review...the humble cbg... jason gleason at jittery jay’s homemade musical instruments in the usa...

1 CBG Review — cbgreview.com October 2020

CIGARBOX MANCIGARBOX MANA WAY OF LIFEA WAY OF LIFE

Interview Felipe Ubeda / Chile / p.3Interview Felipe Ubeda / Chile / p.3

A SPLASH OF COLORA SPLASH OF COLORJason Gleason / Jittery Jay’s / USA /p.11Jason Gleason / Jittery Jay’s / USA /p.11

CONTRIBUTORS / P.41CONTRIBUTORS / P.41

REVIEWREVIEWOctober 2020October 2020

KEEPING LIFE SIMPLEKEEPING LIFE SIMPLEInterview Juzzie Smith / Australia / p.18Interview Juzzie Smith / Australia / p.18

IT ALL STARTED IN IRELAND...IT ALL STARTED IN IRELAND...Robert Naczas / DaShtick Guitars / Poland / p.24Robert Naczas / DaShtick Guitars / Poland / p.24

TOUCHING BASESTOUCHING BASESThe Little Shop That Rocks, Australia / The Little Shop That Rocks, Australia /

High Bird Handcrafted Instruments, Holland / p.30High Bird Handcrafted Instruments, Holland / p.30


Editorial

No small task...

Welcome to the October 2020 issue of CBG Review. In this issue, we begin with a remarkable musician and cigar box guitar advocate, Felipe Ubeda, who is the man behind the Cigarbox Man project and Cigarbox Man Band in Chile. As well as recognizing the bond that CBGs provide to past eras and musical styles, Felipe believes CBGs represent a return to a simpler less-materialistic lifestyle where people can better focus their energy on dealing with their problems and life’s challenges, not least caring for the environment. No small task for the humble CBG...

Jason Gleason at Jittery Jay’s Homemade Musical Instruments in the USA enjoys building, playing and selling CBGs. More recently, Jason found a colorful niche where he builds stunning multicolor “Spectraply” necks for other builders along with his own Spectraply-based guitars. Spectraply is a dyed plywood with each ply dyed a different color and, when contouring the wood, different colors emerge to give incredibly vibrant patterns. Little wonder that Jason’s CBG necks attract so much attention!

Australia’s Juzzie Smith is back with a new easy-listening “Live” album recorded during three live performances at Bellingen and Mullumbimby music festivals in New South Wales. Juzzie loves to work CBGs into his music because of their unique sound and constant surprises. Naturally, the new album is full of those “good vibes” that have captivated audiences around the world!

Enjoy reading what Juzzie’s been up to since he last featured in CBG Review in 2017...

DaShtick Guitars started in Ireland and moved to Poland. Since 2013, Robert Naczas has been building guitars, mandolins, dulcimers, banjos, violins, cellos and much more out of “hurley sticks” (hurling is an age-old Irish game), with the most amazing results! Built with hand-picked materials, stained, dyed and then waxed, they are the kind of instrument that most people can’t resist picking up and playing. As Robert says, “It all takes time, especially the woodcarving, but the wait is well worth it.”

In “Touching bases,” we catch up with old building friends who contributed to CBG Review in 2018 – Shayne Soall from The Oz Blues and Roots Music Store Cigar Box Guitar imporium in Australia, and David van den Berg from High Bird Handcrafted Instruments & More in Holland. Take a look and see what they’ve been up to these last couple of years and be inspired! J

Best regardsHuey Ross

Cover photo xxxxxxxxxxxxCopyright CBG Review 2020. All rights reserved. www.facebook.com/cbgmagazineBack issues: www.cbgreview.com/back-issuesEmail: www.cbgreview.com/contact


Cigarbox ManCigarbox Man


A way of lifeInterview Felipe Ubeda, Santiago, Chile

When I returned from my exchange program, I built my guitar and started busking in the metro and subways and then actually won a big music contest called “Música a un Metro” as the best subway musician in 2016! At this point Universal Music approached me and we signed a contract for my first single “Cool Times.” That’s when everything started heading in a more professional direction...

CBGR: Felipe, you live in Santiago, Chile, but you studied in New Zealand – how did that come about?

Felipe Ubeda: Yes, back in 2015 I was living in New Zealand in Wellington. It was a really nice experience as part of an international program with my university. I was studying business and decided to go for the international experience for six months.


And from there you traveled around?

