Birdwood Guitars is a family business based in the beautiful Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. Est 2012.
We are happy to say that shipping to the USA has resumed!
We specialise in building handmade cigar box guitars, effect pedals and other blues and roots instruments. Every instrument that we make is an individual work of art. In a world of mass production, it is great to know that the instrument you purchase from Birdwood Guitars is unique and one-of-a-kind.
Birdwood Guitars is your one stop CBG shop. Be sure to check out our incredibly popular Made-to-order ‘Stage Series’ CBGs a well as our ready made catalogue of instruments.
We are also the Australian retailer for Steve Arvey’s KILLER STRINGS. Be sure to grab a pack or three.
Thank you for visiting,
Adam Harrison.
Get that signature "Steve Arvey Sound" with these Made In The USA Cigar Box Guitar Strings.
“People always ask how I get that massive sound?" The trick is the gauge size and quality of the strings. After months of experimentation and fine tuning, I've finally created what I believe are the perfect strings for the Cigar Box Guitar. These nickel wound strings are designed to give you that monster tone and stay in tune.
First play of a STAGE SERIES ‘Delta Blues’ Cbg.
Steve Arvey playing a Birdwood Cigar Box Guitar at Sublime Point in the Blue Mountains.
Test drive of a STAGE SERIES Juke Joint Rocker CBG
Matt Charnely playing a Birdwood Guitars fretless cigar box guitar.
Thats me playing a ‘Macanudo Electric Birdwood CBG with 8Ball Aitken during an open jam.
Birdwood Cigar Box Guitars in Action
Steve Arvey playing a Birdwood Guitars cigar box guitar during his recent visit to Australia.
New stock & Best Sellers
The ‘Juke Joint Rocker’ is our best selling CBG style ever! It’s super tough design allows it to be taken on stage and survive all the knocks and bumps that life on the road can dish out. It utilises an electric guitar pickup to provide killer tones at high volume and with loads of distortion as well.
All Birdwood Guitars are set up to provide beautiful playability and excellent intonation from the nut all the way up the neck to the bridge saddle. I am a luthier who has been working on and building electric guitars for the last 14 years. My mission is to provide you with the an instrument that you won’t want to put down.
Your Guitar
Handmade heavy duty body
rustic styling
oak neck
rosewood fretboard
powerful CBG humbucker pickup
Fixed hardtail bridge
volume
tone
Box corners
strap buttons
large sound hole for acoustic projection
Set up with USA made KILLER STRINGS tuned GDG
Every Juke Joint Rocker is a one of a kind creation and as such there may be slight differences between each guitar built depending on hardware availability and timber used.
These guitars are made to order. There is an approximate 6 week build time. Just like any quality instrument, these take time to build. Different things can impact build time, demand, the weather and attention to detail. However, you WILL receive an instrument that you will love. That is my promise!
Covered by our limited, lifetime Fair-wear guarantee.
Rick and roll all night!!! This short scale beast will rock your world. It’s loaded with an American made Gittybucker pickup and volume control for awesome versatility. This is the guitar your mum warned you about:) perfect for practicing your slide techniques for any musical styling thanks to the awesome pickup. You can play anything from Robert Johnson to Slayer and all in between.
YOUR GUITAR
GENUINE ‘Black Pearl’ cigar box
Reclaimed timber neck and fingerboard
Fine dot markers at 3,5,7,9,12,15,17,19 positions
Gittybucker pickup (USA)
Volume control
Open tuners
Hardwood nut and floating bridge
Rear string retainer made from a vegetable steamer flap.
Strap button on rear bout
This is a slide guitar so you will need a slide to be able to play it.
READY TO SHIP
This Kristoff cigar box is made in the Dominican Republic and is VERY RARE. It’s the only box of this type that I have seen in 13 years of building cigar box guitars.
I’ve matched it with reclaimed timber for the neck and the fretboard. The neck has a beautiful grain quite reminiscent of Oregon and the fretboard was reclaimed from an 80 year old wardrobe.
The guitar has a pickup and volume control installed for amplifying the acoustic qualities of the instrument. It’s perfect for playing blues, country and 70s rock:) This is not a guitar for playing heavy metal.
YOUR GUITAR
• Genuine Kristoff cigar box
• reclaimed timber neck
• reclaimed fretboard with medium frets
• piezo pickup
• volume
• vintage style tuners
• box corners
• handmade at Birdwood Guitars Hazelbrook.
READY TO SHIP
The History of Cigar Box Guitars
Cigar boxes were incredibly plentiful back in the late 1800s and were usually discarded by shop keepers as a nuisance. Crafty people found these boxes, and began using them to make musical instruments. Cigar box guitars were a wonderful means for people on hard times to be able to play music.
Many iconic guitar players began their musical journey on cigar box instruments. Some famous players were Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson and Muddy waters. Over the last few years, the cigar box guitar has certainly found its place again in the hearts and hands of players all over the world. In recent times Dave Grohl, Steven Tyler and Seasick Steve have entertained us on these wonderful creations.
Now it is your turn.
Adam Harrison