(Optional) Getting Electrical

The black cylindrical object on the bottom corner of the cigar box is the piezo pickup's input, seen here attached to the box by velcro. The red disc is the piezo pickup itself, still waiting to be attached to the underside of the fretboard. (Photo by Mark Feuerborn.)

This post is for builders interested in making their cigar box guitars electric. If you have not ordered a piezo pickup by this time, it'd be best to skip this part.

The sound the guitar will give out electrically is entirely dependent on the placement of the piezo pickup. You are free to place the pickup anywhere you would like on the guitar, but the following has been where I have had the most luck:

Take your piezo pickup and lift up the fretboard out of the cigar box. Place the wire from the input to the pickup in the corner of the backside cut that you made earlier in the cigar box, specifically where the fretboard is placed. This particular placement of the pickup works best if you cut a small wedge out of the corner to place the wire in, allowing it to fit in its own spot while still letting the fretboard rest snugly in its original cut out spot. Utilizing the velcro included with the pickup, use the adhesive on the velcro to attach it to the side of the cigar box guitar. This will be where the input rests on the guitar.

Attaching the pickup itself requires more accuracy. You can either choose to remove the adhesive cover on the piezo and permanently attach it, or use tape on the red side to affix it temporarily. Take into account where you placed the bridge on the lid of the cigar box, as this will determine where to place the pickup. You will want to place the pickup in the middle of the underside of the fretboard, slightly closer to the middle of the cigar box than the bridge sits.

This placement of the piezo pickup should provide a well balanced sound plugged into any regular guitar amp. One thing to watch on the amp itself is high gain level, however, as this can produce unpleasant feedback, Always set any amps used to low gain.