Cigar Box Diddley Bow (One-string Guitar) Kit - includes all parts, hardware and how-to!

Build the mythical one-string guitar from blues and Americana folklore.  

This is the instrument that Blind Willie Johnson first learned slide guitar.  

Countless other music legends have started with a diddley bow, too.  

Originally designed for teachers to build with students, this kit allows ANYONE to build an instrument and start making music!

What is a diddley bow?

A diddley bow is a one-string instrument whose lineage goes back thousands of years.

The first prototype diddley bow (in the style also known as a Musical Bow) was painted on cave walls in France upwards of 15,000 years ago!

Traditionally, diddley bows were made using a plank with two nails/posts with a tightened string stretched between them.

When that string is plucked or struck with a stick, and a smooth hard object is used as a slide and moved up and down on the string, different pitches result and melodies can be played.

You can see a picture of the style of diddley bow built from this kit above.

What does it take to build this kit? 

To assemble this kit requires a bit of neck filing and hole-drilling, but can still be easily accomplished using only basic tools that most people already have access to.  

Add-on options: We also have some great add-on options for these kits, including an electric pickup (so you can plug it into an amplifier), extra strings and slides.

For more information on installing the electric pickup option, check out this article and also this video.

All versions of the kit provide online access to the free how-to guide and how-to video (links below), as well as a wealth of how-to-play videos and examples.

We are also developing a library of educational resources to accompany this kit, including lesson plans, study guides and other handouts to help make it as easy as possible for a teacher or other group leader to add instrument building to their curriculum or program.

Kit Informational Links & Resources

10-page How-To Guide (Print-able PDF Format)
How-to-Assemble Video
Shane Speal's "How to Play the Diddley Bow" Series on YouTube

 What does it cost? 

For retail customers the price is as stated in this listing. Quantity discounts kick in for orders of 5+, 10+ and 25+ kits. 

For schools and non-profit institutions, we offer an automatic 25% off of the retail cost on every order, with larger discounts available for larger quantity orders. We have flexible payment options and can accept Purchase Orders.

For wholesale/resale purchases, please contact our wholesale sales department at wholesale@cbgitty.com. A Federal Tax ID number is required to qualify for wholesale purchases.

Our thanks to Jim Burt of Jimbo's Marblehead Guitar Company for helping us to develop this kit. Also a big thank you to blues man T. J. Wheeler for helping us to demo these amazing instruments!