & skip james when i listen tho this video.

[TheMrDudeWTF]

Why does nobody in europe make these things? I'm gonna try and make one, I'll be the first one in the union :)

[markingfeat]

@TheMrDudeWTF Sorry i already made mine, i have no videos cuz unfortunnatly i have no camera, but i'm from portugal. Hihi :P

[markingfeat]

1st person shooter!!!!

[ClaudiuMarijuana]

so the strings are usual guitar strings and that ring on your finger has to be made of a special metal? i live in romania but i am in love whit jazz & blues to be able to make one of these my own would be a honor. il go check a special store in my town if i can find chords for it but i have to know about that ring you have there...oh and am i able to use a metal box? if not il search for a wooden one.

[fredmachine]

@ClaudiuMarijuana That ring is called ’bottleneck’. It can be made of aluminium, brass, steel, glass or ceramic.

A metal box should work, but you might get some issues with feedback depending on your pickup.

Now I’m also thinking about building a three string guitar. I’ve got some unused humbuckers sitting around... Gotta find a good cigar box now :)

[SmGrGo]

Wow...what an incredible sound. Do you sell these?

[johnmcnair]

@SmGrGo I give them away...come on over to 3 string guitar .com and see what you are misssing

[effeXxX]

@johnmcnair what do you "u give them away" ? just for no money or what?

[tuuexx]

i,ve heard of these ....i,d like to try and make one,non-electric.any hints or vids on the subject?.i play a little,and have been playing around with a banjo my bro gave me.i had no idea what to do with it ,and the top string broke,so,i tuned it to open -e,and have had alot of fun playing the blues w/it,and now i saw this.i think this is my musical calling.plus,i DO live in the rural mountians of the ozarks....kinda fits.

[FreeTalkLive]

Are those the 3 top strings from an acoustic guitar?

[FreeTalkLive]

What string sizes are you using? Those look huge. What's tuning are you in?

[fluffykenz14]

I now play a 4 string bass guitar but I am making a cigar box guitar like yours. do you think i'd be better off learning on a 3 or a 4 string cbg. Is one more difficult to play?

[johnmcnair]

@fluffykenz14 you can always make both!....there super cheap and fun to make!

[SheriffSkank]

that made my neck twitch a few times!

[johndeere5719]

I want one of those guitars,how much ?

[johnmcnair]

@johndeere5719 head on over to 3 string guitar.com

[hundanth]

@johndeere5719 Just build your own. Cheap, easy, and a shitload of fun to do :D

[skate4malife]

that was epic

[llanbo]

The drone harmonics are making me think of a tambura (or tampura, or however you spell it)

[frankyforearmsnycnh]

i could listen to this all freakin' day long. you rock n rule. so much better than a hundred notes a second. just again shows you simple is always better. tc.

[jimbo9580]

loved it

[7777dmith7777]

I like how in the beginning you did the Back to the Future guitar amp plugging in shit LOL !!! Kick ass vid !!

[SpeedbeetleV2]

sounds like it's tuned D-A-D?

[u14blaze]

whos old hosue was that?

[johnmcnair]

@u14blaze it was abondoned

[u14blaze]

@johnmcnair thats insane was that in south carolina?

[johnmcnair]

@u14blaze close...it was north Georgia

[anophthalmiaLXIX]

this is true meta blowin my mind man

[Killakid192]

First thing that popped into my mind when he started.. Left 4 Dead 2

[PrinceDotPoison]

ahh. im a metalhead but that was poetry man. very relaxing. i like it alot.

[LWRCftw]

@PrinceDotPoison ur a metalhead? Listen to Pantera?

[PrinceDotPoison]

@LWRCftw They're pretty good but I've grown out of them. Dimebag was a beast though. I'm more into black metal nowadays.

[LWRCftw]

@PrinceDotPoison agh, black metal. it would be sooooo good if it werent for the vocals

[PrinceDotPoison]

@LWRCftw Try Les Discrets or some Eluvietie, and Burzum of course. I see what you mean but black metal vocals aren't supposed to be particularly good nor is any of the music lol. But this page isn't for metal talk :V lets stop before people get pissed.

[avsky123]

too pretty for delta blues. where's the soul, the fight in it?

[baconstealer1]

@dws9312 its called a thin amp a cool little toy for $139.99 with 16 DSP effects too! 

[ButterflyDragon9]

Man oh man oh man.

