This is possibly the cheapest and easiest guitar you could ever hope to make. There are some similar guitars in other tutorials, but in my opinion this trumps them for ghetto factor. If you have seen the film "It Might Get Loud", or at least the trailer, you will be familiar with this. Jack White rocks one of these suckers:
.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Supplies
First thing, gather your materials:
Some sort of plank of wood. The one I used here isn't ideal because it is thin enough for the nails to come through the other side.
Bottle
Nails
Guitar string
Hammer
Smaller chunk of wood for mounting pickup
Pickup
Output Jack
Some sort of plank of wood. The one I used here isn't ideal because it is thin enough for the nails to come through the other side.
Bottle
Nails
Guitar string
Hammer
Smaller chunk of wood for mounting pickup
Pickup
Output Jack
Flag this comment as:
Not NiceInappropriateSpam
92
freeza36
says:
Oct 6, 2012. 10:32 AMReplyYou should post a vid.
13
yoyology
says:
Apr 26, 2012. 1:42 PMReplyFor additional DIY cred, make your own pickup. http://www.instructables.com/id/cheap-and-easy-guitar-pickups/
92
freeza36
says:
Mar 26, 2012. 4:39 PMReplyJack White is one of the best guitarists ever, even though he used very simple means to play. One listen to "Seven Nation Army," and you will believe it.
1
TommY.KillER
says:
Feb 19, 2012. 2:33 PMReply
Since I saw this, during watching It Might Get Loud, I want to make one too! :D Tomorrow I'm going to go buy a pickup :)
92
freeza36
says:
Jan 29, 2012. 5:02 PMReplyyou gotta love Jack White
steve howe
says:
Oct 26, 2010. 4:16 AMReply
You can get cheap humbucker pickups as well as jack sockets from Janikas Music Shop at http://www.janika.co.uk Steve
bigredlevy
says:
Feb 2, 2010. 3:58 AMReply
i made one a few years ago to play bottleneck style. it's made from pine and plywood, with a broomstick neck. it has a piezo pickup under the bridge.
rklinger
in reply to Sep 11, 2010. 6:30 AMReply
beautiful...combo diddley bow and cigar box guitar look...got any for sale?...brother-in-laws birthday in Nov
bigredlevy
in reply to Sep 25, 2010. 6:42 AMReply
sorry mate, i don't sell any of my guitars. it really wasn't hard to make, though.
2
CaptainWow (author)
in reply to Mar 3, 2010. 4:16 PMReply
Nice job on that one. I imagine having a hollow body would make it sound a lot nicer.
1
JuCo
says:
Jul 13, 2009. 4:30 PMReply
not to nitpick, but this is a diddley bow. cool make, though. you could also use a soup can, instead of a bottle, and play it unplugged.
craig3
in reply to May 30, 2010. 8:30 AMReply
semi acoustic maybe? how would it sound with the soup can with a pickup?
1
JuCo
in reply to Aug 1, 2010. 1:19 AMReply
like a piezo attached to the can? i dunno... i would imagine that it would sound sort of like a banjo with a piezo pickup played with a slide. in other words, strange and demented in the most delightful ways.
2
CaptainWow (author)
in reply to Aug 12, 2009. 10:02 AMReply
yeah i figured there was probably a better name for it. thanks for the tip.
1
JuCo
in reply to Aug 26, 2009. 7:34 PMReply
no problem... i just checked and wikipedia's got a decent article. it's not very in-depth, but there's some interesting factlets. (like lonnie pitchford's headstone having a playable diddley bow on the side of it.... road trip, anyone?)
2
CaptainWow (author)
in reply to Aug 29, 2009. 9:45 AMReply
im down. so is bo diddley named after the guitar or the guitar after bo diddley?
1
JuCo
in reply to Aug 30, 2009. 9:34 PMReply
double response... i just checked wikipedia and it's completely made up because his birth name was "bates" and he was adopted by his aunt (i believe, dang short term memory!), so he took on the last name "mcdaniel" before changing to the stage name. P.S.- his first name was "ellas", so that might explain why he chose to go by a pseudonym.
1
JuCo
in reply to Aug 30, 2009. 9:29 PMReply
judging by the times for each being named, i'd guess that the man was named after the instrument. i'd have to check to see, though, if his last name was "diddley" and the nickname came from that (or was named by parents that had a sense of humor), or if it was a stage name that he created from whole cloth.
1
n3rdd
says:
May 29, 2010. 8:29 PMReply
I wonder about using an actual machine head for tuning
2
CaptainWow (author)
in reply to Jun 8, 2010. 12:37 AMReply
Yeah I imagine that would work if your wood was the right thickness for the machine head.
sockless
says:
Jun 7, 2010. 10:30 PMReply
So what does the beer bottle actually do?
2
CaptainWow (author)
in reply to Jun 8, 2010. 12:35 AMReply
It acts like the bridge on a regular guitar. Gives the strings something to resonate off of.
1
phant0m_sp00f3ra
says:
Jun 19, 2009. 4:42 PMReply
damn this is sooo sweet it looks like my next proyect, and also the movie! when will it b released?
2
CaptainWow (author)
in reply to Jun 19, 2009. 9:48 PMReply
sometime in august I think. Looking forward to seeing Jimmy Page shred it up. By the way, if you make this, probably use screws instead of nails or else a way thicker board because as soon as I tried to add a second string it cracked pretty badly.
5
whiteoakart
in reply to May 1, 2010. 12:45 PMReply
If you haven't seen the movie, do whatever you can to get a copy. It is really amazing.
1
phant0m_sp00f3ra
in reply to Sep 26, 2009. 12:43 PMReply
O: Ok i'll take that into account mate. I am imagine mine with lots of colours (spray paint FTW!).
9
MteamyMcHotsauce
says:
Jan 10, 2010. 8:09 PMReply
AMAZING MOVIE
tj1001
says:
Aug 22, 2009. 9:08 PMReply
im sorry but i have no idea what to do when i get to the wiring step
2
CaptainWow (author)
in reply to Aug 23, 2009. 2:50 PMReply
it really depends on what sort of pickup you have. sorry im not the most knowledgeable on the subject. try taking it down to a guitar shop and see if they'll show you.
5
ItsTheHobbs
says:
Jun 20, 2009. 2:36 PMReply
Nice project, can't wait to see the movie.
Flag this comment as:
Not NiceInappropriateSpam
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