After I finished my university courses, I hitchhiked all around New Zealand and then in Australia from Sydney to Brisbane. Later I was lucky enough to be accepted as part of a 2020 vision crew on a sailing boat that visited little islands in the north of Papua New Guinea in the New Island province. There was a doctor on board and we sailed around the islands offering free eye checks to the locals. Papua New Guinea was one of my hardest experiences, but also one of the beautiful ones. It taught me a lot about life and how to be thankful for many of the things we take for granted. The people there just live simple day-to-day lives and have this peaceful coexistence with nature.

So you were inspired by your travels down under?

They really helped to open my mind and learn about sustainable life and ecology from people in cultures where protecting

the environment takes priority if they want to preserve it for future generations. Here in South America I think we have a culture that has not learned to respect the environment and the local communities. A lot of my first songs that I wrote for the Solomon album were actually written during my stay in Papua New Guinea and I think most of my inspiration for my music came from that trip.

Did you always want to be a musician?

Yes, I always wanted to be a musician. Ever since I can remember it was my dream. My father took me to different concerts and is one of my biggest inspirations. He’s in his mid-forties and a business man, but he’s performed many times on stage and I was always there with him and loved to be on stage when I had the chance, loved to play instruments and listen to music. So, yes, my father actually motivated me the most.


Tell us a little about the “Tune Up Festival” and the “Red Cabaret” circus orchestra?

The Tune Up Festival was a big event for me. It was the first time I sang on stage. It was a festival where different departments from the Victoria University of Wellington performed and took place in the Wellington Opera House in front of a really big venue with important judges. I was pretty nervous, but we won and it was a really magical moment. I think that was the moment I decided to be a musician for the rest of my life, to be on stage and play music for the people.

The “Red Cabaret” circus was when I went to the Woodford Festival. I ended up playing ukulele with them in four shows in front of six to seven hundred people, which isn’t that much for a professional musician, but this was my second time in front of a packed audience and it was a really encouraging experience for an aspiring musician.

“I had never seen one before and I was amazed”

You came across your first cigar box guitar at the Woodford Festival – when did you first conceive of the “Cigarbox Man” project?

Woodford was the first time I saw Juzzie Smith playing a cigar box guitar. I had never seen one before and I was amazed by his music. I was lucky enough to talk with him after the show and learned a lot about his philosophy and way of thinking. Juzzie is an incredibly positive person who likes to go

out among people and really enjoys what he does. You can see it in his songs when he writes about the simple life, nature and music. And I think that was when I decided to go back to Chile and build my own instrument and show all the Chilean and South American people that we can recycle, repurpose and make good music without investing lots of money.

“I think it’s really important to encourage people to be innovative and creative”

Which now seems to have become a big success and a way of life for you and the band?

When I returned from my exchange program, I built my guitar and started busking in the metro and subways and then actually won a big music contest called “Música a un Metro” as the best subway musician in 2016! At this point Universal Music approached me and we signed a contract for my first single “Cool Times.” That’s when everything started heading in a more professional direction leading up to the Solomon EP. I was lucky because the producer, Marcelo Aldunate, was really well-known in Chile and put me in touch with top musicians like Gonzalo López and Mauricio Basualto from Los Bunkers – one of the most popular bands in Latin America. Imagine that! Busking in the metro one day to suddenly end up making music with Universal and playing with the most famous musicians in Chile – it was crazy!


Afterwards, we kept on recording together because the guys from Los Bunkers really like the project and joined the band. It’s now my way of life – I don’t work in business anymore but am fully dedicated to music and I think this is the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. And I’m really grateful for all the events that have led me to what I am today.

“ Cigar box guitars and other home-made instruments are a symbol of durability and sustainability!”

Low-cost instruments made from recycled materials – what makes cigar box guitars such “powerful instruments” in your view?

I think the cigar box guitar is a really powerful instrument – it represents the hard times and misfortunes faced by past generations of people. I think it is amazing how humans can be so creative and inventive when they have to be and it’s great to play an instrument that has so much history and passion in it. Here’s an instrument capable of educating people and making them more conscious of the environment around them and how to do something to protect it. It encourages them to use their hands and build something for themselves, which mass production has stopped a lot of people from doing. I think cigar box guitars and other home-made instruments are a symbol of durability and


sustainability! Cigar box guitars are easily made and repaired (although it’s pretty hard to damage them) and can still turn out great music.

Can you elaborate a bit on the four fundamental pillars of the project?