[BluDavid100]

whats the tuning?

[corpralkirsch]

wow this is beautiful now i see how jimmy page was influenced by blues artist's

[bschudalla]

John,

I bought your CD Duct Bowl Blues...I have well over 800 Blues CD and yours is my favorite!!! I want a list of the songs name. The first one is the same as your video right? It is a terrific composition. It reminds me of "Dark Is The Night. Bonnie Raitt says that slide sounds like a women moaning, and THAT song does moan, Gauge are your stings? Bob Schudalla

bschudalla@netscape.net

[bschudalla]

John, I applaud you on this song. It reminds me of, " Dark is the Night". What is the name of it? How is your box tuned? And what gauge are the stings? This song sounds like it should come from my neck of the woods, Lafayette, La. Even the house looks like South Louisiana. Bonnie Raitt says that slide sounds like a women moaning, and this song does moan!!!! Bob Schudalla

[EnforcedFXS]

Great Playing man, I love it!

Greetings from the Netherlands!

[987trebor]

what is the tuning??

[ArchiWise]

VALHALLA, IT'S AMAZING

[blizzfool]

how stupid

[TheVogelDude]

@blizzfool assfuck -_- this is the shit i listen to this everyday now

and you suck dick

[RotorMedic7]

Now ..that was great!

[SirTedFairyspear]

I'm pleased to see someone playing with the slide on their 2nd finger - I've just started learning slide and this feels the most natural way to me, but almost every slide guitarist I've seen uses the 3rd finger or the pinky. (I thought I was in a majority of one!)

Great playing; I've just discovered CBGs and you've set the standard for me to aspire to!

[brftcajunguitars]

one of my most favorite 3 string guitar videos, ever. thanks john, for the inspiration.

[TheVogelDude]

@brftcajunguitars yeah i can't find anything like this one on youtube, it's so soft, so hearted, just so beautiful... mssg me if u can find anything like this, it has inspired me making a cigar box guitar, i'm halfway through the cigars now though lol

[santyrush]

I like... pure American ... I `m from Spain, and now, I want to make a cigar box guitar for me. I play electric and accoustic guitar since 1987... but this is nice. congrat. greetings from Madrid city.

[Sealbeams7]

Someone's been to the alter of Wry Cooter!

[redfornam]

hey i use a glass dunlop slide, does metal or w/e your using give a better sound

[TheVogelDude]

@redfornam your question is answered after a month, metal gives a Much brighter sound whilst glass gives a more ''mellow'' soft sound

[redfornam]

@TheVogelDude thanks lol, ill probly get a metal slide sooner or later

[TheVogelDude]

@redfornam hah imma build ma own cbg :O got to do that! and yeah good choice, metal slides give more of that treble vibrato than a glass one, glass is much softer and with that, more muted sound (you dont want it for a cbg or dobro) plus it often tends to break and smash your finger preventing you from getting more awesome on guitar, -_- we dont want that to happen =]

[majorhoop]

@TheVogelDude --i agree with you re: steel over glass slide for this type of guitar; however see "Cigar Box Slide Guitar--Booze and Blues" by daddy stovepipe on youtube. i believe hes using a glass slide and gets incredibly good results.

[TheVogelDude]

@redfornam `metal gives a more ''edgy'' tone it's much sharper, and that's prbbly what you want when playing delta blues

[sentryknife]

i love to sit back and smoke my hookah to this song, its so relaxing.

[sentryknife]

what is the tuning of the strings

[Leogun94]

@sentryknife I'm guessing A-D-A.

[vangion]

Shane Speal is the Godfather but John McNair is a god

[salm37]

Where do you get one of those?

[SteveBrownOfficial]

Great slide playing man.

[redfornam]

i could see/hear this in a robzombie movie, wouldove went great in the devils rejects

[rafettag]

awsome tune man!!!! that cigar box guitar sounds amazing, well done!!! i´m very jealous

[SRVisGOD1]

wow you got some real nice tone going for yourself man did you make that guitar im looking for some building plans that are like legit ones can you send me a link of where you got yours?

[jeffwburger]

What strings are you using?  They look as if they are the same...

[crabjunkie2]

I just made a cigar box acrostic don't sound that good. lol

[Ericclapton325]

These are sweet where do people come up with these cigar box guitars?

[Logankendellmusic]

This video got me so stoked to build one of these!

