Build Your Own 8 String Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

I own several cigar box guitars – some I built – some I bought – usually fretted four strings that I mando tune. I wanted a three string for slide – I liked that this had a disk with a slide technique lesson. I was more than pleased – as an instrument, it's as good as most any CBG – they are all pretty crude at best. This one was easy to assemble – holds tune – sounds good acoustic or electric. There were some comments on it not using an actual cigar box, but a factory-made stylized resonator box. While this is true, it is at least as good as a cigar box, and I can understand why they broke that way for consistency and ease of build (which as I said, was super easy). Aesthetically, most people would probably prefer a real cigar box, but come on – it's like a uke – cheesy is part of the shtick. The lesson is good – play along CD and a book – comes with a good glass slide. I recommend it – worth the list price – all the better with the discounts.JoeFromSD

This is a great way to learn slide guitar. It is small & easy to learn. The book is full of great info. The CD is great, with back tracks, A tuning track so you do not need to buy a tuner, as long as you have something to play the CD in. It would be a good idea to buy a cheep tuner. As far as the price you just can't beat it. You can buy one for any wear from under $20.00 to $59.95. you just have to look around for a good price. Even at $30.00 to $ 40.00 is well worth it. The sound of the guitar very good and a small amp helps the sound but is not a must. Also you can take this any ware. In all this is a great product and was well thought out. Plus it is just fun to play!!handcuff123

I wanted a three string cigar box guitar and between a black friday discount and backstage pass points, I couldn't pass this up. Some reviewers complain that it's cardboard but domestic cigar boxes are predominantly cardboard. Also, Fender recently built a cardboard Strat that couldn't be told from a "real" Strat in a blind test. Build time was about ten minutes. I ran the strings around the tuners contrary to the directions so the string paths were straight. Sounds great acoustic and also great amplified. The only thing lacking is markers on the side of the neck. Maybe not sturdy enough for roughneck kids but a good introduction to the cigar box genre. Nice slide included.Mike

Getting used to the extra 2 strings, which is a little awkward. And the fanned frets is something new too. It's kind of like learning the basics of swimming, then decide to try the diving board. LOL. I'm cool with that, as it saves me from buying a bunch of guitars along the way to be comfortable with this concept. I really dig the guitar, has all the features I was shooting for at a really accessible price point. Well made, a keeper.Will R.

Sound: Sounds great. It does get a little muddy sounding on the lower strings but for the price I'm okay with that. Ease of Use: I play this through an orange tiny terror running an ibanez tube screamer and compressor pedal (I think it's an mxr, nothing fancy). The neck was pretty easy to get use to it granted i do have bigger hands. Quality: Only had it a short time but it seems pretty well built. Arrived in perfect condition and was packaged securely. Value: Well worth the price Manufacturer Support: Have yet had to interact with them The Wow Factor: Pretty much got this on a whim due to the ibanez r8 constantly being backordered. Sold me from my typical go to brand of esp. Overall: Bought this guitar recently being a faithful ESP player my whole guitar playing life. Was nervous about the bolt on neck but let me tell you this guitar is perfect. The neck is like butter and the longer scale is perfect. I read about the pickups not being the best but for the price you can't go wrong. Highly reccomend to anyone.Garrett

This guitar is awesome. I got the walnut satin version and it is very nice. It's way less red than the pictures show; I'd recommend googling the guitar to see real pics of it. There were no problems with it upon arrival. The setup was almost perfect too. The neck is very thin and easy to play on. However, being my first 8 string (and first Schecter), the width of the neck and the closeness of the strings has taken some getting used to, even after a month or so. Very hard to reach the last couple of fret, but going all the way up there isn't entirely necessary for everyone. The inlays are cooler than expected. They probably aren't pearl, but look like it. Hardware wise, the controls work just fine. The tuners are better than I expected based on other stock tuners I've worked with from other brands. The pickups are fine i think, but I don't have any other 8 string pickups to compare them too either. Overall great deal. The walnut satin finish on an 8 string really made the deal for me, but I was impressed with the overall quality for an entry-level-priced 8 string. I had read many forums looking for the best low cost 8 string and almost everywhere there were a few people mentioning the omen 8. Based on my experience thus far, I would definitely agree with them.Joe

This was set up nice, great action, great sound, schecter has always been the best guitars out there, imo. I own three, two 8s one 7, love um.1shot

