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In part one of this two-part series, I discussed the sorts of things I look out for when junkin' and pickin', as well as the types of places I go to do it - the "What" and the "Where." In this part of the article, I focus more on the "How" - the way I go about picking. They are still under development, but they are working for now. I have never been a big fan of negotiating prices and dickering, but I have been working on it – so that affects some of these general thoughts. Everyon …

I am pretty much a newcomer to junking, picking, thrifting, yard sale-ing and the like. Though I grew up poor and most of my clothes and toys were second-hand, it is only since getting into making cigar box guitars and other handmade instruments that I have begun to appreciate the value of junk stores, thrift stores, yard sales and to a lesser extent antique stores. Once you realize how many different things you can make musical instruments out of, it isn’t long before you kno …

I can already hear it... “Oh, so Gitty’s reviewing the new Shane Speal album he bankrolled. I wonder if THAT review will be unbiased…”Maybe it won’t be entirely unbiased, but I will try to be honest. I just couldn’t NOT review this album. So here goes.I am a fan of Shane’s music and style. I have been for a while. When I was first getting into cigar box guitars 6 years ago, I bought a couple of Shane’s early records. Those early recordings were raw, rough and they were gritty. The prod …

I have been thinking for a while about writing some sort of manifesto, or mission statement, that attempts to sum up what this whole cigar box guitar movement, often referred to as a revolution, is all about. When you really get down to thinking about it, it is not an easy thing to sum up. The people who take part in this come from all over the world, from a wide range of backgrounds. There is no stereotypical cigar box guitar builder, or cigar box guitar player. People build for different re …

(Mouse over each photo for a description of who's in it) Being a bit of an introvert, sometimes I need a reminder of just how important it is to get out of the shop and visit with the community that makes up the awesome hobby of cigar box guitar and handmade instrument building.  It is too easy to hide behind the protective barrier of the Internet, occasionally throwing up a blog post or uploading a photo to Cigar Box Nation. But it is out amongst the folks that make this hobby …