Thomann Cigar Box Guitar Magnetic PU

This is really fun instrument to play! The factory strings are absolute unusable garbage though and sound like hardware store iron wire, change them immediately before even testing out first time.

Good price-quality ratio. Really fun to play. Does not stay in tune very well but not sure if it would be even beneficial on this style of gadget. I like the sound but some other people are laughing at it so I guess it does not sound like a "real guitar" to every people. Not experienced with cigar box guitars and guess there is much better ones existing but this one does work fine for home jams and special projects!

Pros:
+really fun to play once having proper strings (cost like 4 euros, just order them when purcasing this. absolutely mandatory to even test this guitar)
+good price-quality ratio on most parts
+the built-in magnetic mic is pretty ok and is actually useful. you can use this with guitar combo to get really funny backyard blues moments
+it can be recorded if you need this type of sound for some projects
+tons of fun factor and one could smuggle this to places to get good laughs including switching from normal guitar to this in the middle of a band gig to play some insane solos

Cons:
- factory stings are absolute garbage and sound and feel horrible. Rip them off, burn them with fire, throw them away, never speak of them again. Even the metal recycling plant hates them
- the bridge adjustments on string heights don't stay locked. they easily start to resonate and start disassembling themselves. Some kind of superglue-style solution might be needed to keep them in place
- the designer made the weird decision to mount the bridge on the lid of the box when the neck is mounted on the back of the box. thus the strings try to constantly pull the box open. This also affects how well the thing stays in tune. Another thing is that you can't open the box without taking the strings off. This was disappointing as I had wanted to store secret stuff like picks and such inside the casing :D
- the three locks keeping the box/casing closed like to loosen and disengage due to resonance when playing. Not very often but it is mildly annoying because you don't really want to open them at all when strings are trying to pull the lid upwards and it may affect tuning if constantly needing to correct the locks all the time

I see the piezo version of this seems to have the neck mounted differently and probably does not have the "lid pulled by strings and trying to open" issues this one has. For the price and fun factor the "opening lid issue" is a mild inconvenience but makes it more difficult to keep this magnetic version in tune.

Eigentlich habe ich die Box nur aus Neugierde gekauft, bin aber positiv überrascht worden was man für kleines Geld bekommt. Die Lackierung ist ordentlich, die Bünde sauber entgratet, die Mechaniken o.k, , der Tonabnehmer ist einfach (Cigarbox halt). Leider ist der untere Saitenhalter leicht verschoben montiert, deshalb Punktabzug . Die Box ist gut spielbar, der Klang für den kleinen Körper ,auch ohne Verstärker, erstaunlich gut. Die Tasche ausreichend und die Lasergravur definitiv Geschmackssache. Fazit: Mir gefällt die kleine Kiste :) Den verschobenen Saitenhalter montiere ich selbst richtig, die Saitenhöhe wird angepasst, neue Saiten aufgezogen und Gurtpins angeschraubt. Wer für kleines Geld eine gut spielbare Cigarbox zum Einstieg sucht liegt hier richtig , ein Highendinstrument kann man für den Preis nicht erwarten. Die Kiste macht einfach Spaß :)