This guitar is so sleek, and the weight feels unmatched. The only issues I would say it has is a Floyd Rose, but if you know what you're doing, it won't be a problem. This is simply a steal for the price.dyland1440

The feel of this guitar is very comfy especially for an 8 string! The sound presence is amazing. Pickups are average but man for the price I'm not complaining about the sound it's HEAVY! I love this guitar! Highly recommend if you want a beginner 8 string guitar!sinisterokin138

I've built several of these diddley bow kits and they're historically authentic, with the exception of using a new guitar tuner instead of a bent nail or whittled tuner. A cigar box makes a great resonator and these diddley bows sound nice and loud. These kits are just a little more involved than the C. B. Gitty "Pure & Simple" kit (also sold on Musician's Friend: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/c.b.-gitty-cigar-box-pure-simple-3-string-slide-guitar-kit). You'll need to cut a hole for the neck to go in…but it's still a very easy instrument to build. Great for pedagogy. The guitar is played with a slide (provided) and is a great way to learn the slide guitar concept. Blind Willie Johnson started out on a one-string "diddley bow" cigar box guitar and used a pocketknife for a slide. He developed his unique slide style from learning songs on a single string. It's a process heard time and again from many old blues legends.Shane S.

I wanted a fretted guitar, but got an unfettered one. I don't remember the ad specifying if the instrument was fretted or not. If the information was clearer on the ad, that would be helpful. I really like the Wal-Mart web site. I always go there for anything I want or need.Buster

When we bought this, I figured it would need some putting together. Be prepared with a couple hours and make sure you have the correct tools. I have neither so will most likely get another one.Twenty five down the drain 🙁Roy

All the things I will say here are just my opinions, because everybody's hands and ears are different. But, having said that, I do feel qualified to give an insightful review having worked full time in a guitar repair shop through much of the 90's. I was originally just going to buy a backup guitar for my Ibanez 7-string that I use onstage. But then I thought, why not have a little fun and push myself out of my comfort zone? I can stiil play all the same songs I play on my 7-string. So why not? I could tell right away I liked the design of RG8 (from the strighter-string pull headstock to the flat-mount bridge) better than the Schecter8 in the same price point. The RG8 came with D'Addario .09-.64 strings on it, and it felt very similar to playing a .10-.46 set of strings on a standard scale length guitar, bends and slides were no problem (as well as slapping and popping the lower strings). But plan on putting a heavier strings on this axe if you want to go any lower than F#, a .10-.74 set works well for chords and rhythm riffing. the RG8 sounds and plays almost more like a short-scale bass in this configuration, and rings out better as well. Ibanez seems to know where to give you the biggest bang -for the-buck, and thankfully, it seems to be in the construction of the neck. I have never seen a guitar in this price range with a five piece neck, that's for sure. The neck seems very stable and is either unfinished or has a very light sealer on it, it feels nice and satin-y, but I'm unsure how well this neck would do in extreme temperature changes. But, having said that, mine hasn't moved at all, even after a string change with a different brand and gauge. Of course, that means they need to skimp a little in other areas on the guitar, and the most obvious of course, are the pickups and electrontics. The stock pickups have a fairly clear tone and are little lower output than I was expecting (when compared to my 7-string with a Dimarzio Evolution in the bridge position). Luckily, these are easily replaceble, and not difficult to find at all. Seymour Duncan and EMG make perfect retro-fits for this guitar. I did disconnected the tone control from the volume knob, and it does actually make a small diffence in clarity in the tone. The tuning keys are of the no-name variety, and seem to work well, but the heavier strings I installed just barely fit through the hole in the key, and I thought I detected a small amount binding in their rotation afterwards. The 27" scale works well for keeping those lower notes clear and is really not that noticable for me except maybe in the lower regions of the neck (This is another reason I like the Ibanez design…Schecter has a 26.5" and LTD has a 25.5").I'm sure I will upgrade the pickups and electronics in the future, but overall, I'm excited about playing this guitar and the additional creativity it will bring.Locknutmonster