Yes, for me there are four fundamental pillars – one is the connection with nature and respect for the environment. Without this, it’s almost impossible to have a sustainable life. That’s why you see images of nature in all our record covers, photos and video clips. Another is the do-it-yourself aspect – I think it’s really important to encourage people to be innovative and creative, and seek solutions to their problems (the self-taught attitude). Then there’s the recycling lifestyle with more and more people embracing recycling and upcycling, and moving away from consumerism and the throw-away society. Finally, the program aims to fuse musical styles from different eras and backgrounds.

“It encourages them to use their hands and build something for themselves”

Your music mixes blues, rock and psychedelia, and you’re continually experimenting?

In the band we used a lot of blues, rock and psychedelia in our first album, which was entirely in English. After that we decided to do the next songs in Spanish and experiment


with different types of musical genres. Our last song “Mal Menor” was released with Alvaro Lopez, a really great musician known all over the Americas and is a psychedelic pop rock song. So our music is taking us in different directions. I compose most of it, along with our lead guitarist Paolo Murillo and keyboard player Nico Ferrada. Ed Quiroz is our drummer and Gonzalo López is on base.

Raw blues has many songs with, for example, lyrics about love, loneliness, regret – but your lyrics are much more worldly and intricate?

One of the things about the blues is how repetitive the lyrics can be. Personally, I really wanted to write about my travels and how my experiences have changed my way of thinking and feeling about humanity.

What about the Lollapalooza campaign with Jack Daniels?Lollapalooza was huge. I think it was the biggest campaign we have done with a brand. We did the soundtrack and were the face of the whole campaign, and Jack Daniels recorded the video clip from the song “Alleyway.” We were broadcasted everywhere for about two months on TV, internet and radio.

And the Cultiva Foundation and Paris Stores campaigns?

Our approach with Cultiva is different because it’s a foundation with the aim of reforesting the forests of Chile. We did the soundtrack for the Paris Stores campaign, which was also a big event because Paris Stores are all over Chile, like Macy’s in the USA.


And plans for the near future?

First a trip to California to meet up with management, booking agencies and music labels. We’ll be releasing a new album in Spanish by the end of this year, with the next single release in a couple of weeks.

And next year if all goes well?

Hopefully an international tour, keep writing and producing songs, and, time permitting, keep visiting schools in Santiago with my “Cigarbox School”...

What do you tell the kids when you visit the schools?

I tell them that life is much more simple than we are used to. Most of them are deep into their cellphones and technology, and they don’t know what we are capable of doing by ourselves. We can build everything using only our hands and constantly exercising our creativity. This can also help connect us with our environment and thus be more sustainable every day. ■

https://www.cigarboxman.com/https://www.facebook.com/cigarboxman/https://itunes.apple.com/cl/artist/cigar-box-man/1348841702https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9w5G0XQg2fd-NICe8g8BI-g

From left to right: Gonzalo López, Paolo Murillo, Felipe Ubeda, Eduardo Quiroz and Nicolas Ferrada


Jittery Jay’sJittery Jay’s


A splash of colorJason Gleason, Jittery Jay’s Homemade Musical Instruments, Ossining, USA

Whoever heard of a guitar with three strings? I tuned it up and gave it a strum just so I could prove to anyone who saw it in my junk pile that I was going for a “guitar” when I built it. A sound louder than I thought possible with beautiful tonality and resonance came out of that discarded box, un-shaped lumber and budget guitar parts.

Sometime in the summer of 2015, while trolling the interwebs, I stumbled across an article that sort of tied it all together for me. I was on a website called “The Art of Manliness” dedicated to manly pastimes, beard grooming, Viking lore and a lot of articles about Theodore Roosevelt, when I found an old-timey photo of a country gent holding a box with a stick in it under the title “How to Build a Cigar Box Guitar.”

Well, that caught my attention right away. I was always pretty good with my hands and enjoyed a weekend project to pass the time. The pictures and instructions seemed fairly easy to follow with the tools I had on hand and some spare guitar parts I donated to the cause. I should also mention at this point, though I loved everything about them, I’d been a dreadful guitar player for many years and, when I did the math, I figured half the strings would mean I would play twice as well...


My math lied. I started researching CBGs and found surprisingly little in-depth instruction beyond what the original article had. I couldn’t find a lot of “pro tips” or “tricks of the trade” that might give me more insight. A little apprehensive, I started my build thinking this can’t work, but maybe it will look cool on the wall.

