'Romeo'

'Romeo' is a four-string electric guitar created from a
Romeo y Julieta cigar box.

The box construction does not facilitate making it an acoustic, because of the thickness of all surfaces (about 3/8" thick on the sides, and the top is made from a pressed material, not wood).

The scarf joint neck is handcrafted from a stick of cherry with a Zebrawood fingerboard.

Open-gear tuners draw the strings, which are recessed inside the box, across a Corian saddle, hand set frets, and Corian nut.

The magnetic pickup is set into the top about midway between the neck and saddle, which produces a warm and mellow sound, while retaining richness to the treble side of play. To maintain a clean appearance, I covered the pup top and painted it white to match the top.

The box itself, in its original state, has such a smooth and glossy finish, I had to be really careful not to screw it up in the building process . . . I succeeded.  I really like the clean, unobstructed overall appearance of the guitar, and it sounds good, too.

To enhance the Romeo & Julieta theme, I added a few illustrations to the inside.