Instruments often have plenty of moments in the spotlight when played by their musicians. But for some people, their passion is finding the most quirky materials to bring the instruments to life. That is the reality for locals Neville Herberte and Ted Trevaskis who are both the creative brains behind the cigar box guitar craze. These guitars are in a league of their own with each component able to reflect a customer’s walk in life, interests and characteristics. Neville and Ted sat down with Lauren Adcock to share their musical pathways that have lead to building a unique cigar box guitar market in Sunraysia.
Ted Trevaskis
In a back garage, Ted Trevaskis methodically puts the instrument together with a variety of materials that reflect its new owner.
Piece by piece, the materials combine and transform into a lucky someone’s acoustic treasure.
“The thing to keep in mind when constructing them is if you want it to play like a musical instrument, it’s going to need to function like a musical instrument,” he says.
“I usually use whatever timber I have on hand as the main material, otherwise I can make one really out of anything that reflects the customer’s vision.”
Ted has used eclectic items such as coca-cola lids to act as volume controls and old tin lunch boxes to support the main guitar body.
He was inspired to start building cigar box guitars after a mate from Old Dogs New Tricks, Terry Iredale “Tekka” requested for one to be made.
“People come up to Tekka to take photos and he gets disappointed when he finds out people are more interested in photographing the guitar,” he says.
The talented local is no stranger to making instruments, and Ted’s garage is evidence of the labor that goes into his impressive handmade creations.
Despite being new to the cigar box guitar market, Ted’s passion for building acoustic guitars started about 14 years ago.
“It was two years ago I sold my first cigar box guitar out at Cullulleraine Music Festival and I started getting orders from there,” he says.
The orders haven’t slowed down and his musical son Paul Trevaskis is one of Ted’s best customers.
“Time spent making the guitars depends on what the customer wants, it could be anywhere between five to 20 hours,” he says.
Ted’s guitars will be on display at the Cullulleraine Music Festival this weekend.
Neville Herberte
Neville Herberte brings more than 30 years of experience as a musician to the craft of cigar box guitar making which has become an “addictive” hobby.
“Cigar box guitars started gaining momentum after musicians started playing guitars using a single string over wood, but they needed a body to get some sound so they hooked a cigar box which was a readily available item at the time on there to give it some resonance,” he says.
The creative process and keeping in line with a “rustic” theme is Neville’s favourite part of customising the instruments.
“Using whatever recycled materials you can get your hands on to make the guitar is what it’s all about for me,” he says.
“There’s something really cool about making an instrument out of someone’s old door jam and turning it into a guitar.”
Neville is the genius behind the “dog bowl” inspired cigar box guitar that captured the attention of rock star Diesel who played a set using the peculiar-looking instrument at Mildura’s recent Get Your Blues On festival.
“I had the idea from watching a video online so cut a circular hole in the timber of the guitar and dropped a stainless steel dog bowl into it,” he says.
That very guitar was donated to not-for-profit organisation Children Having An Illness Living in Sunraysia and was raffled at the festival.
“The lady that won one the guitar this year is a collector of music memorabilia and has pinned it against a wall with all the set lists she has collected from over the years,” he says.
The stories Neville hears from people who receive the guitars is what motivates him to keep the hobby going.
When asked about a story that stands out against the rest, Neville shared a memory he says he will never forget.
“My son works at a music shop and one day, a guy that received one of my guitars from a charity raffle came in to buy a new set of strings because he wanted to learn how to play the instrument,” he says.
The idea that an alternative looking guitar could inspire someone to learn to play the instrument is the highlight of Neville’s job.