It didn’t look cool. Even for a first try at a CBG it was awkward looking, disproportionate, ridiculously top heavy and had only three strings. Whoever heard of a guitar with three strings? I tuned it up and gave it a strum just so I could prove to anyone who saw it in my junk pile that I was going for a “guitar” when I built it. A sound louder than I thought possible with beautiful tonality and resonance came out of that discarded box, unshaped lumber and budget guitar parts. I was hooked and aching to build another.

Another guitar followed, then another and so on. Five years and over 250 guitars later, my hobby has become a small business, my main social venue and I’m proud to say I’ve improved my playing from dreadful guitar player to lackluster CBG player, but having way more fun.

Sticking my neck out – as with anyone practicing a hobby nearly daily, my techniques improved, my workflow streamlined and I tried some new things until I found my comfort zone and could come up with a predictable result that I felt was of a good quality. Maybe even good enough to sell? I figured since CBGs are hardly mainstream, they would be a unique niche that I could tap into and make a killing.

After about a year of building, I started a Facebook page and waited for the money to roll in. Six months, twelve followers and zero dollars later, I realized I may have been

2020 Vlad Davidoff


2020 Vlad Davidoff

a little overconfident in both my abilities and the zeal for homemade musical instruments in the general public. To be perfectly honest, looking back at it now, the instruments I was making could be classified as playable (by only the loosest definition), looked good (in low lighting) and sounded great (when part of an ensemble and unplugged) – so where were the customers?

Here’s the catch – people that are interested in cigar box guitars tend to make their own! That’s the point of the whole hobby after all, a fact that should have been pretty obvious since that’s exactly what I did. Obviously that’s a broad generalization and not to say it’s impossible to sell within the CBG community or even outside it, but it sure does make it hard. In my mind, something clicked and I started thinking about what could make my guitars different, but how different can you make a CBG before it’s not a CBG anymore? It’s a box, some hardware and a…..hmmm.

“It’s a box, some hardware and a …..hmmm”

By this time I was well engrossed in guitar forums, CBG communities and woodworking sites when I came across the answer to my problems. After years of never having heard of the stuff, I came across two separate mentions of “Spectraply” including one used by a friend/builder on his latest guitar. Spectraply is basically a dyed plywood with each ply dyed a different color and mostly used for knife handles and gun stocks.


When contouring the wood, different colors emerge giving incredibly vibrant patterns. I ordered some and built a few guitars thinking I’d found my “difference.”

By this time, I’d stopped thinking about making money and just enjoyed building, playing and selling the odd guitar to break even once in a while. The new necks generated a lot of interest and I started to make a name for myself largely through exposure on Cigar Box Nation and The Gitty Gang Show, where I submitted my work regularly. The rise in popularity was nice and fueled my desire to come up with some other new ideas. Though I was making more and more Spectraply-based guitars, I was on the hunt for the next thing.

Something that kinda worked was an idea that I came up with while looking at the vinyl siding on my house. J At the corners where two sides met, I noticed the siding had kind of a stepped pattern and the drainpipe kept an even distance from each peak of the steps. I thought this might make an interesting fretboard idea as each peak would be similar to the crest of a fret and the string could keep a consistent spacing just as the drainpipe did. Thus the Jitterboard was born – a “fretted fretless fretboard.” I got to work on it and found it was more work than I would want to involve myself in regularly, at least with the tools I have in my shop, but it did work. I posted this “brand new” idea and waited for the accolades.


Oh, Google, you wound me. Within three minutes I had a dozen replies of other examples of a stepped fretboard. One as recent as the mid-eighties and others going back to the Ming Dynasty; so, yeah, not really a new idea and I haven’t built more than a dozen or so since then. There are a few Jitterboards out there happily making music, so it kinda worked. J

“Thus the Jitterboard was born – a ‘fretted fretless fretboard’”

Peer pressure power – in 2019 I attended my first CBG festival in York, Pennsylvania with my son and once again I felt the spark that comes from this community. It didn’t register in my mind until then that I had never met a fellow builder or player in person, only online and in CBG forums. Here right in front of me were hundreds of builders, players and enthusiasts, every one of them interested in sharing information, showing off their work and just having a good time.

I brought a couple of spectraply necks with me to show them around and get feedback, and feedback I got! Though I hadn’t planned on it, I sold eight necks (which is odd because I only brought five with me) and I discovered something interesting. I saw a lot of vendors at the festival showcasing absolutely beautiful guitars, but not making a lot of sales. As I said before, most people interested in CBGs build their own and a CBG fest is packed to the rafters with builders.