This guitar made me not only hate extended range, but music as a whole for a while. Ibanez as a brand is absolutely phenomenal, and I have been a fanboy of them since the moment I picked up guitar. This guitar delivers virtually nothing I expect from Ibanez – even the gio line. The rg8 series is plagued with shoddy craftsmanship, atrocious fretwork, horrendous out-of-box playability, and they just FEEL disgusting in the hand. An unfinished neck =/= an utterly raw neck. Such has been the case with each of the 6 individual rg8s I have played – when porous, grimy feeling, roughly sanded, horribly profiled necks that seem to fight your fretting hand with a samurai's zeal meet mile-high action that can only be nominally corrected due to atrociously leveled frets, the experience of playing an Ibanez RG8 can be likened moreso to the experience of trying to play a fretted shamisen. If ungodly fit and finish, horrible feel, and the flat plate bridge haven't turned you completely off, the disgustingly poor pickup choice should seal the deal. There are many things that these pickups aren't – but I can confirm that they are without character, flat, unimpressive, and unbalanced. Their response to gain is practically null. I have never enjoyed a tone that has come out of an rg8. tl;dr? run for the hills. or buy the entry level Jackson 8.mamasrockstar

Hyvää: – mikit ovat loistavat – soittotuntuma on erittäin hyvä, ohut kaula ja juuri sopiva 27” skaala on sweetspot ainakin minulle kasikielisten kanssa Huonoa: – työn laatu on huonoa tämän hintaiselle kitaralle. Olen nähnyt useita saman mallin kitaroita (eri paikasta tilattuna) ja työn jäljen laatu vaihtelee todella paljon. Omistan PRS:n 6-kielisen kitaran samassa hintaluokassa, joka on tehty Etelä-Koreassa, ja viimeistely on aivan eri luokkaa. – Tässä kyseisessä tapauksessa yläsatulan kolo oli selkeästi viilattu vinoon, jolloin satula jäi ohuiden kielten puolelta ilmaan (satula ei toisesta reunasta koskenut kaulaa käytännössä kuin etureunastaan) – Volyymipotikoita ei ollut kunnolla ruuvattu kiinni, heiluivat kuin heinämiehet. – Vaihtokappale oli taas eri tavalla huonosti viimeistelty, esim. otelaudan reunoissa oli rumia viilausjälkiä ja nauhat näyttivät olevan jo melkein ruosteessa heti kättelyssä. – Vaatinee paljohkosti laittamista jos tästä haluaisi kelpo pelin. Korkeasta actionista huolimatta ylänauhoja ei meinannut saada soimaan kirkkaasti, tai vaatisi vähintään nauhojen viilausta reippaalla kädellä. Yhteenveto: – Tuntuma ja soundi ovat erittäin hyvät, mutta laatu verottaa kokonaisuutta niin paljon että en voi suositella tätä kitaraa – Jos kitara maksaisi 500€, se saisi 3.5 tähteä. Laittamalla varmaan voisi saada hintansa arvoisen kitaran, mutta mielestäni se ei ole vaivan väärti. – Jäi vaikutelma, että kitarat on viimeistelty hirvittävällä kiireelläHartsa

Great deal. Great for what it covers! Entry lever only. Would do business with again. Great transaction. GREAT ENTRY level book. Would not recommend for ADVANCED INFORMATION. Great for putting a KIT together. LGWmorgansupersport

I use this product with a boss gt ran through a mesa boogie and it sounds i credible. The playability is also the best ive ever played, it plays itselfBringerofblood

Never do these but since they don't have a picture of what the pink looks like, submitting mine. I love it and wanted it a year ago. Now it's not on the Legator page so thankfully musicians friend had one in stock.Pink

Mine just arrived today and it is absolutely flawless. Legator has unfortunately had a tainted reputation from their earlier runs, which I understand to some degree. I already had a Performance 7 with a single fret issue and the nut wasn't cut right, paint coating and logo faded…but is comfortable even still. But this G8FP is on another level. Zero fret buzz, zero blemishes, and incredible craftsmanship across the board. I'd definitely buy again, and highly recommend this if you are considering one. The longer scale on this makes the fanned frets feel more natural to me, as even though I love my fanned 7's ergonomics, it always takes me a few mins to readjust when going back to my regular fretted guitars. Not with this one. Easily the favorite of my 8 guitars. The Hive pickups aren't my favorite ever, but are totally useable with some tone tweaking…they have defined clarity in the higher range, but it's hard to compete with my Fishmans when it comes to that in the low end. No complaints whatsoever!Rob C

$650 and I have to do all of the work? I wish there was a place that I could get a guitar already assembled. For this price you could get a Martin.Gweido