The Unique Art of Cigar Box Guitars

By Abigail Harrison, DHI Communications Coordinator

The only brick and mortar store in the world that focuses on selling cigar box guitars is located right here in Downtown Huntsville- in Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment. The Cigar Box Guitar Store, owned by Jeff and Tara Mello, is unique in its art and history.

Cigar box guitars were created decades ago by people who wanted to play an instrument but could not afford to buy one. In 1865, the United States government required that cigars be sold in small boxes to aid in tax collection. The discarded boxes would be joined to a broom handle or other wooded stick. A wire, often from a window screen, was stretched across it to create a simple fiddle to pluck. The cigar box guitar was often a key instrument in a “jug band,” which was a band made up of a washboard bass, jug, harmonica, and sometimes spoons, combs or stovepipes.

One of the most interesting things about cigar box guitars is that each one has its own unique sound because of the different sizes and depths of the guitar body. Cigar box guitars are also easier to play because they only have three or four strings. They are often tuned Open G, which means that many notes can be played as a bar chord with just a couple different finger placements. 

The Cigar Box Guitar Store was founded in 2010 by John Nickel and his father, Pat Nickel. It was one of the first stores to open at Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment. 

Jeff Mello visited the store for the first time in April 2019. He immediately became intrigued with the idea of creating the cigar box guitars because he viewed them as “playable art.” 

“Our friend bought one of the cigar box guitars and realized it wouldn’t fit in his luggage, so he left it behind with us,” Jeff said. “I picked it up and looked at it and thought it would be really neat to build one of those guitars to hang on the wall to look at since I didn’t know how to play a guitar.”

He already had a background in woodworking and engineering, so it didn’t take him long to learn how to build a cigar box guitar from scratch using unique items and scrap wood.

After Jeff built a handful of guitars, he decided to launch his own store, Mad Sci Innovations, in 2019. Mad Sci Innovation guitars are designed to be viewed more as functional pieces of art than traditional instruments. They look very different from traditional cigar box guitars because they have custom sound holes, exotic woods, and fancier headstocks.

Each Mad Sci Innovations guitar has a unique theme and features custom inlaid wood accents. Details such as highly-polished necks, smooth-edge fret wires, and top-quality electrical details make them desirable by musicians.

Over the years, Jeff and Tara frequently visited The Cigar Box Store at Lowe Mill and soon became friends with the owner, John Nickel. So, when John decided to sell the store, he already had them in mind to take over. Jeff and Tara officially stepped in as the owners in February 2021. 

Jeff has built 700 guitars since he started in 2019. He plays around using different objects to design the body of the guitars, such as cereal boxes, gasoline cans, baseball bats, lunch boxes, and olive oil cans. There are a selection of about 40 unique cigar box guitars in the store at any time, plus other handmade instruments, including tambourines, cellos, and bass guitars. 

Besides running the store, Jeff and Tara are also involved in many activities that support music education and the music community. They are the organizers of the annual Cigar Box Guitar Festival, which is the longest-running cigar box guitar festival in the world. The most recent festival, held this June, marked its 19th year anniversary. 2,800 people attended the event, and over $4,600 was raised to benefit several music charities, such as the Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation. 

On Saturdays, they offer free cigar box guitar lessons at their store so that more people can learn about the unique instrument. They also host building workshops for people to create their own cigar box guitar to take home with them.

More information about The Cigar Box Guitar Store can be found at their website- https://www.thecigarboxguitarstore.com.

All information and pictures were provided by Jeff and Tara Mello.