On the other hand, parts are in high demand. A number of builders told me that necks are a time-consuming process that they are happy to skip, and others said it was the unique colors that caught their eye. “It’s nice to see a CBG that isn’t brown!” was a common comment.

“It’s nice to see a CBG that isn’t brown!”

So I’d found my niche – sell the necks and let the builders build the guitars. The response has been amazing and sales keep increasing. I take on commission builds for guitars regularly and try to knock out five necks a week to build up stock, but I still find myself happiest when I spot something I want to build for myself, place the box on my bench and ask “What are you going to sound like?” ■

https://www.facebook.com/jitteryjays


Juzzie SmithJuzzie SmithOne Man BandOne Man Band


Keeping life simpleInterview Juzzie Smith, Byron Bay, Australia

Juzzie’s music is influenced from his many journies and samples from many genres and cultures, a drop of Tam-worth, a sprig of Delhi, a dash of Arh-nem Land, with a hefty splash of New Orleans. The common thread in Juzzie Smith’s music is what he describes as Good Vibes. It is upbeat, groovy music, that will get your toes tapping and make you feel good.1 – Last.fm

CBGR: Juzzie, cigar box guitars still work well with your music?

Juzzie Smith: Cigar box guitars are always surprising me and creating new sounds. I really love their unique sound and they’re working really well with my music.

Are you still adding to your CBG collection?

I’ve been given a few cigar box guitars as a gift from several makers in my local area, which is great as every design is different and has its own unique sound.

And you still play up to six instruments at once or are you slowing down?

Ha ha, I don’t think I will ever slow down. I’m actually thinking about adding a seventh instrument which will be a fun surprise to share.

1. Juzzie was the very first of CBGR’s interviews and featured on the cover of the July 2017 inaugural issue (https://www.cbgreview.com/back-issues)


Tell us about your tours since our last interview in 2017?

I’ve been on many amazing tours – the ones that stand out would be playing the Grolsch Blues Festival in Germany and Splashy Fen in South Africa. I love them all and I also really enjoy meeting people from around the world and seeing their beautiful countries. My live show has grown a lot and I’m loving every show these days.

Your followers are increasing exponentially – how do you manage that?

I get a lot of followers from viral videos that other people post. This is great as it opens up what I do to a large audience who then share to their friends and family. I reply to as many messages as I can.

Any special feedback or memories you’d like to share with us?

My son Rumi has joined me on several festival stages playing ukulele and it has amazed me how professional he is. These moments have been golden and you can feel it with the crowd response.

Your music is described as playful, lively, worldly and uplifting, is there a serious side to Juzzie too?

I am pretty serious when it comes to sound on stage and a quality performance. Also working with a great team you have to be serious.


How has your music evolved over the years?

Over the years I’ve worked on my sound quality, which I’m always going to be working on. These days I’m always surprised how amazing the sound can be through a great sound system.

Why do you think people like your lyrics so much?

My lyrics are quite simple and also share the beautiful things in life. This might be why people like them.

“My lyrics are quite simple and also share the beautiful things in life”

Who are some of the musicians that influenced you along the way?

When I was young I listened to lots of old blues. This all started when I heard Elvis and then listened to who he listened to. For harmonica playing, I love Little Walter and Sonny Terry. I love Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Bukka White, Freddy King...there are so many artists that inspired me. I also love Moby and the way he mixed blues music with the DJ style.

Your new easy-listening “Live” album was recorded at three different hall shows?

The new live album was captured at two festivals, Bellingen and Mullumbimby. There were three shows that I recorded. Al Nicoll Photography


Besides “Love Won’t Run Out,” which other new songs are played on a CBG?

There is a new song called “The Line.” I also played a version of “Gentle Ways,” which I usually play on guitar, but loved the version on cigar box guitar. I also played two songs with my son Rumi called “Redcliffe” and “Caloundra,” which were named after two markets we play at where we created these songs.

“Rise and Shine” reached number 1 on blues iTunes Charts in Australia and Canada, number 2 in the UK and number 6 in the USA – how is the new album going?

Yeah, “Rise and Shine” was very popular when I had viral videos going on. The new live album has been really well received and loved for its amazing life quality.

“I am pretty serious when it comes to sound on stage and a quality performance”

Which US TV commercial was “Simple Road” (one of your CBG songs) used on?

Simple Road was used for a car product called Spot X. I’ve also had music played for American commercials In Texas for a sustainable electricity company.

