Yamaha TRBX504

130 Guitarist December 2013
QUICK TEST
MISCELLANEOUS
One of the more endearing
trends outside of the
mainstream instrument market
is the DIY world of cigar box
guitars (CBGs). You’ll find
numerous communities online
dedicated to this genre, not to
mention DIY kits, plans, parts
and, of course, many how-to-
play videos out there.
Nineboys (which has already
brought us the one-string
Wedge diddley-bow) has once
again made it easy with the
Cigar Box guitar. The body is
made literally from a cigar box
(available in two designs), a
five-piece laminated wood
spine runs through the box, at
the bass end anchoring the
three strings, while the other
end forms the neck with a what
looks like mahogany
fingerboard and minimal
headstock with three die-cast
tuners. Frets? Who needs ’em.
Mind you, a few position
markers on the fingerboard
side would be helpful…
Sounds
With an onboard piezo pickup
and volume control, the sounds
are deliciously old-school and
there’s plenty of potential for
right-hand percussion. It
sounds quite hauntingly
authentic with a clean, reverb’d
amp sound, and with crunch it’s
The three-stringed fretless box that’s signalling a new trend
CONTACT: Nineboys PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.nineboys.co.uk
Nineboys Cigar Box Guitar £99
GUITARIST RATING
Guitarist says: Join the cigar box
revolution with one of the few
available through regular music
stores. Just add slide and mojo
easy to cop your Seasick Steve
licks. Feedback can be a
problem, though, and it can be
a lively lil’ thing to control.
Verdict
Frankly, we have no idea of the
sales potential for a three-string
fretless slide guitar with no
position markers made out of a
old cigar box. But if your slide
chops are in order, we have to be
honest and say we had a lot of
fun. Tune it how you want and
join the underground.
[DB]
MISCELLANEOUS
Nineboys Cigar Box Guitar
We first spotted this petite
reverb on Guthrie Govan’s
pedalboard, and now it’s
available to us mere mortals.
The HOF Mini is one of the
most compact reverbs on the
market – the enclosure’s too
small to even display the full
pedal name! However, that
means you get just the one
control and mono operation
only, while the pedal is powered
by a nine-volt power supply.
This is no one-trick pony,
though, for the HOF Mini also
boasts TC’s innovative
TonePrint technology. By
default, the pedal is loaded with
a lush hall setting, but through
the use of the TonePrint
smartphone app, any of the full-
sized Hall Of Fame settings and
artist-programmed ’Prints can
be beamed into the pedal. Plus,
with the recently updated
TonePrint Editor, you can
connect the stompbox to your
computer and create your own
TonePrints by adjusting a
wealth of hidden parameters,
and even assign which
parameter the pedal’s single
knob controls.
Sounds
Like its bigger brother, the HOF
Mini’s reverbs are exceptional,
and with the TonePrint
function there are potentially
limitless options available, from
GUITARIST RATING
Guitarist says: For those short
on ’board space and keen on
computer-based editing, this is
an outstanding compact ’verb
A tiny ’verb with unlimited potential
CONTACT: TC Electronic PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.tcelectronic.com
TC Electronic Hall Of
Fame Mini Reverb
£95
short springs to an
unparalleled range of
modulated ’verbs. No
matter how high you
crank the reverberations,
the pedal’s analogue dry-
through ensures your
guitar’s natural tone
still shines through.
Verdict
This isn’t the reverb pedal
for guitarists who need a lot of
sounds on the fly, but if one
’verb will do you for a gig, and
you like the idea of in-depth
editing using the TonePrint
Editor, the HOF Mini is an
inconspicuously impressive
bijou reverb.
[MB]
GUITARIST RATING
crank the reverberations,
the pedal’s analogue dry-
for guitarists who need a lot of
’verb will do you for a gig, and
GIT375.rev_quick.indd 130 10/31/13 12:02 PM