Cigar Box Ukulele

When I wrote the post called *(l)ele a few years ago, I never thought I would soon have the chance to hold a ukulele made from a cigar box in my own hands.

A few weeks ago I received a nice message from Dávid, asking whether I would like to try a ukulele made from a cigar box - one that he had built himself. "Absolutely," I replied. The project was delayed a little because Zsófi arrived in our lives, but a few days ago I finally managed to arrange a meeting with Dávid, who brought me his cigar-box ukulele:

I picked up the instrument excitedly; I had never held such a unique piece before. I looked at it, turned it around, and even smelled it, since it was made from a cigar box. I have to disappoint everyone: it does not smell of cigars. In fact, it did not really smell of anything at all .

I tried to estimate its size. It is a little larger than a soprano ukulele and even approaches concert size, at least as far as the neck is concerned. The body is simply the size of the box: interesting, angular and unusual to me. Yet it was not uncomfortable to hold at all. I expected the corners and edges to dig into me or feel sharp, but there was no problem. I simply put it on my lap and, after a quick tuning, started strumming.

Skull-shaped tuning pegs

Tuning was no problem either, because the tuning machines are damn good: they are geared, and precise tuning was easy.

The neck was thicker than I am used to. With my thumb it felt much less like holding a half-cylinder and more like a nicely rounded rectangular block. I actually liked this very much, probably because my larger hands found the thicker neck more comfortable to hold.

The strings were at a good distance from the fretboard, so fretting chords was easy. One very minor omission is that there are no fret markers. Beginners in particular may miss them, because among all those frets - especially around the middle of the fretboard - those few dots can be the only visual landmarks. Once you have a little experience, however, you can play many chords without even looking, so who needs dots then? Of course, if someone cannot live without the little markers, they are easy enough to add. Or perhaps ask Dávid to put them on your instrument .

Unfortunately I did not have much time to test the instrument and could not make a detailed demonstration video, so I only recorded a short sound test. I modestly strummed the chords along with one of my favourite songs - unusually for me, a Beatles number:

Overall, I think I had the chance to test a very charming, fun instrument with a genuinely distinctive appearance. If someone pulls out a cigar-box ukulele in company, jaws are certain to drop - especially if you play a good tune on it as well . I should also point out that despite its small body the instrument sounds very good! (In a band, of course, it would need a microphone in front of it.)

I am probably not revealing a secret if I say that this particular instrument already has an owner - lucky them!!! - and I do not know exactly what Dávid's plans are, but I assume this will not be the only ukulele to come out of his workshop.

(If you would like an instrument like this for yourself, feel free to contact us and we will pass on your request or question!)