Al Nicoll Photography


And your songs crop up in the Australian TV series “Wanted?”

Yeah, my publisher is great with getting my music played on TV series. “Wanted” worked really well with my sound.

Your HiHats project with Matt Aitchison is also an outstanding EP of instrumental tracks – how did the project come about?

Matt and I have been creating music for over ten years and one day when we were surfing I mentioned that we should start a duo and call it HiHats. We just get together when we can and have fun making music.

“Busking through the Screen” is a sign of the times – how are your fans responding?

These days are a bit challenging for musicians, so you have to move with the times. The internet is a great way to connect to all your fans and I plan on doing live shows for the rest of my life through the Internet. People really seem to love how intimate and close-up these performances can be. It is also lovely that families can watch from their own home together.

Any tips for today’s young aspiring musicians?

Really love what you do. Music can be hard to make a living from so it takes a lot of work and challenges. There are a lot of inspiring artists out there that you can study to see how they have woven their pathway. Always have fun and do another job to take the financial stress from music in the early stages. ■

https://www.juzziesmith.com/https://www.facebook.com/JuzzieSmithOfficial/https://itunes.apple.com/au/artist/juzzie-smith/id266927793https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeI-4_UjLwwHvTG-jM0cKEIw/videos

Al Nicoll Photography


DaShtick GuitarsDaShtick Guitars


It all started in Ireland...Robert Naczas, DaShtick Guitars, Krosno, Poland

DaShtick hurley guitars are spell-charged to wed the ethnic and electric worlds. Playing one is a very sensual experience: bend it in for a free fall a couple of tones down or wiggle a few degrees around your hip or belly for a yearning vibrato. Still discovering the aural magic behind their eye-catching elegance – Piotr Kalachyn

It all started in Ireland where I planned to stay for a year or two, but ended up staying ten years. Ireland is all about music and the perfect place to be if you’re a musician, music fan or… an instrument builder. I was shopping one day and saw these hurley sticks for sale (hurling is an age-old Irish game like field hockey, but much faster and furious), and since I’d always wanted to build my own instrument I thought to myself – why not put a string or two on one and see how it would sound?

“Why not put a string or two on one and see how it would sound?”


It took me a few days to put an instrument together… basically it was an Irish diddley bow without frets, fitted with a piezo pickup and two strings, played with a slide and run through an amplifier. But when I plugged it in it was a real delight – you should have seen the faces of my Irish bandmates. J

Since 2013, DaShticks have evolved a great deal, with something for every musician – ranging from short-scale guitars, mandolins, dulcimers, banjos and ukuleles, as well as different kinds of bowed instruments, ranging from electric fiddles to violins and cellos, and various custom designs. Although every piece is truly unique they all have something in common – the shape of a hurley concealed somewhere in the design.

“But when I plugged it in it was a real delight”

They’re made for playing, although some of them end up as showpieces on people’s mantelpieces, which is kind of a shame because of their unique sound and playability. Still they’re the kind of instrument that most people can’t resist picking up and playing. They all sound different with longer or shorter sustain and things like that. And different pedals and amps add to the fun.


Hurley sticks have been around for centuries and I like to tell people that DaShtick guitars have a mythical connection to a mighty warrior Cuchulain (kooHOOlin) who used his hurley to kill the Hound of Ulster and then used the hound’s gut to make the first hurley stick guitar (I guess that’s one way of letting music soothe the savage beast J). At least it’s a good story. But with Celtic origins, inspiration is everywhere – no idea is ever too strange or impossible. Celtic designs make for wonderful headstocks and woodcarving on the body of the instruments.

“Our favorite material is imagination”

DaShticks are built one at a time with hand-picked materials. The body is a single piece of Irish ash wood with hand-carved headstocks and bridges, piezo, humbucker or flatpup pickups and then natural materials like leather, bone, brass, copper to embellish the pickguards, knobs and pickups.

It all takes time, especially the woodcarving, but the wait is well worth it. They are stained and dyed in different colors and then waxed. I also like the look of the curved frets on the guitars. On the website it says “our favorite material is imagination” and “only those instruments we’d rather keep will ever


leave our workshop,” which I think sums up how I feel about these “out-of-the-box” instruments.

Since I play them myself, I have experimented a lot with different tunings, types of strings and gauges, and various materials. These days YouTube is a big help when learning to play one for the first time. Back then, I played in a band called the “Out of Towners” and recorded an EP where the title song “Day Dreaming” features the very first DaShtick guitar ever built.

