An Interview with Josh Gayou of Smokehouse Guitars
Interview by Ron of Boutique Guitar Resource
Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us a little about your history and how you got into building cigar box guitars?
Josh Gayou: Music has always been a big part of my life from a young age. My parents are lovers of music from every genre (excluding rap and hip hop, etc) and they raised me on all of the greats. I got some heavy exposure to all sorts of styles through them including blues, country, rock, classical, zydeco, and a lot of folk Italian music (my mother is Italian). I’ve always had musical talent myself (as far as my ear is concerned and my ability to pick things up quickly), however I’ve never had any formal training in any instrument outside of the piano when I was very young and now, at 30, the only thing I can remember there is Chariots of Fire and Chopsticks.
A few years ago I happened upon a quick demo video on Youtube of a guy named Brother Yusef playing a one string cigar box guitar (what we call a Diddley Bow). This is a cool little instrument based on the traditional bow instruments that a lot of the children play in African tribes. It’s an extremely simple design and yet, in the hands of someone who knows their stuff, can produce some incredible sounds. I was very impressed with Yusef’s ability to produce music that I actually wanted to listen to (not something that I would only view once as a curiosity but something I would come back to listen to over and over again) using an instrument made from a cigar box and a broom handle. It challenged everything I thought I understood about how music is made.
I decided that I wanted my son to have something like that and so set out to build him a cigar box guitar. My intent was to just build one that he could have to play with and hopefully use to grow an appreciation of music. I went to the store and bought a set of files, a coping saw, some chisels, wood glue, and a poplar stick. The box was a craft box that I ordered from the Internet. What I found out after building the first guitar was that there was no way I was going to be able to stop. Later on people would ask me to build a guitar for them and pay me money to do it. I tried selling a few on eBay and they sold just fine. I think my wife and I both knew I was on to something.
Ever since then I’ve been doing everything I can to improve my skill and abilities. At the time I just wanted to build cigar box guitars that could out play the other ones that were available at the time. These days I tend to look at Fender guitars and think to myself, “Hell, I can do better than that.”
The Smokehouse Guitars Shop
Boutique Guitar Resource: Are you a self taught builder or did you have some formal education?
Josh Gayou: I’ve always been good with my hands but no, everything I know about guitar making has been learned through experiment and a lot of hours in my shop.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Can you give us some historical background on cigar box guitars?
Josh Gayou: Cigar Box Guitars emerged back in the mid 1800′s around the time of the American Civil War. Back then, when there was no radio or TV and even books were a luxury, people entertained themselves with music. Because it was so difficult to get professionally made instruments back then (especially guitars), a lot of folks used to build their own guitars using a bunch of stuff they had laying around. It was around this time also that cigar companies started packaging their cigars in smaller boxes of 20 or 50 rather than 100 or so. These smaller boxes, which were often discarded all over the place (cigars were very popular) made great resonators for these home made guitars with little effort required of the builder.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Are there any misconceptions about cigar box guitars and if so, what are the most common misconceptions that you would like to clear up?
Josh Gayou: The biggest misconception I’ve seen is that a cigar box guitar is not a real instrument or that it is somehow a child’s toy. I personally like to build more conventional 6 string electric guitars because they are more accessible to the public at large, but the traditional cigar box guitar only has 3 or 4 strings. Most people see 3 strings and immediately discount the guitar, like it’s something that need not be taken seriously. I’ve seen those same people with a poleaxed look on their faces when that 3 string guitar blew the roof of a joint when masterfully played in the hands of Shane Speal. It’s like people have this idea that the more expensive a guitar is, the better music you’re going to get out of it. Well, that’s true but only to a point. In the end, the real music comes from the player and his/her educated hands, not the incredibly intricate inlay work on the guitar neck. That stuff is there to make pretty not music. There are only a small handful of constraints that govern how good a guitar sounds and how well it plays. After that, anything that you’re doing is just there for looks.
Boutique Guitar Resource: What is your favorite part of the building process?
Josh Gayou: Every part of building a guitar is my favorite part. I would have to say that the most rewarding part is when I carve a new neck, especially if I’m using a new wood that I’m unfamiliar with. Seeing the grain pattern jump out at me as I sand the wood down to finer and finer grits is quite a rush, and I’m the kind of guy who can easily loose a half hour just staring a grain patterns.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Would you take us through the building process of one of your guitars?
Josh Gayou: When I build a guitar the process is more or less the same as building a conventional solid body. The only difference is that it’s usually harder for me to find a suitable body. When building a solid body, you just need a good slab of suitable wood or to construct a body out of blocks and a top plate. In my case, I have to do some searching for attractive boxes of adequate size. Also, instead of routing out all of my pockets like on a solid body, I’m usually cutting out holes with a jig saw or by hand and coming up with ways to reinforce the box such that it will support the load of the strings. There is a lot of structural engineering that goes on inside that box.
