Cigar Box uke
I became intrigued about cigar-box ukuleles after reading many positive comments from members of various online forums who had either bought or built cigar-box ukes. I started looking into the history and practice of cigar-box instruments. That led me to find a maker, order a tenor model, then write a blog post about it.
Cigar box instruments have a long and respectable tradition as folk instruments, as I mention in my blog. That gives them a panache that factory-made instruments lack, and their unusual shape gives them an added visual punch.
Tom Guy is the maker I chose, mostly because he offered one of his ukes for sale on a ukulele forum, and linked back to a YouTube video of him playing Danny Boy on it. It sounded incredibly sweet, plus the instrument itself looked funky, but without being kitschy. He makes ukes under the company name Bluegrass Ukes, and makes both cigar-box and standard designs.
It is a custom-made instrument - Tom makes one or two a month, mostly by special order, and few on spec. I've had custom-made flutes, but this is the first custom stringed instrument. Comments from other customers suggested I would not be disappointed by his quality and care. I wasn't. getting a quality instrument like this for the very reasonable price he charges is amazing.
During construction, Tom emailed me photographs of the uke-in-progress. That built my anticipation up to a fever pitch. You can check my blog post for images of the various stages, and some taken when it arrived. I opted for a fairly simple but elegant presentation. The result is an understated yet eye-catching instrument that demands attention when you see it.
I asked for only a few small enhancements: strap buttons (at the bottom and neck heel); red tuner heads (Susan loves them! I like the sealed geared tuners), and a double-inlaid dot at the side for the 12th fret indicator. I wanted a simple, clean white circle for a rosette. Again, see the photos on my blog post.
Tom packaged the uke carefully and it arrived intact and without a scratch. I received it at my store and stood it on a counter where it attracted the attention of a lot of customers who wanted to know more about it.
Everything is nicely made - the wood is well cut and finished smoothly. I could find nothing but praise for the workmanship. The frets were well-dressed, the tuners perfectly aligned. Tom even applies a label, inside, with the name of his customer and the date. That's a nice touch (picture here). He also included a custom stand made from three thin slices of redwood or possibly mahogany. That's really appreciated, because without it, the uke wouldn't be able to stand upright because of the strap button on the bottom.
The big questions are always: how does it sound? and how does it play? To answer the latter: it plays beautifully. Action is low, intonation is great and the neck is nicely smooth and long, so I can play the high frets easily (over 14 they are a bit plinky as they are on most other ukes). No issues with playability (and for neck watchers: it's a standard width, not as narrow as the Kalas).
The sound is unusual for a tenor-scale, based on my experience. It's a bit like the long-necked Ohana, above: it's not as loud or as deep as my other tenors, in part because it's a smaller physical body space. It's also because the back and sides are the same wood at the top (solid redwood - it is a real cigar box!). In most ukulele and guitar designs, the back and sides are another material - usually a denser wood - to reflect sound back to the front. The softer redwood is not as reflective as, say, rosewood.
It sounds fine playing alone, but it would benefit greatly from amplification in the company of other instruments or as a performance instrument. I also think it would sound fairly good with a slide (few ukes do, but this one, I think, has better potential).
This is where I have to say caveat emptor. It's a different sound - not worse, not better; just different. Like resonators and banjoleles, cigar box ukueles are not for everyone. If you only have one or two instruments, this may not be the appropriate one. But if you want a full range of tonal possibilities in your collection, you'll want one.
But it is rich with lots of overtones, and has good sustain. Tonally it's very balanced - the Ohana I found a little biased on the treble side. It took me a little while to get used to the sound - I've been playing a lot of my Mainland uke of late and they are so very different in tone and volume that they almost seem unrelated. But it grew on me very quickly.
A sidebar: Since the box itself has a small surface area, it's not as easy to hold with your arm as a larger uke. It's easy to muffle the strings with your arm or clothing, so beware when playing.