“There are so many ways of playing these “simple” instruments”

There are so many ways of playing these “simple” instruments – with a slide, a bow or finger picking – it’s really fascinating! DaSthtick Guitars YouTube channel is where you can see some examples of how they play and sound. You can also see Justin Johnson on his channel playing a powerful rendition of “Horses over Mulholland” on a “Crazy Horse“ Dashtick guitar (and it’s nice to see that this video has had over 1.2 million views). ■


Touching basesTouching bases


New from The Little Shop that Rocks and High Bird Handcrafted Instruments

The Little Shop that Rocks, AustraliaThe Oz Blues and Roots Music Store Cigar Box Guitar Emporium (also known as “the Little Shop That Rocks”) featured in CBG Review in January 2018.1 Owner Shayne Soall opened up the shop about ten years ago in a remote part of northern Victoria, Australia and has been at it ever since...

CBGR: Shayne, what’s new in Yackandanda?

Shayne Soall: There’s been quite a change in direction for me over the last couple of years in what and how I build. It started with the concept of building a guitar using a Triumph motorcycle gearbox and timing cover. The build was beyond my little off-the-grid workshop, so I joined the local Men’s Shed2 were I found a dream workshop to build in and an amazing selection of blackwood seconds to build with. The photos attached are a great selection of what I was building then and what I’m currently building. To check out more of my new Men’s Shed builds and that Triumph guitar, head over to the Oz Blues and Roots Music Store page in Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/Oz-Blues-And-Roots-Music-Store-Cigar-Box-Guitar-Emporium-239980502752716/

1. https://www.cbgreview.com/back-issues2. The Men’s Shed movement originated in Australia, with thousands of members in over 900 locations across Australia. Men’s sheds can also be found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Finland, New Zealand and Greece.


CBGR: David, what’s new in your neck of the woods?

David van den Berg: Everything’s good thanks! I’ve converted the shed in my garden to a workshop and finally have a nice warm and dry workplace to build my instruments. I’ve built and sold quite a few guitars since we last spoke, including quite a few for the USA – the last one just left for a new home in South Carolina. I’m really honored that people really appreciate what I’m doing. I recently completed a custom 4-stringer (the Golden Eagle) for a lady in Texas who sent me a really touching video saying how much it meant to her, and I was deeply moved

High Bird Handcrafted Instruments & MoreDavid van den Berg’s High Bird Handcrafted Instruments first appeared in CBG Review in July 2018. According to David, every guitar can be seen as a sculpture, a painting and a piece of art as well as being a fully functional instrument. He takes inspiration from nature and especially the colors and traits of birds around the world – as the name implies, the “sky’s the limit” when it comes to High Bird instruments!

Golden Eagle

and honored that I had made someone so happy! I’m really doing this to share my art with the world and inspire people and it’s a great feeling to think about how many of my creations are making music in different places in the world.

I’m currently working on a custom resonator for a customer in New York. Doing these custom builds is really a privilege – to make something the way a customer wants it. It’s also challenging, but I like that. I have to get as much input as possible about what a customer likes and does, after which I can develop ideas and get creative. It also gives me the chance to work with higher-quality materials and parts.

Golden Eagle


Harpy Eagle

There are no limits in what I am willing to try, but every instrument eventually has a limit to how far you can go. I am still very motivated to keep learning and building more instruments. There’s so much to try and learn, and I’m grateful I found this diverse craft in which I can fully develop my artistic skills. I hope I’ll still be busy when I’m old and grey.

I’ve been experimenting with stains, and painting designs on the front and back. I’ve also done some woodburning inside the guitars for customers. I’m blown away by the work of Rich Kennedy from Deepseed Guitars. Shaping custom wooden and metal parts is also something I enjoy doing. And then there’s engraving and etching of metal and brass. Every guitar is still named with a bird in mind. For example the “Harpy Eagle” had to be a beast of a guitar since the Harpy eagle is one of the most impressive birds on the planet. It is inspired electrically by a Stratocaster HSS model, with two single coils and a humbucker in the bridge position, but it’s appearance is more like a Gibson. It has bullet shell inlays and a custom thirty-aught-six shell bridge. It has a five-way switch, two volume knobs, a tone knob and a blend knob to blend the mid pickup. On top of that it has onboard distortion. The leg rest is made out of an old Stratocaster body. There’s a Duesenberg tremolo on it that really is a cool extra feature, so cool it has found it’s place on the Golden Eagle and the current guitar I’m building too! The pickups are Toneriders, which really sound good for the price. When I contacted Tonerider, they were surprised about the pickup combination and asked if it might be a good idea to start making four-string pickups. I have to get back to them on that, but it would be awesome to have custom pickups as well.