Smokehouse Guitars Wiring
Smokehouse Guitar Being Built
Boutique Guitar Resource: Is there anything specific that you look for when sourcing cigar boxes for the guitar bodies?
Josh Gayou: Outside of making sure that the box is attractive and in good shape, it must also be large enough to support the scale length that I’m building to as well as all of the controls that I want to use to drive the pickups. The most I’ve ever managed to get onto a guitar was four pots and a 3-way switch, and I had to spread those all over the place. Real estate is limited!
Boutique Guitar Resource: Do you have customers that want to source their own cigar box or use a cigar box they already have for their build?
Josh Gayou: One of my most popular guitars (the Custom Montecristo) was built using a cigar box that the customer gave me. I’m very flexible when it comes to making sure my customers get the guitar that they want. Literally anything is up for discussion.
Boutique Guitar Resource: If a customer is sourcing his or her own cigar box, what should they be looking for? Are their specific size requirements that must be met in order to use it for one of your Deluxe Electric Guitar builds?
Josh Gayou: You want to find a box that’s large enough to support your scale length, plus any controls you want to mount. If the box is too short you won’t be able to place the bridge appropriately. It is possible to mount the neck externally (outside of the box on a support strut) but this is ugly as hell and to be avoided. Generally, you want a box with a length of 10″ at the absolute minimum. 11.5″ to 12″ is optimum but also difficult to find.
Smokehouse Deluxe Electric Guitar Almost Complete
Boutique Guitar Resource: Do you have some particular woods you prefer to use for fretboards and necks?
Josh Gayou: When a customer doesn’t specify I prefer to use a Mahogany/Rosewood neck. I’m a big fan of rosewood and the mahogany is a great all around wood that I can get to match most box woods with just a little effort.
Boutique Guitar Resource: What is the scale length on your guitars and is this an option that you customize for customers?
Josh Gayou: I’m happy to build to any scale length the customer wants. When it’s not specified, I stick with 25.5.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Do you offer different neck carve options?
Josh Gayou: Within reason. I’m not going to go out of my way to copy another custom builder’s headstock. Outside of that, I’ll cut a neck however the customer requests.
Boutique Guitar Resource: What is the radius of your fretboards?
Josh Gayou: I do mine to 16″. Again, if the customer has a preference I will follow it.
Boutique Guitar Resource: Can you tell us a little bit about the neck joint on your Deluxe Electric Guitars?
Josh Gayou: I prefer to build a set neck on all of my guitars. It’s an extremely solid joint and you really can’t beat it for sustain unless you do a neck through.
Boutique Guitar Resource: What type of pickups come standard in your guitars?
Josh Gayou: I’m a fan of GFS pickups. I’ve used them on a number of guitars and I’ve never had a problem with them. They sound beautiful and can handle whatever you throw at them. Also, they are not ludicrously priced, so it helps me to keep the price from climbing on my customers. I get a bunch who request the hotter name pickups at times but this usually always drives the price up on them. In their case, they don’t seem to care.
Smokehouse Guitars Deluxe Electric Guitar
Smokehouse Guitars Cigar Box Guitar
Boutique Guitar Resource: Do you offer stainless steel frets as an option?
Josh Gayou: Yes!
Boutique Guitar Resource: What type of finish is used on your guitars?
Josh Gayou: I’m a lover of natural wood, so I seek to preserve the look of the wood no matter what finish I use. I prefer to do hand rubbed finishes, mostly shellac using a French polish technique or oils (Tung, linseed, etc). I’m not the guy to come to for a bunch of loud colors in a wild paint job.
Boutique Guitar Resource: After a customer orders a guitar, how long does it typically take for you to build it?
Josh Gayou: This all depends on what’s ordered. For customers who are on a strict or restrictive budget, a lot of times what I’ll do is order a pre-made neck and make the guitar using that as that is a big help in keeping the price down for them. Such a guitar goes together quickly, usually within a couple of weeks.
Customers who want to get really serious about the neck (custom carved from a blank, using special exotic woods for example) should expect a longer lead time on the guitar, between a month and a half to two months (assuming I’m only working on one guitar).
Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you see in the future for Smokehouse Guitars?
Josh Gayou: In the immediate future I want to continue to hone my craft and challenge myself with unfamiliar territory. In the long term I intend to be known as much for solid body guitars as I’m am for cigar box guitars.
I would like to thank Josh Gayou of Smokehouse Guitars for taking the time to answer these questions. Check out the Smokehouse Guitars website at: Smokehouse Guitars.
Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Smokehouse Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Smokehouse Guitars.
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