A little history: in the late nineteenth century, the newly freed black slaves from the Mississippi Delta will lay the foundations of the blues (a contraction of "blue devils", the Blue Devils, French dark thoughts). The guitars were so rare and expensive instruments that could not afford to former slaves reduced to poverty.
But they had no money, they had ideas. They made so instruments including guitars and rudimentary as the Diddley Bow (a rope stretched over a wooden board) or more elaborate as the model of interest here: 4, 5 or 6 string cigar box and acting. .. sounding. There are also makeshift banjo constructed from cigar boxes in the hands of the military in the 1870s.

So a trip back in time we offer this little shop in Montreal. Each model is made entirely by hand. Most are on order, but it is possible to find "serial". Obviously this is a real craft and these instruments are produced in small quantities. To my knowledge there is only one dealer in France, who commands directly.

It is through this shop I ordered mine custom, with a waiting period of 3 months. You can choose everything: 4, 5 or 6 string, resonator, slots, mini-humbucker, the neck wood (mahogany or maple), decoration, ...

The guitar pictured on this page is actually mine.

- Handmade in Montreal
- Maple neck through, rosewood fingerboard 16 boxes, body-neck junction in the 14th box
- Scale 655 mm, width at nut 45 mm, mechanical oil bath type Gibson
- Mini-humbucker for mine, volume knob
- San decoration Luna mine
- Comes with gig-bag of appropriate size

The construction method is actually quite simple: a maple neck through, a rosewood fingerboard, and a 6 string cigar box that is adapted and fixed around the neck.

Well, to be quite honest, the finish is quite poor. This is artisanal, but not directed by the best luthiers. But regardless, this is a real character to the instrument, you can make believe that you built yourself, and we congratulate you! And its flaws make it a truly unique model.
Not perfect but I like it like that and in fact, a perfect finish is not in the spirit of pioneers.

UTILIZATION

How to tell?
A square body not pleasant at all. Better to play standing up (tie-strap provided).
The handle? Thick! Made for big paws worn in cotton fields. Closer to the broomstick.
The tuning does not take long: the wild strumming should be avoided.
This guitar is made for the blues progression I-IV-V, some minimalist improvisations on the blues scale and sing his misfortune.
This is not the shred! Indeed impossible to go beyond the 14th box, and even in the 12th strikeout.

Whatever is enjoying himself on this instrument atypical. I even found that I had a little tan and my hair became frizzy.

SOUNDS

When empty, the sound of the banjo is closer than the guitar. The sustain is quite low despite the neck-through, but not so bad ... despite the cigar box. Sound projection is low. No better than a half box, and again ...
Once connected, there is always a sound closer to the banjo than a guitar. This is "roots", but that's exactly what we asked. The little one still a hell of a personality. You will not find anything that sounds like it.

I put still a 8 / 10 because the sound is still not great. But it is one of the pioneers of the blues.
This guitar is not the Queen song, but what a charm.

OVERALL OPINION

Custom Made by hand in a small workshop in Montreal. Full of flaws but also with charm, this guitar makes a very nice tribute to the pioneers of the blues.

Even if it is a blunt instrument rather expensive (550 euros for mine), impossible not to love it.
For the construction and "quality" sound this guitar deserves a failing grade, but I put a 10/10 assumed: at the time of globalization this guitar is a marvel, a work of art you will find may be more after the global financial crisis we are experiencing.