Guitars aren’t just one of the most powerful modern musical instruments, in addition, they are also a great symbol of personal expression. Rock musicians like Mac Demarco show how you don’t need to have the latest most expensive guitar to make music. If you have creative talent, you can play mind-blowing stuff on old, recycled, and repaired materials. Furthermore, with guitars made from recycled materials, you can even turn some of your dear old possessions into a guitar. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a guitar that’s also an old rifle or a shovel? Given below is a list of five such creative guitars made from recycled materials.
1. Rifle Guitar
We all know that guns and rifles are meant to kill or attack humans, but they can also be put to a better use which can actually make you feel relaxed. They can be alternatively used for making rifle guitars which is bound to turn all those heads toward the guitarist. The sound is good and the size is also great but all you need to be careful of is that the safety catch is on. Featured in the above picture is a Kalashnikov rifle guitar.
2. Oil can Guitar
Spotted in a guitar shop in London, this guitar has been made out of an old oil can. Though its price is not known, but it is a wonderful example of recycling old oil cans. In Africa, old oil can guitars are a common scenario and it produces great sound too. Easy to make, this type of a guitar can always be a perfect one to begin your guitar lessons.
3. Cigar box Guitar
This funky guitar has been made out of a nicely polished cigar box which produces great sound too. Cigar box creator David has named these handmade guitars as “smojo guitars”. These guitars can be connected to amplifiers and they function as efficiently as any other electric guitar. David has also made a complete CBG kit consisting of handmade guitar, case, amplifier and slide, all mostly made out of recycled materials. The guitar also has a hand-wired magnetic pick-up near the neck and an internal piezo pick-up under the bridge.
4. Altoids Guitar
This is a small guitar made from an Altoids tin. The use of a wooden ruler for it’s stem is very interesting indeed. This little guitar can also be plugged into an amplifier to enjoy a jam session. It might look tiny, but produces great sound. It is indeed a cool stuff to carry around.
5. Cyclotron Guitar
This Cyclotron guitar by Simon Lee is named as Webster. Made out of recycled plastics from food production industry, it has a look of a heavy marble with black veining and also sports a bold design. The whole range of Cyclotron guitars are handmade sustainable guitars made using environmentally sound materials.
6. Shovel Guitar
Creativity graces one who can think about inducing positive alterations to things around him/her. An anonymous artist has upcycled a simple farm tool, i.e. a shovel, into a guitar. The entire conversion process, which involved measuring, cutting, and manufacturing, took a month.
In images and video provided after the jump, you can see the artist actually creating music from his instrument. Beyond doubt, it is creativity at its best.
Even you can create guitars from recycled materials
In case you’re parent to a future rock star you don‘t really need to spend hundreds of dollars to get you lid interested in music. You can find stuff in your household that can help you assemble a custom guitar that can engage you kid in exploring the realms of music. We look at one such way in which you can build such a guitar for your young one.
Get a cardboard box
The central part of your guitar will be one of the most easily recyclable products, i.e. cardboard. Well, you need a cardboard box though. It can be anything from a cereal box to a tissue box. Close the open end of the box with a piece of cardboard and glue it along the edges. Since, a cereal box cover may not be interesting you can color the box with paint. Apply layers of paint as per your needs and can also give a label of your own to give it an identity. Let the glue and the paint dry completely. Once it is done cut an oval shaped piece from one side of the box, which ideally should be 8-inches long and 3-inches wide.
Get the neck in
The center stage of your homemade guitar is ready but what about its neck? You can use any sort of cardboard tube at home to extend the body of guitar most common of which is a cardboard paper towel roll. Cut the top of the tube to appropriate size and make six different cuts at the top to hold the rubber bands that would serve as the strings of your toddler’s guitar. Make a cut on the other side of the box and insert the tube. Use a duct tape to keep the tube in place. Make sure this setup is sturdy enough or your guitar may not last very long.
Attach the strings
Your setup is almost ready and all you need now is a set of rubber bands that you need to attach from the top of the tube to the bottom of your cereal box. You can tape these rubber bands at the top of the cardboard tube to ensure they don’t move from their place. Ensure that they are placed along the hollow oval you carved at the center of the box. You can also use rubber bands of different thickness to get a variety of sounds. Make sure you place the thickest one in the center.
It isn’t that difficult or is it? It will take you just a few minutes to assemble this basic guitar and you can hum along with your kid once he starts playing.
Final Words
Recycling is a modern trend in today’s world which is giving rise to new art forms. Recycled materials are being used to build houses, furniture, robots, and a stray of other things. Recently the guitar lovers have also come up with creatively designed guitars made from recycled materials. They are finding it cool to use discarded materials like wood, tin boxes, cigar boxes, wire, metal, oil cans, plastic, compact discs, and even skateboards and rifles to make their own customized recycled guitars. With the creative idea mentioned above, you can join them too.
