Whether you are building or buying your cigar box guitar, scale length is an important consideration. The longer the scale length, the brighter the tone. This can be balanced by changing the string gauge and tension to get a warmer tone.
A short scale guitar will sound quite different to a longer scaled instrument, even if they are tuned the same. This is because the tension of the strings is different. look at this table to see how the various string factors affect both tone and pitch:
| guitar string | tone | pitch | volume |
| scale length | longer =brighter tone shorter = warmer tone | longer = lower pitch shorter = higher pitch | |
| string gauge | heavier gauge = warmer tone lighter gauge = brighter tone | heavier gauge = lower pitch lighter gauge = higher pitch | heavier gauge = louder lighter gauge = softer |
| string tension | looser = warmer tone tighter = brighter tone | looser = lower pitch tighter = higher pitch |
What Is Scale Length?
Scale length is the distance between the nut and the bridge of the guitar. A longer necked instrument will often have a longer scale length, but the length of the body also comes into play. A long body allows the bridge to be set back further which means that the scale length is longer.
How Does Scale Length Affect Tone?
The longer the scale length, the brighter the tone. This can be balanced by changing the string gauge and tension to get a warmer tone.
Think of an elastic (rubber) band being plucked. When it’s not stretched, it makes a low twangy sound. As you stretch it to put it under more tension, the sound gets brighter and less twangy.
In the same way, a loose floppy guitar string will sound twangy in comparison with a tighter tensioned string.
The pitch or tuning of the string is affected by it’s length, it’s thickness and it’s tension. This is because the note that the string plays is determined by how quickly it vibrates.
Choosing a shorter scale length on your cigar box guitar will mean that to get the same pitch (with shorter length strings), you will need to either:
- increase the string gauge or
- decrease the tension or
- do a bit of both
- Increasing the string gauge and/ or decreasing the tension will make the strings vibrate slower, giving a lower pitched note.
Decreasing the tension will make the guitar sound a bit more twangy, but increasing the string gauge will help to counteract that.
You can see that if you have a shorter-scaled instrument and think it sounds too twangy, you could could try increasing the string gauge.
What Gauge Strings Are Suitable For A Cigar Box Guitar?
So which gauges do we actually mean when we talk about heavier and lighter gauge strings? Since you can tune your 3 strings to whatever tuning you like, there is a huge range of string choice available.
When you’re just starting out with your Cigar Box Guitar, you will probably just start with the strings that are on the guitar, but what happens when you need to replace them? They aren’t labelled and they are tricky to measure since they are measured in thousandths of an inch.
We can either buy a set of standard 6 strings and choose 3 or we can buy a 3 string set from a cigar box guitar specialist.
Low G D G Tuning
Here is an example of the range of gauges suitable for a Cigar Box Guitar tuned to low range G D G :
| heavier gauge | medium gauge | lighter gauge | |
| lowest guitar string for a G D G cigar box guitar | 46-49 | 45-46 | 42-45 |
| middle guitar string for a G D G cigar box guitar | 30-33 | 28-30 | 26-28 |
| highest guitar string for a G D G cigar box guitar | 23-24 | 22-23 | 20-22 |
The string gauges above are typically the 3rd, 4th and 5th or 4th, 5th and 6th strings from a six string set.
High G D G Tuning
Here is an example of the range of gauges suitable for a Cigar Box Guitar tuned to high range G D G :
| heavier gauge | medium gauge | lighter gauge | |
| lowest guitar string for a G D G cigar box guitar | 20-26 | 18 | 17 |
| middle guitar string for a G D G cigar box guitar | 16-17 | 14-15 | 13 |
| highest guitar string for a G D G cigar box guitar | 12-13 | 11 | 10 |
The string gauges above are typically the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings from a six string set.
I have been using low range tuning with nickel wound 22, 30 and 46 strings on my 25 inch scale cigar box guitar but I think I will try the higher range on my next build or purchase.
Choosing string gauges is a bit confusing and also relies a lot on personal preference. We also have to remember that even within G D G there are other options than those shown above: e.g. Some players prefer a much wider spread of notes and so prefer to use a lighter gauge top string e.g. the top E string of a standard set, whilst still choosing to use the heavier gauge lower strings.
As a beginner, I suggest you start with a medium to light gauge set of strings, either a higher” skinny set” or a lower ” thick” set. These will be easier to play since you don’t have to press down so hard. Go for a medium to heavy set if you intend to play slide guitar.
I have written an article here that gives more background about guitar string gauges and string material choices and an article here all about different tunings you can try
We have now considered that string length, gauge and tension all affect the tone, so let’s look at how string length affects the tuning.
How Does String Length Affect Tuning?
