How Many Frets Does A Cigar Box Guitar Have?

I did some research about the number of frets before I made my first cigar box guitar. I was surprised to see that there seemed to be no hard and fast rules.

21 frets is an average number of frets for a cigar box guitar. This is probably because a standard acoustic guitar has 18 – 20 frets and a standard electric guitar has 21 – 24 frets. Some cigar box guitars are fretless and are played with a slide. Bass cigar box guitars have as many as 27 frets.

What Are Fretless Cigar Box Guitars?

A fretless guitar, played with a slide, is a really good introduction to cigar box guitars. The fret positions will usually be marked with pencil or ink or burnt in.

This is because it helps you to know what pitch you will get at each position up the neck. Then it much easier to get a good sound, especially when you are a beginner.

You will also need a well-fitting slide to play.

How Many Frets Should I Look for When I’m Buying My First Cigar Box Guitar?

For your first cigar box guitar, I would recommend that you choose a guitar with at least 15 frets. You don’t need to choose one with as many as 24 frets since you will probably not want to play that far up the neck as a beginner.

Whether you choose fretted or fretless depends on what style of music you are looking to play. This is quite hard to decide when you are a beginner.

If you don’t want to limit yourself with needing a slide to play, buy a fretted instrument. You can still play slide, but you will also have the option for more complicated chord shapes.

A standard acoustic guitar usually has 18 – 20 frets whereas a standard electric has between 21 and 24 frets. Often cigar box guitars have about 21.

How Does A Longer Neck Affect The Number Of Frets?

A longer necked cigar box guitar can accommodate more frets, as long as the bridge can sit back far enough on the box. However, a longer scale length means that the distance between each fret is bigger. This can make some chord shapes, especially near the headstock, (where the machine heads sit) quite difficult to reach.

Also moving up and down the neck to make chord shapes is more tricky with a longer scale length. I have quite small hands, so I prefer a slightly shorter neck, shorter scale length and correspondingly fewer frets.

However, frets higher up the neck on any scale length will be closer together. So if you are struggling to play near the headstock because your fingers won’t stretch, try moving up the neck.

The Scale Length Of A Guitar Is Not The Same As Neck Length.

Scale length is the distance between the nut and the bridge. A longer scale length means that there is room for more frets. The frets will not necessarily be installed even if there is room. So a long necked guitar could have less frets than a shorter neck. This true where the frets are over the box itself.

Unlike guitars with a shaped body, the rectangular box on a cigar box guitar make it pretty difficult to play more than a few frets on the box itself.

This is why electric guitars often have a cut-away body near the neck. This enables you to get your hands into the correct position. It’s probably a waste of time to put more than a couple of frets over the box itself as you won’t be able to play them.

How Can I Decide How Many Frets Would Be Good For Me When Buying Online?

It’s a really good idea to try playing a cigar box guitar before you buy your first one. How else will you know which scale length is suitable? However, buying online may be your only option. So what can you do for the best experience?

If you already have a six string guitar, you can measure the scale length. It will give you some idea of how it will feel to reach across 3 or 4 frets.

I find it a little easier for larger finger stretches with a narrower necked three – stringed guitar.

You could make a mock up of a neck using cardboard. This not to make accurate fret marks, but just to try stretching to see what feels comfortable.

The Position Of The 12th Fret On A Guitar

The 12th fret on any guitar, including cigar box guitars, is an octave above the open string. It sits exactly half-way between the nut and the bridge. You will always want this fret to be playable. Even a short-necked guitar for a child will need at least 12 playable frets. Ensure that it will sit on the neck and not over the box of the guitar.

You can use a piece of string in this easy method to see where the 12th fret would sit:

Cut your string so that it is the same length as the distance from the nut to the bridge.
Fold the string in half
This half-way point is where the 12th fret will sit.
Make sure that this point sits on the neck and not over the box.

Here’s a little video I made to show you:

Decide Whether To Make A Fretted Or Fretless Guitar

You can make a fretless guitar. This means that you will mark( e.g. with a pencil or pen) where the fret positions will be. You will not install any wire frets. This is the easiest option and a good place to start as a beginner.

