Welcome to Red Dog Guitars. For more than twenty years, this site has been dedicated to preserving the craftsmanship, history, and stories of homemade guitars and the blues. We hope you'll enjoy exploring these remarkable instruments and this unique corner of American musical heritage.
Embedded Files
In early America starting sometime in the 1860s, people from all walks of life began building their own homemade guitars and stringed instruments out of old and used wooden boxes. These simple but long forgotten instruments of the past became a quiet but important part of music in American history.
Many of the pioneers of Blues and Rock n' Roll music got their start by playing a guitar that they built themselves. From the Mississippi Delta to the Appalachian mountains, scarcity did not stop people from wanting to create music. In fact, it made the desire even stronger.
Born out of necessity, ingenuity, and imagination, if you wanted to play guitar and didn't have any money you'd have to build one yourself.
Sometime between the 1850's and the 1870's, the Railroad was formed in the United States. It used wooden boxes of many shapes and sizes for railway shipping. Just about anything that needed safe storage for it's long journey was put into a small wooden box.
It didn't take long for people to notice that you could build an instrument from one of these leftover empty boxes. Just an sturdy wooden box and a stick fashioned into a guitar neck was alls that was needed to make and hold a tune.
Thanks to places such as eBay and local flea markets, many of these antique instruments along with old photographs have resurfaced from obscurity. Over the last 20 years there's been so much untold history that's been uncovered from forgotten and dusty attics and garages across America.
If only this picture could talk... I think I know what it might sound like?
Music is one of the most fun and rewarding hobbies that anyone can enjoy. Every musician starts out as a beginner. A 3 string string guitar is the perfect way to begin your musical journey. It’s simple to learn, helps you understand the basics of strumming and rhythm, and best of all, it’s easy on your fingers.
Blues music is simple by its nature to learn. It's a primitve music that is played without a fixed structure or having to use music theory to construct a song.
If playing a standard guitar has given you problems in the past, you'll enjoy the freedom and simplicity of playing a 3 string guitar. With a little dedication and practice, you'll sound like a champ in just a few months.
Resonator guitars will take you back in time. They're awesome little musical time machines that were invented and played in the 1920's and 30's before electric guitars were in use.
The strings sit on top of a bridge that pushes down on a metal cone inside the body of the guitar. As you strum the instrument, it vibrates the center of the cone and projects volume out of the face of the guitar with a distinctive bell like metallic sound proving instant amplification, No electricity needed!
These easy to build guitars are built using just a handful of basic hand tools that most people already own. You’ll mainly use screwdrivers, glue, and a few odds and ends from the hardware store. You don’t need many tools at all to build a homemade guitar. The body itself is an old wooden box, so once you find one you like, you’re already halfway there.
That’s what makes this style of guitar building so fun and approachable. The construction is simple, and the guitars can be built using old or used guitar parts, or you can get creative and make your own parts from items around your home.
We ship guitars Worldwide
If you've got a house, we'll get it there!
Click below to learn more about our "quick delivery" specials
Yep, we also make swamp deliveries too ...and in person : )
The Electric 3 String Guitar, Just plug it in and play, No knobs, No frills, Just Fun!
The pickup is wired straight to the output jack, sending the entire signal directly to the amp without any cutoff or loss of the signal. All of the tone and volume shaping happens at the amplifier. This gives the guitar a full open sound and making it easy to dial in just about any tone you want.
What is "The Blues?" How do you discribe music with words? Where would I start???
It's part color, and part art?
Muddy Waters was once asked this exact same question,
and he said "it was music from them days gone by."
Over the years, many people have written to me to say that simply seeing or hearing one of these guitars has helped them discover a new direction in life. Some were coping with serious illness, trauma, or profound sadness. Time and time again I’ve witnessed people from all walks of life, ranging from young children and lost teenagers to military veterans and school teachers seeking a way to share music with their students, use the hobby of crafting instruments as a way to find a new path forward.
It’s also worth mentioning those who always wanted to learn guitar but felt defeated by the complexity of the fretboard, the math, and the music theory. When people discover how easy it is to play and create thier own music on a simple 3 or 4 string guitar, something wonderful happens. A new spark of excitement and creativity enters their life.
These guitars are easy to understand and genuinely fun to play. A 3 string guitar, in particular, is one of the simplest places to begin, and slide guitar is a perfect way to start making music right away.
So what am I really saying???
That is, to never bury your desires. Never give up on your dream of learning to play guitar. If the traditional path feels overwhelming, try a simple three-string guitar instead. Even if you’re 70 years old, it is never too late to learn.
How about you and me take a trip? Back through the sands of time...
It's starting to seem a lot like what's old, is new again?
Billy the Kid and Pennie Piecrust would agree : )
photo circa 1930
If you've read this far, I'm running out of room to type, we're at the bottom of the page. Well, this site gets updated every few weeks, if you don't see any avaliable guitars listed for sale, check back every so often for the new releases.
If you have any questions or comments, email John at red-dog-guitars@gmx.com
Hope to see you again soon, and thanks for visiting!
Red Dog Guitars ® All Rights Reserved
Google Sites
Report abuse