[Hornybroham]

Chilling man... Chilling

[KazumaOnline]

That house looks like the finale in LFD2 Swamp Fever :S

[BenjaminFranklin99]

I wasn't expecting much from a 3 string cigar box guitar - boy, was I wrong! Sweet, sweet indeed!

[windoes98se]

nice job, did you record the scean of the old house you self

[Putaspellonyou]

is that an amp built into the wall? holy shee-at that is cool. i want one. do you do installations? what would it cost to get my bassman into the drywall...it almost makes up for the fact that you coil your cable like a noob. nice echo too

[TheVogelDude]

@Putaspellonyou na it's just a small flat amp glues to your wall or something dude :P

[ALVINOALVIO]

Yeh' that was well moody I realy enjoyed and quite an authentic bit of playing nice one. Hey by the way thats a realy interesting amp you have on the wall Ilike it I could do with one of those my self.

[Bilbo107]

I just keep comming back to this piece it really is just so good. Flavours and colours by sound if that makes any sense at all, but I know what it does for me. Thanks again. Steve UK

[res813]

what kind or bridge is that?

[nonails3]

where can I get one of them guitars

[Doofusroy]

@nonails3

The beauty of a cigar box guitar is building one yourself. :)

I'm working on my 1st one, and so far only have like $50 invested in it. I didn't have any guitars to scavenge tuning pegs off of so there's $45 right there, but the "point" is to make them out of things you scavenge. For example, my nut is a hex head bolt, and the bridge is a skeleton key. I went to a local smoke shop, and the guy just gave me several cigar boxes, as he ends up throwing them away.

[MrROTD]

haw haw funny lookin amp there

[makihara666]

mam.......you rule!

[keymankeys1960]

man that is some deep rooted blues

[Cyzos1]

What is your tuning for this? Is it a standard tuning? I really wanna get into this style, I just need some pointers...

[wehappyfewmusic]

this is awsome, I want it to get real dirty sounding though, give it more grunt next time

[donkeypoo99]

ive seen one, but i didnt know what it was called

[KApocalypse]

beautiful vid!

[donkeypoo99]

whats that thing on his finger?

[iceman10129]

@donkeypoo99 you've never seen a slide? really?

[Traductus5972]

@donkeypoo99 a bottleneck or slide

[newman015]

@Traductus5972

A slide, you seriously can't tell?

[klingman308]

hey im just getting into cigar box guitars, i think their reallt cool. so anyone know what tuning this is?

[creamyplum]

Like most slide playing it sounds like and open tuning most likely root fifth octave. Sounds like it's in e so it would be E B E

[Olpaj]

dude thats fucking amazing!

[Laimonel]

That was really beautiful.

[detubator]

Cool video And guitar! :)

[StingerNova]

are you playing any particular tune?

[xXRabbitmanXx]

ur cool man

[gitarmoro]

Really, really musically performed. Now i REALLY gotta get workin' on that CBG!! :D

[bemuzic]

can I ask what kind of pick up you have on that guitar??

[knuckleknutz]

Cool vid.

[RichStark412]

Jon, come to rural North Carolina--We can jam and if Your lookin for old farmhouses like in this video--theres tons of em here to video---great riverbanks and fields & crossroads...on the right morning its almost like the 1800's...

[NorthTulsaBoy]

Ha, ha, that's cool.

[davoman6969]

Amazing.. i really loved this vid

[MrMikepresley]

TY for the awesomely inspiring work. God Bless

[RichStark412]

This tune is of another world and yet so griity and tied to the earth. Your playing on this one is pure emotion-- almost ghostly.

[batsong]

this stuff has real musical roots, John. Love it!

[blastingsound]

lol 5 stars for epic intro

[bemuzic]

Pt 2 (was too long!!)anyway my guitars have arrived now...any advice on how to get more sustain???...can do it by turning up the gain and having an overdrive kind of sound, but if I go for a clean subtle sound like you have hear the notes fade away, especially when using slide. Is it the way you build your guitars??...or something I could change maybe??..strings, amp settings,pickup??...any advice welcome : -)

[bemuzic]

Hi John, just bought two CBG's and while I was waiting for them to arrive I watched LOADS of videos on YouTube and Cigar Box Nation....yours were the best I came across!!...this one in particular I really love!! Also love your policy of re using stuff.and the cardboard furniture : -)

[tomvband]

Very, Very Cool!