Ed King, of Lynyrd Skynyrd, says about his Tomi-O Cigar Box Guitar... "Your cigar box guitar gave "The Ballad of Curtis Lowe" a completely new sound. I love this thing!"*** *** ***Shane Speal, King of the Cigar Box Guitar says: "The first thing I noticed about my new TOMI-OMIGOD CBG guitar is the solid construction. It's the same feeling you get when handling a Paul Reed Smith. You just KNOW that this thing can smoke...even before you plug it in. ... The pickups are phenomenal. The wiring is great. So how does it sound? Like a million dollars! I'm blown away by the amount of different tones to this machine. ...this new TOMI-OMIGOD cbg is changing my life!"*** *** *** Human history is replete with examples of how we have created our own tools, clothing, dwellings and even musical instruments. People have been making and playing Cigar Box Guitars (CBG) since the 1840’s, when shipping crates gave way to smaller boxes in the decade of 1840-49. Cigars were very popular, boxes were everywhere and the Cigar Box Guitar was BORN!......The first known detailed set of plans for making a guitar from a cigar box was published in the St. Nicholas Magazine in 1870, by Daniel Carter Beard. Mr. Beard would later start the Boy Scouts of America, and the Cigar Box Guitar has been a part of scouting activities ever since!......Many of the early Cigar Box Guitars were made by and/or for children. The Cigar Box Guitar soon became a great teaching tool for budding musicians, and many renowned musicians began on a cigar box guitar; including Blind Willie Johnson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Carl Perkins, Jimi Hendrix, George Benson, Roy Clark, Albert King and Buddy Guy!......There is currently an INTERNATIONAL resurgence in the “Home-made Instrument†movement, and professional musicians from around the world are giving up their “store-bought†guitars for the opportunity to make their own music on their own “self-made†instruments! There is also an increase in interest- and use of - primitive instruments, including the Cigar Box Guitar. Numerous skilled Luthiers are now creating professional grade guitars from the crudest of materials! Mr. Tom Hartwell, of Hinton, WV, is one such respected Luthier! We call him..."Tomi-O"
Stew-Mac catalog :-)
Lorilea, Kendall, Keagan, Ralph and Judy Hartwell, Chris Hartwell & Family, Ron Smith, Geo Ballentine, RhythmBoard Ray, Gerry Thompson, Stacy Puckett, Kurt Schoen,Shane Speal, BOZ, Joe Buck, Matt Crunk (Get Crunked!!!), Roscoe, Hank III, JB, Jesco White, Mamie White, Hasil Adkins and all my CBG brothers!