If you’ve wanted to play the guitar and are interested in guitars that have less than 6 strings, you might want to consider playing tenor guitar or Cigar Box Guitar. In this article I will talk about the similarities and differences between the two to help you decide which is right for you.
Overall Comparison Of Tenor Guitar And 4-String Cigar Box Guitar
| TENOR GUITAR | 4-STRING CIGAR BOX GUITAR | |
| ENTRY LEVEL COST | $200 | $100- $150 |
| AVAILABILITY | ONLINE OR GUITAR SHOP | ONLINE/ FOLK MUSIC SHOP/ LOCAL BUILDER |
| EASE OF PLAY | EASIER THAN 6 STRING | OPEN TUNING IS EXTREMEMLY EASY TO PLAY |
| TUNING | USUALLY C G D A | USUALLY G D G B |
| STRINGS | USUALLY PHOSPHOR BRONZE | USUALLY NICKEL OR PHOSPHOR BRONZE |
| BODY SHAPE | TRADITIONAL WAISTED SHAPE | BOX SHAPED |
| AMPLIFICATION | NOT USUALLY FITTED WITH A JACK | USUALLY FITTED WITH A JACK |
| SLIDE PLAYING | MIGHT BE DIFFICULT IF LOW ACTION | ASK FOR A HIGH ACTION OR FRETLESS GUITAR |
Cost
A tenor guitar costs approx. the same as a six- string guitar and has a large range of values. Expect to pay from a couple of hundred pounds or dollars up to thousands.
A Cigar Box Guitar can cost less than $100 if it is made by a small builder, but it’s really worth trying these instruments as the quality of build varies considerably. A well-made instrument can cost hundreds of dollars, but remember that a more expensive instrument does not guarantee quality. They are hand-made instruments rather than mass-produced ( unless you buy a mass-produced one from Amazon, which I wouldn’t recommend.
If you want more information on how to check for quality, read this article:
Availability
If you are buying online, make sure that you do not accidentally order a tenor ukulele instead of a tenor guitar as they are often labelled the same but are quite different instruments.
A tenor ukulele will usually have nylon strings although there are now some ukuleles being produced that have steel strings. These will have a truss rod in the neck to tale the strain, since putting steel strings on an instrument built for nylon strings will likely bend and possibly snap the neck.
A tenor ukulele is smaller than a guitar and will also have a higher pitch.
For a tenor guitar look for a scale length of about 23 inches rather than a tenor ukulele scale length which will be 19-21 inches
Ease Of Play
I definitely find 4 string guitars much easier to play than 6-string. I also play ukulele and this is also an easier instrument. 4 strings are easier to barre across and 4 strings are easier to keep track of.
More complicated chords are sometimes harder to play with only 4 strings because of the availability of the notes, but these chords can always be slightly simplified if need be. e.g. using power chords instead of major or minor or playing 7th or 9th chords with the 3rd note missing.
If you are finding the action too high. this can be altered by lowering the nut and/or bridge. A guitar shop should be able to help you with this if you are unable to, but check costs beforehand as it might cost nearly as much as a cheap guitar.
Similarly, if the action is too low, this can be remedied by raising the nut and/or bridge.
You will know if the action is too high because the strings will not play in tune with each other, that is the fretted notes will be wildly out of tune- you can check this with a clip-on tuner. However a higher action is perfect for using a metal, glass or ceramic slide because in this case the strings are not pushed right down to the fretboard. Also remember that a slide needs to sit directly over the fret wire or fret marker.
You will know if the action is too low because the frets will buzz. But bear in mind that fret buzz can also be caused by one or two frets sitting too high and this can be remedied by lowering those frets slightly. Filing can achieve this but you may be better off getting an experienced luthier or guitarist to sort this out because it is easy to ruin a fretboard with a file.
Tuning
Tenor guitars are traditionally tuned to C,G,D,A or G,D,A,E. They can also be tuned to D G B E with the top 4 of a regular pack of light 6-string guitar strings.
Lowering strings from their intended pitch tends to cause fewer problems than raising them. Sometimes the notes end up sounding a bit flabby if they are looser than they were designed for, but looser strings are slightly easier to fret.
Raising the pitch of a string can cause them to break if they are under too much pressure, so I recommend only raising the pitch by one or 2 semi-tones ( this is the same as raising the pitch by one or two frets)
Cigar Box Guitars have a huge range of tunings available- this is part of the joy of playing them. Choose your strings carefully. Specialist Cigar Box Guitar parts suppliers will guide you if you are unsure or use the charts supplied by string manufacturers.
I’ve put together a simple guide here which should help you: https://beginnercbg.com/9-different-tunings-for-a-cigar-box-guitar/
I’ve also been working on resources for 4-string guitars. You can access this from the menu.
Strings
For tenor guitars, you can buy D’Addario EJ66 Tenor Guitar strings on my link to Amazon.com This pack has string sizes 10 14 22 32 which is ideal for tuning to C G D A
For cigar box guitars, either use strings from a regular 6- pack and use the string nearest to the pitch you are aiming for, using a slightly heavier gauge string rather than a lighter gauge to prevent breakages.
Body Shape
The body of a tenor guitar is shaped the same as that of a standard 6- string guitar with a waist whereas cigar box guitars are traditionally box-shaped.
Amplification
Many tenor guitars look like standard acoustic guitars but with 4 strings instead of 6 but some have electric pickups. These tend to be coiled pick-ups and use electric guitar strings for amplification through a guitar amp.
Cigar box guitars often have either piezo pick-ups or coiled pick-ups.
You will know if your guitar has a pick-up because there will be an output jack to connect to an amp. Piezo pick-ups are invisible from the outside, but magnetic or coiled pickups are often visible as metal plates or individual magnets. Some Cigar Box Guitar builders make the magnetic pick-ups practically invisible with coverings of wood, but the magnets themselves must not be too far away from the strings or the pick-ups will not register the vibrations of the strings.
See this article for more information: https://beginnercbg.com/beginners-guide-to-pickups-on-a-cigar-box-guitar/
Slide Guitar
Some people like to play slide guitar on a fretted instrument so they have the option to play individual notes that would be tricky with a slide, not that you can’t play individual notes with a slide, because you can. It’s just trickier and you will need to move the slide quite fast and at a slight angle.
I have found that slide guitar is much easier on a fretless instrument or on a guitar with a high action. If you want to get a tenor guitar and play slide on it, you could ask a guitar shop or luthier to raise the action for you.
This means the strings will be further from the fretboard and you won’t get fret buzz from the slide hitting the fret wires.
If you are feeling confident you could just buy a new bridge and nut and install it yourself, but you do risk ruining an instrument if you don’t know what you are doing.
Tenor Guitar vs Cigar Box Guitar: Which Should I Choose?
This really depends on what is important to you, so here are my tips for helping you to decide:
- If you want a traditional looking guitar with four strings, choose a tenor guitar.
- If you want an instrument that you can play slide guitar, choose a Cigar Box Guitar.
- If you want a unique instrument, choose a Cigar Box Guitar.