It's a bit like one of those unknown red wines you buy on a whim, that at first sip seem ordinary, until the finish kicks in, and then turn out to be full of delightful surprises, unexpected richness and hidden complexity. The more I play this uke, the more I appreciate it.
Tom strings his ukes low-G with wound C and G strings (he uses Hilo strings, which I hadn't liked previously in high-G tuning, but they work quite well on this uke). That gives it a solid tone with that added bass in the chords. I had originally intended to replace the low-G with a high-G set, but after a couple of days playing this instrument, I've grown to like it. I think I'll leave it as is. It's the only low-G uke I have at present. I may change to Aquila strings when it comes time to restring it, however.
The saddle is ebony (as is the nut), and I experimented by replacing it with a Tusq saddle to help improve the overall one (as it also did with my Pono mango uke, brightening up a bit).
UPDATE: A sudden change in heat and humidity, in mid-August 09, affected many of my ukes. The most dramatic was the cigar-box. It self destructed. A part of the bridge snapped and torn off under the increased string tension of the obviously shifting wood (mostly the neck). See the photo, on the left. You can see the saddle on the cabinet under the uke.
I immediately contacted the maker, and while he offered to fix it for free, he expected me to pay the shipping there and back. That would mean another $75-$85, perhaps more, plus the delay in getting it fixed. I was not happy with that additional expense - not to mention Susan had placed a moratorium on future ukulele-related expenses until I reduced the herd a bit. A local luthier would probably have cost as much or more to repair it. I should have asked about guarantees before I ordered it, I suppose.
Had the uke been older - not a mere three months old - I would probably have done so without a qualm. But not with an almost brand-new instrument. And this is one of my favourite instruments in my collection, so I didn't want to just leave it until I could get the cash.
The damage seems a design issue, not just a glue problem. The bridge is scalloped to allow the strings to pass through small holes to anchor them, and then over the saddle without the wood interfering with them. That scallop leaves a very thin slice of wood, the groove running parallel with the grain. That seems to have been a weak spot because the strings pull the bridge upward.
I was again faced with trying to fix it myself. The maker recommended "Titebond" wood glue, but I could not find it locally, and he cautioned against epoxy. So I checked the local hardware stores and although I found several alternates, opted for Gorilla wood glue.
I carefully sanded the old glue - difficult because the redwood of the box shows every scrape and mark. And once I started sanding, the outline of the old piece disappeared, so I ended up sanding a bit more than was necessary. I then glued and clamped the piece - again carefully because I was applying pressure to the top and even a small amount too much could crack it. I used smaller clamps on the winds to keep the piece from sliding back. See photo on left.
I left the clamps on overnight. I also took advantage of the opportunity to fit a Tusq saddle into the slot, to see how it sounded compared to the ebony original. I left the Tusq in place because I felt it added to the sound.
As you can see from the photo on the left, I used glass beads to anchor the strings, thinking perhaps they would reduce the vertical stress that the traditional tied ends create. Yes, the ends still need to be clipped - I usually wait until they hold their tune before trimming the strings, so there's still a bit of string to pull into the knots.
The seam between the pieces is, unfortunately, visible. But it does not affect sound or playability. I still need to do some minor refinishing around the edges to mask the sanding marks better.
I waited for the strings to settle and hold their tune, to be sure my attempt was successful and the piece remained in place. It did and so far, weather changes haven't affect the glue. I'm afraid I can't recommend these ukes to others in similar environments (where the humidity swing so much between summer and winter) unless the design issue is resolved so this doesn't happen to others. I am not sure what the solution might be - a thicker slice of wood, or anchoring the lower portion in a different manner come to mind. It certainly dampened my enthusiasm - but not erased it -for them. At least it was repaired and doesn't affect the sound or playability.
Would I purchase another Bluegrass
cigar-box uke? Perhaps, but only if the bridge is redesigned.
Would I recommend them to others? Yes, but only with an improved bridge
design.
Rating (0-5): ***1/2 for the sound and
action.
Status: Still owned; for sale.