You can also start by marking rather installing frets, playing with a slide, and then installing frets later. In this case you might want to think about adding a fretboard even on a fretless guitar.

This is one of the great things about making your own instrument. You make it according to your own preferences and you can remake and adapt (to some degree).

It’s important to remember that drawn fret lines still need to be marked accurately.

Use a fret calculator (see below) to work out where to mark them. Only an extremely competent musician can play without fret markings. Marking them in by ear is also tricky.

Deciding How Many Frets You Will Put On Your Cigar Box Guitar Build

I would recommend on your first build having having at least fourteen frets ( for a short necked guitar). Aim for probably not more than 21 for your very first build.

Decide on the scale length. Cigar box guitar scale lengths tend to be between 16″ ( suitable for a child ) and 27″. The average is about 25″ which is the same length scale as a typical electric guitar.

Use a fret calculator (see below) to work out how long your fretboard and neck needs to be.

Alternatively, make your neck and hold it up to the box before you attach it. Then measure the the scale length, the distance between where you plan to install the nut and the bridge. Use the string method from above to check the position of the 12th fret.

Calculating Fret Positions

Calculating fret positions is beyond the scope of this article. There is an element of calculating ratios to figure out exactly how to position the frets to make the guitar play in tune, but thankfully there are online calculators such as this one from stewmac to use.

You just input your scale length, how many frets you want and the calculator will do it all for you. Measure from the nut each time, rather than from fret to fret as this makes it much more accurate. You will not compound errors.

To make it easier for yourself, you can also buy disposable paper fret templates and metal fret templates.

It’s useful to note that the gap between the nut and the first fret is found by dividing the scale length by 17.817

If you have an idea of how big you want the first fret to be, you can calculate a suitable scale length. Multiply that first fret measurement by 17.817

Some of the frets are installed on the neck of the guitar. Some are installed over the body of the guitar. Ensure that you don’t put too many frets in a position that’s difficult to play. There’s no point in having 24 frets if you can only comfortably reach 20.

What Is A Zero Fret?

Some people use jumbo fret wire to install a zero fret instead of a nut. This should go exactly where the nut would go. Remember that an accurately measured scale length and fret positions are the only way that your guitar will play in tune.

Using a zero fret can help to get a lower action, making the guitar easier to play. To prevent string buzz, you will need to consider adding a back angle.

As stated above, frets higher up the neck will be closer together. This means that the biggest gap is between the nut or zero fret and the first fret.

Specialised Blues Guitar

Some guitar makers make specialised blues guitars with frets placed just for playing blues, so there may be just half a dozen or so frets. This is beyond the scope of this guide but Del Puckett has a great video on this

How Does Scale Length Affect The Sound?

Scale length affects both the ease of play and the sound of the cigar box guitar. This has to do with string tension.

A longer scale length will give tighter tension on the strings. This gives a brighter, crisper sound.
A shorter scale length will give looser tension on the strings. This gives a warmer, softer tone. Looser tension strings also make it easier to play as bending notes and fretting them requires less pressure.

Playing Slide On A Fretted Guitar

Playing slide on a fretted instrument is easier if the action is higher. This is the height difference between the fretboard and the string. So if you want to play more slide, consider a longer scale length. This will increase the tension and cause the action to be slightly higher.
If you want to play slide on a fretted instrument with a shorter scaled neck, consider using heavier gauge strings. This will raise the action slightly. A heavier string will be more taut on a shorter scale length.

Read this article for more information on playing with a slide

Does The Position Of The Sound Hole Affect The Number Of Frets?

This is probably not going to affect your choice on how many frets to choose. If you are making your own instrument, you can put the sound holes wherever you like. They should not sit directly under the fretboard or over the neck for a through the neck build.

Many people electrify their builds to play through an amp. This means that you don’t actually need a sound hole at all. You can also choose to put the sound hole on the sides that faces up and down.