I like every instrument I build to have a unique look and be unusual in its own way, right down to my tennis racket guitars! These are simpler to make since there’s not a lot of boxwork and less neckwork going


Grey Parrot

Ornate Hawk Eagle

on. But they’re a lot of fun to play and very lightweight for traveling. They might not be used for tennis anymore, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be played at all. Playing music it is! Actually, everything should be made into an instrument! It’s the best way to upcycle old stuff, with the highest added value if it is actually going to be played. After posting them on Instagram I got a few people asking if I could make them one, and so I did. There’s one on the bench now that will have four strings. I’m reinforcing the neck on this one since they tend to go out of tune when you play them. But that gives them a raw and unique sound too. Cool little

thing to have though. JAnd I had my last exam for my Environmental Science degree this month! My love for nature really helped motivate me to finish my studies. I see a lot of people all over the world implementing a true sustainable way of living, getting the right solutions off the ground locally. And I think all hope comes from those people. I will do my best to contribute to a more sustainable world in my personal life, and building instruments from upcycled wood and components is part of that! ■


Upland Buzzard

Merlin Falcon


Marsh Harrier


Racket Tailed Roller IV


ContributorsFelipe Ubeda first discovered cigar box guitars in Australia and took the idea back to Chile, where he became the creative mind behind the Cigarbox Man project. In 2019, the band released its first EP “Solomon” in English and began touring internationally. This year will see the release of the band’s first EP in Spanish and a new tour in the making. For Felipe, the cigar box guitar is a symbol of recycling and sustainability, and a reminder to people that they can creatively seek simple lasting solutions if they want.

Jason Gleason is the owner of Jittery Jay’s Homemade Musical Instruments. He has been building for over five years and plays every day in spite of his neighbor’s protests. His work has been featured on The Gitty Gang Show and Cigar Box Nation and he is currently filming a step-by-step video on techniques for Spectraply necks. Outside the shop, Jason has been a dental laboratory technician for 25 years. He enjoys a good Scotch now and then, and has two children and a loving wife who only complains about him tracking sawdust in the house.

Juzzie Smith is a ridiculously talented one-man band based in Byron Bay, Australia. His unique style is bluesy/folk mixed into a groove of its own. Juzzie has had the honor of performing to both international and national crowds, sharing his raw warm vocals with a simple message of loving life. With over 120 million views on social media and topping the blues iTunes charts around the world, Juzzie Smith is an act you won’t want to miss.

Robert Naczas hails from Krosno, Poland, but lived in Ireland for many years, where he first conceived of DaShtick Guitars. Since 2013, DaShticks have evolved a great deal, ranging from short-scale guitars, mandolins, dulcimers, banjos and ukuleles, as well as different kinds of bowed instruments, ranging from electric fiddles to violins and cellos, and various custom designs. Although every piece is truly unique, they all have something in common – the shape of an age-old Irish field hockey stick called a “hurley” in the design.


Shane Soall has been a bastion of Australian blues for the last 37 years, adding home-made instruments to his list of achievements around 22 years ago. His many works of art also include his renowned “biscuit tin” guitars. He has been running the Oz Blues and Roots Music Store Cigar Box Guitar Emporium for ten years with a large following both in Australia and overseas. Watermelon Slim visited the shop in 2014 and said Shayne was the best and most prolific builder he’d ever seen.

David van den Berg lives in the north of Holland/Netherlands in a lively university city calledGroningen. He is a self-taught artist and musician, andbegan building cigar box guitars and other elegantlyhandcrafted instruments around five years ago.David’s guitars are inspired by life, art and nature. As to be expected from an outfit called “High Bird Handcrafted Instruments,” each instrument is named after the bird that best complements its sound, feel and appearance.

Ross Hewitt a.k.a. Huey Ross was born in Australia in 1953 on BB King’s birthday – the same year that color TVs and transistor radios appeared for sale in stores and the first James Bond novel was published. Over the years he has worked as a tennis teacher, journalist, translator and editor, and now lives in a village in Switzerland. He enjoys building and playing cigar box guitars, as well as editing and contributing to CBG Review.

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