2 Special Homemade Instruments

The Facility has received 2 special homemade instruments which are “Cigar Box Guitars, from Barry McCue owner of “Bear Box Guitars”, to display for our residents, families, and staff. When Barry was asked when and how he started this hobby, he told us he has always been intrigued by handmade instruments. Specifically, Cigar Box Guitars. Barry gave us a little back story on how this came to be in his own words.

“Last year during the quarantine I decided to try my hand at making one. It was a very simple and crude 3 string fretless slide-style guitar. I did not have the highest expectations but when it was finished I was shocked it actually played. A friend of mine did some wood burning on the neck and made it really looks good. I was hooked at this point and built another then another. People at work had shown an interest and before I knew it, I had several orders. That was a year ago and I have just finished my 39^th build, with one of them being my first banjo. It wasn’t until I met Devon at Mahoning Valley when things got interesting. I have built several guitars for him and his support of this passion of mine has been so motivating.

I now have a website up, basic for now, but it is in the works. My real goal is to get these in as many people’s hands as I can. They are not only a big part of American Music, but they are just so much fun to play and build. There are no rules really. It is a very creative process and for me personally, it helped me get through a very tough year with COVID and all that entails. “