A longer string will often have a lower pitched note when plucked. This is the basis of how a guitar fretboard works.
When you pluck or strum an open string, it can vibrate between the whole distance between the nut and the bridge. When you fret this string, you will hear the note produced where the string is vibrating between the fret and the bridge.
Fretting a string at the 12th fret is a special case because the 12th fret lies halfway between the nut and the bridge. Halving the string length allows it to vibrate twice as fast. This makes the 2 notes an octave apart.
An interesting effect called a harmonic can be produced by pressing very lightly with the fretting hand at the 12th fret and plucking the string. This gives a bell-like sound that really resonates ( lasts a long time after being played)
You might be wondering how we can have a short-scaled instrument at the same pitch as a longer scaled instrument. This is partly to do with the thickness of the strings.
How Does String Gauge Affect Tuning?
You may not have ever thought about it, but when you think you will realise that having a heavier gauge (that is a thicker) string makes a lower note than a thin string.
We use this fact to have strings of the same length paying different notes on every stringed instrument.
Looking at the strings on your cigar box guitar, you will see that the lowest sounding string is thicker than the highest sounding string.
A heavier gauge string is stiffer than a thin string. This means that even at the same length and the same tension, it will vibrate slower. Since the frequency of the vibration affects pitch, the slower the vibration, the lower the note.
A heavier gauge string is also useful for playing with a guitar slide as it offers a bit more resistance.
How Does String Tension Affect Tuning?
If you want a thick string and a thin string of the same length to play the same note, the thin string will need to have a much looser tension. This is so that it will vibrate slower. Think back to when you were younger and twanged an elastic (rubber) band. To get the note higher you just tightened the band by stretching your fingers further apart.
You may have heard of the term “ tuned down” referring to a guitar string. For 6 stringed players this may be tuning down the lowest string from an E to a D. On my cigar box guitar, I quite like playing with an E B E tuning. See this article for lots more tunings for a cigar box guitar.
Various tuned down tunings are available. What we are doing when we choose this kind of tuning is deliberately making a string a bit looser than it was intended to be so that it will sound lower.
How Does Scale Length Affect Pitch?
If you think of the difference in sound of a ukulele and guitar, you will probably realize that the ukulele will sound higher pitched.
The only way to get a smaller instrument such as a ukulele to sound at a much lower pitch is to increase the string gauge or decrease the string tension or do both of these things. A bass ukulele has a longer scale length and uses heavier strings to play at a lower pitch than a soprano ukulele.
Guitar strings are often sold for an average scale length of between 24 3/4 and 25 inches, so if your cigar box guitar has a very different scale length, you will need to experiment with different gauges of strings to get the pitch you require.
For a shorter scale, use slightly heavier strings under less tension to keep the pitch the same.
For a longer scaled instrument, try slightly lighter strings because if you put the standard strings under higher tension, it’s a bit harder to press down and bend the strings.
How Do String Gauge And Tension Affect Playability?
Replacing your cigar box guitar strings with heavier gauge strings, but keeping the same tuning means that they will need to be at a higher tension, whereas playing with lighter strings means they need to be at a lower tension.
The tension of the strings affects how hard it is to play. When strings are at high tension, they are harder to pluck or strum and harder to fret.
If you are finding it hard on your fingers to play your cigar box guitar, it might be worth considering changing your strings for a lighter gauge set.
Alternatively, try playing with a guitar slide. This allows you to fret the guitar without pressing down so hard. Then it’s helpful to have heavier gauge strings.
With a slide, you just need to press the side down onto the strings hard enough to stop the rattling. Using your other fingers on your fretting hand , the ones behind the slide, to mute the strings will also help to stop the strings buzzing, particularly on a fretted guitar.
I have written an absolute beginner’s guide to playing with a slide here.
How Can I Adjust My Cigar Box Guitar To Play Higher Notes Overall?
Since a cigar box guitar is in open tuning, playing higher up the fretboard makes it a bit easier than a 6 stringed guitar to play higher pitched barre chords.
However, if you want the sound of a higher pitched instrument on a longer scaled guitar, you might want to consider using a capo. You can buy a guitar capo to fit a cigar box guitar but you might want to go to a music shop to check that it will stay in place on the narrower neck.
If you want to try different tunings other than G D G such as A E A or even B F# B, try using lighter gauge strings to stop the strings breaking as you increase the tension.
Factors Other Than Scale Length And String Choice That Affect The Tone Of Your Guitar
Scale length is not the only thing that affects the tone of your guitar. Other things include:
- the type of wood
- or if the box is metal
- the body shape- is it a large flat box or a more compact deeper box
- the size, position and shape of the sound holes
- choice of piezo or wound pickups