Once upon a tune, in a world where cigar boxes are not content with merely containing tobacco, one such box aspired to rock as hard as any Stratocaster.
Enter the scene: a cigar box guitar cosplaying a Strat with a level of commitment that would put method actors to shame.
I said cigar-box but to be honest, judging by its size, it’s closer to a suitcase than anything else. In the grand pantheon of guitar designs, we’ve seen double necks, we’ve seen V’s, but have we ever seen the ultimate in nomadic noodling? I don’t think so!
This isn’t just any cigar box with strings. Oh no, this one boasts a genuine guitar neck and a pickguard equipped with all the trimmings of a Strat. It’s what happens when a Stratocaster neck crashes into a cigar-box body, and they decide to make sweet, sweet music together.
It’s as if it’s shouting, “Look, Ma, I’m a real guitar now!”
And much like the uncut Les Paul featured in a previous Guitar Fail highlight, this cigar box with Strat aspirations has that similar vibe of…
“I woke up like this… Innovative.”
It could’ve been content holding fine cigars, but no, it chose to be the life of the jam session. The pickguard, usually flanked by a curvaceous body, must’ve had quite the surprise finding itself attached to a rectangle.
Talk about a square peg in a round hole—literally.
And as for the fully equipped electronics, they’re just brimming with potential. One can only imagine the bluesy twang it emits, reminiscent of smoke-filled rooms and whiskey-soaked bars.
Most guitars have curves that make you go ooh but this one has edges that make you go ow. Be careful not to cut yourself on that sharp tone—or the corners.
So next time you see a musician walking down the street with what looks like a briefcase, pay attention. They might just be a blues player with their whole life—strings, picks, and a flask of soulful tears—packed into a six-string cigarbox/suitcase of sorrow.
In closing, let’s give a round of applause to this boxy belle of the ball, and remember, whether it’s a cigar box with delusions of Strat grandeur or a Les Paul that took the term ‘uncut’ to heart, in the end, it’s all about the music.
And if that music comes from a guitar that looks like it could also store a nice set of Cubans, then all the better. Keep strumming, and keep those creative juices—and tobacco juices—flowing.
Exploring the funny side of guitar since 2011. Our motto is simple: “In it for the guitar fail!“
