Artwork

Bob Hord

Robert W. Hord is an artist living in Orange County, CA who has been creating his unique paper sculptures for over three decades. Take a look at his rendition of “Jerry” Garcia to get an idea of how talented Bob really is. In addition to his paper sculptures and mixed media pieces, he’s equally adept with a brush and canvas. Just an all around great guy, “Pops” sense of humor is evident in most of his work, especially the Cigar Box Guitars. His work has been seen on magazine covers, record covers, book covers, greeting cards, calenders and as advertising for various companies including Mattel, Hallmark, Disneyland and the US Olympic Committee.

Some Of Bob's Cigar Box Guitars:

Dynamic Duo: Truly le grande fromage in the way of Cigar Box Art Guitars, the Dynamic Duo lets you unleash your inner Jimbo Page. The box originated in Santiago, Dominican Republic and was once filled with 25 Macanudo Gold Label cigars. Right now all that's in there is a pickup. That's right, like most of Bob's instruments, they come ready to rock and this double-tiki-necked music machine has four sound holes for all you anti-electricity traditionalists. The attached ukulele really brings out the tiki heads. Se Magnifique. $300

Ole Frog Holler: Another converted Macanudo box, the Frog Holler has a considerable amount of artwork attached. Where the neck joins the body you will find a couple frogs peering out, one of which has his eye on a rather distressed looking fly. The sound hole is actually the mouth of the singing frog in the bottom right corner whose musical stylings appear to be upsetting the stomach of the frog sitting on the upper ledge of the cigar box. Or maybe he's drunk. Either way, one thing is for sure: If you like frogs with your cigar box guitar, this one's for you. With pickup. $250

Mellow Yellow & Blue: You have to get close to appreciate the detail on this one. Bob took the natural colors of this Partagas Cigar Box and extended those blue and yellow hues up the fret-board and painted on each fret are literally hundreds of what appear to be ancient symbols from the Azgypzoliolithic Age(sp?). In its code lies the screen-play for National Treasure 7: Washington's Curse of the Black Pearl for all you movie buffs. I hear they might get Johnny Depp and his pirate costume. Three port holes on the starboard side give this box great acoustic volume but there's still a pickup for you metal fans. $200

The Roar: And roar it does, right through the ornately carved lion's mouth. There's another less-angry lion on the top of the head-stock. This 6-string version has some serious sustain as far as Cigar Box's go. We dropped the action to an open C and it really came to life. Set up with higher action and meant to be played like a Weissenborn, this slide monster would surely put a smile on Mr. Dave Lindley's face. With pickup. $300

Tiki Strummer: My personal favorite. As robust as the Macanudo box claims, this 3-string has got some great acoustic presence to it. The best word I can think of to describe its low end growl is "mean". The tiki headstock adds to the Polynesian artwork throughout the fretboard. To avoid calls from the Acoutsic Guitar Forum, Bob likes to say his peices are art with strings attached but is one is an instrument with some art attached. With pickup. $200

Texas Twang: Sure you've heard of a cigar box guitar before, but a lunch-box guitar? Bob spent his formative years in the Lone Star state and this ode to all things Longhorn, complete with lyrcis to The Eyes of Texas, Texas Fight and Yell on the sides of the box. It's a little hard to pull off all your Stevie Ray licks but does come with the "electromagic" feature. Simply do NOT tape the handle of the box down and let it rattle against the side as you play it and you have the true analog fuzz factory at no extra charge. With pickup. $125

Joker's Wyld: Are you like me? Do you find that sometimes three whole guitar strings are just a bit much? Do you find yourself longing for the good old days? If you answered yes to any of these questions, than the Joker's Wylde diddley-bo just might be for you. You need not bother with that flat five chord on this one but if you combine your snake hammer strikes with some effective slide work with the accompanying brass slide, the Freebird melody is not out of the question. Complete with joker playing card bride, pencil saddle, and pickup, this instrument gives no new meaning to the term "one-off". $125

Tin Box Blues: Finally! The Cigar Box resonator is here. I'm guessing this started as a cookie tin, most likey of the Mrs. Field's variety but have yet to receive confirmation on that. A metal drain has been inserted as the soundole and Bb has added his artwork to the tin. The back has been plated with a perfect circle of mahoganyish wood. Also with a pickup, this one sounds great with a slide played through Heritage amp! $125

The Old Soldier: "The Flower of the Dominican", this one looks as if it may have been played in the American Civil War. An old school brass drain is used as the top sound hole and a second hole has been added to the top of the headstock for I don't know why but it looks cool. The cigar box itself is a bit larger than most so it's also a bit louder than most. Lie the "Roar", this one sounds best in an open tuning and preferably with a slide. $275

THE SURFER: A perfect uke for the local lifestyle. Cool surfing scene. $250