Your cart is empty.
Your cart is empty. Designed with front (or back) porch picking in mind, this kit has an full, rich resonator sound and is great for playing all sorts of music, including Blues, Folk and Country. The "Reso-Plate" kit is easy to assemble, with a real license plate for the resonator (either your own or one of ours) and ready to be stained, painted, woodburned, decorated and customized. It can even be built left-handed!
Designed and with most of the parts made right here at the C. B. Gitty workshops in Gonic, New Hampshire, this amazing-sounding guitar can be built at your dining room table with just a few basic tools. No advanced woodworking is required (no sawing, routing, etc) - just some basic clamping, light drilling and screw insertion is all it takes to build your very own three-string tenor guitar.
This kit comes with a set of strings meant for tuning to Open G "GDG", which has become the de facto tuning standards for 3-string cigar box guitars. If desired, you can re-string it with a set of High Open G Strings for an even more old-timey banjo-like sound. This kit also comes with a full fretboard already attached to the neck, making assembly easy. The detailed how-to guide not only shows you how to assemble the kit, but also includes some basic how-to-play information as well, to help get you picking once the build is done. We also throw in a full-color copy of one of Ben Gitty's Essential Chords Posters with every kit, which is a wealth of information to help get you strumming along with popular songs.
Assembly time on this kit is 3-4 hours, not including glue set-up time. It is recommended for ages 16 and up, though younger kids can help build it with close adult supervision. This kit comes in "blank slate" form of bare plywood that can be painted, stained or finished as desired. The decorated version(s) in the listing photo(s) are for demonstration purposes only. The township of the license may vary due to availability.
Michel Allard
Reviewed in Canada on April 29, 2023
La plaque d'immatriculation donne un belle résonnance. Laa guitare CBG la plus originale. Tout le monde l'a remarque. Espacement des trois cordes la rend facile à jouer.
Customer
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2023
Does not sound good, does not play well. Fun project to build!
Guy Kessler
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2022
Easy to follow directions and superb quality in materials. Basic everyday tools are all you need, but would recommend several clamps. Other than that easy to tune and play with the great possibility of personalization. Highly recommend!
billymonster
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2021
Fun to build. Perfect little deployment toy...
D. Buckwalter
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2021
The 3rd, 12th, and 20th frets were all set way too high, leaving the guitar totally unplayable. At least it looks nice.
Ean Fortier
Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2021
Good stuff but no pick-up include
kevin
Reviewed in Canada on April 18, 2021
bought a cigar box guitar from them for my son at Christmas -but kept it from him - did not give it to him till March for Birthday and found we were missing a piece -- contacted the company and they were swift at sending me a new part. I will update with a picture soon
Red
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2021
I bought this kit directly through C.B. Gitty's webpage.I built this over the course of a few days, and I love it. The sounds are fantastic, for such a small and inexpensive instrument, and adding your own license plate gives it a personal touch, plus, its a cool use for an old plate. Very beginner friendly to play.However there are some things to note about the kit.If you are looking for a video tutorial, there isnt really one. It comes with *gasp* printed paper instructions. At the time of this review, there really isnt an assembly tutorial for this anywhere i could find. You're gonna have to read, that may be a put-off for some folks.My kit was missing a few screws. I had to make a trip to the hardware store to find replacements.You may need to invest in a few basic tools, such as a few wood-clamps (I would advise at least four.), a couple sizes of philips head screwdrivers (a #2 and a #1 at least) some sandpaper, and a drill (which would've made things easier)The neck is decent quality for what it is, you will need to do some heavy shaping as it comes very squared off.All-in-all it went together pretty easily. I really hope the company will put out a few video assembly tutorials in the future to make things a little better for those of us that are better visual learners.
Dave K
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2020
Wow, I could not be happier with this guitar! It sounds amazing, and the plate really adds so much to the sonic character of what would otherwise be a straightforward cigar box guitar. Sounds somewhat like a cross between a banjo and a cigar box guitar. I'm really in love with this thing!For the record, I am not at all a woodworker, nor especially handy with tools, but the instructions were pretty clear. I was able to get things put together nicely (as the pic would attest). I did need to do some sanding on the tongues and slots to get things to slide in just right, but as another review mentions, a little patience goes a long way.For me, the build took probably 3-4 hours across three days with allowing time for glue to set and cure. If you're looking at finishing and staining, I'd imagine it could take a few more. Because this involves gluing, be sure you have clamps on hand. Also, I would recommend a silicone glue brush.Knowing that it was unfinished, I was prepared for a lot of rough wood, but although not rounded, the neck feels and plays great, and the box is pretty smooth. Were I more of a woodworker, I might have gone all in with finishing, but I like the natural look.The kit does come with a Mississippi plate, but having lived in Memphis for many years, I had to put my own, old school TN plate on.Speaking of plate, I found that mine buzzed/rattled a bit when it was installed on the soundboard, especially when playing loudly. At first, I couldn't tell if this was just the way reso guitars should be, and it had kind of a crunchy, amp-driven vibe, but I couldn't get happy with it. I solved the problem by putting a 3/4" border of adhesive felt tape under the plate and it now works perfectly! It may deaden the resonance a fraction, but I'd rather have that than buzz while playing.Note: I installed my own adhesive piezo pickup on the neck brace under the bridge, hence the volume knob and plug on the front. To be honest, I'm not thrilled with the sound through the pickup. The plate is so resonant that it kind of blows out the piezo way too easily. Ah well, It's nice to have the set up for a pickup in case I ever want to try something else.Lastly, I must give a HUGE thumbs up to the customer service team at C.B. Gitty, especially Kim. My kit came with some wrong parts (note the 4-string neck), but I contacted C.B. Gitty and they went above and beyond in fixing the problem. They sent me replacement parts right away and really went all out to make sure I was a satisfied customer. It is sincerely appreciated!I will gladly recommend this kit and C.B. Gitty to anyone looking to get into cigar box guitars, even if you're not super handy with tools!
Neil stickwood
Reviewed in Canada on June 7, 2020
this guitar is exactly as advertised. was a nice day build I enjoyed it a lot the instructions are right on.overall I give a beaming recommendation to anybody who wants a fun guitar.
SUSAN A CRAGHEAD
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2020
Easy to put together. Looks good.
BCox
Reviewed in Canada on January 19, 2020
This was a fun build and sounds great. Added a pick up to mine which made it sound even better. It lost a star due to the fact that some of the screws had metal covering where the screw driver was supposed to go in, also they seemed to strip easily, so be firm but gentle when putting them in.
the255
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2019
Descriptions are not as good as they could be. Granted I am not a pro at home woodworker or around the workshop expert. However, I would suggest all buyers to exercise patience, do your project in shifts and take your time. The manufactured cuts and instructions are not as good as they could be. That said, I successfully, built the Reso and C.B. Gitty is known for a great supply of CBG products.
Recommended Products
