So, Why only 3 strings on a guitar???

If you are reading this and wondering just "What's all the Hub Bub Bub with a Three string guitar???"... I could ramble for days and show you countless photos that would dazzle your senses, but like they say "If a photo is worth a 1000 words" than surely video is worth a million???

If you only ever see one video of a 3-string cigar box guitar in action, watch this one , watch it till the end WITH AN OPEN MIND before you decide if you like the type of sound a primitive 3 stringer will produce. I promise it will change everything you thought you knew and explain the truth about the Origin of the Delta Blues.

Like most people I am sure your first thought is "Why use only 3 strings, isn't adding a 6 string neck better???....You're going through all the effort of building a guitar, why not just put on 6 strings??" Well when you add a 6 string neck, it sounds like a regular guitar no matter what you do or how you play. You'll never achieve that dirty south raunchy Delta sound on a 6 string guitar or with a 6 string neck.

I once heard that as consumers we are constantly bombarded with advertising unconsciously all day no matter where you go...billboards, product labels, fliers and TV adds....IT IS NOT MY GOAL TO SALE ANYTHING TO YOU, yes some people buy guitars from my site "RedDogGuitars.com", but I only build a few guitars a month.....I could never supply the demand for these fun guitars to everyone who visits this site. I hope that it inspires you to make your own, if you feel you might not be up to the task of making one, there is many great builders out there who make them, look around and I know you can find one really well made...just google "Cigar Box Guitar."

My main goal with this website is to share this wonderful form and lost art of playing guitar, to invite you to take a step back in time and if you are bored with playing a regular guitar or tired of the continued invasion of Chinese made products and just can't seem to have fun making music then what you need is to go back to the roots of how music is made. Try something simpler. This form of guitar will take you back to the lost early days of Blues and Folk music...still confused about how easy and fun a three string guitar is???

I will just cut-copy-and paste this strait from the "horse's website"

If you would like to play Delta Blues it's "airiness" that you hear comes from the music's simplicity, it is STRIPED DOWN, I am sure you have heard you only need 3 notes in a chord???? well, that's not true for Blues, you only need 2 notes! ...they only need to blend well (such as A and E) and most Blues music is based off one note at a time (most often slide guitar is one note ringing, everything else dampened)... folk music is not suppose to be complicated, over refined, lickity split fretted notes, complicated jazz chords and scales, beefed up high power, or masked with computer effects...it's just strum'n acoustic slide or plug n' play with lite power on a small amp....plus, for the guitarist, what more could be easier than playing simple slide guitar with a pluck here and there??? It's basically one finger guitar!...Just connect the dots in your mind up and down the strings as you play, add slide and you've got that sound you've been after all those years but just couldn't never find it no matter what 6 string guitar you've played.

That is the key and link to the Delta Blues that has long been forgotten in the mass market guitar world.

~ Early American Folk & Blues music~

There is a long forgotten fact in America that in the 1880's this type of music was NEVER played on Resonators, Fender, Gibson or any of those store bought guitars, not only did they not exist, but at that time there was no way to buy a nice guitar so most people made there own. If you want to see that absolute most authentic Delta Blues & Slide guitar, watch this complete video....It is played with simple home made 3 string guitars , these are the real thing....there is no mass market music store guitars, this is Primal Americana, this is the Delta Blues!

A few words about this site

My Name is John McNair. I love American History and Folk Music. I really enjoy learning about not only the music but the instruments the people made it on. One thing I noticed in my research of the 3 string guitar is that there is a rich and long history in America, it has come in many forms... but there is not much information out there on these guitars. For many years now I have struggled to obtain all my curious answers and then I soon realized, most of the time I was answering my own questions....for in fact, I was the one who knew the most about the 3 string guitar.

Since there is no other person other than I who is even interested in recording the history of these wonderful and often quirky instruments and its players, I have taken the title of

"John McNair; The foremost authority of the 3 string guitar"

I have a large collection of media with over 2200 photos of 3 string guitars, I also have many old magazines and newspapers and, many of these dating back well over a 100 years, I have old newspapers and photos of all types ...this interest of mine originaly started with my fascination with the history of the "cigar box guitar" and has lead me down this road to finding my true life passion, the "Three String Guitar." I will be posting over the next few months, this is but a tiny tip of the surface. So, Bookmark this site and check back often.....as you know a blog runs backwards so when you visit be sure to scroll past the Intro Photos and videos to see the new stuff!
Lastly, a quick heads up...I am the worst speller and far to busy in life to double check grammer and spelling on everything I post...also I end just about everything with an exclamtion point like this!!!!...the reason is becuse I don't even waste my time posting unless I think it's absolutly cool, therefor I will usualy be so stoked I'll be like..."hey check out what I found!!!! Wow!!!"

Contact Me by phone or email

If you want to see more guitar photos or the Cigar Box Guitar & Instrument museum, visit reddogguitars.com or just Google "Red Dog Guitars"


you can email me at



john@reddogguitars.com




or call 1-787-671-9790 daytime till 8p.m.











-Seasick Steve and the Three-String Trance Wonder -

 Where would the three string be without Ol' SeaSick???? He is perhaps the most revered player who still graces the stage with his beat up 3 string and always leaves the crowd wanting more.
His sound is super ranchy, ultra primitive and distintly Southen in its flavor . His guitar is a generic unbranded guitar from Japan that has an old Harmony pickup added and is played tuned to G, G and B using an E string in the A position, a D in the G position and a G in the B position.



From Mississppi to Finland Seasick's beat up 3-string Trance Wonder leaves 'em wanting more!
At his gigs, he often tells the story that he bought it for $75 in this condition in Como, Mississippi from a man named Sherman, who later told him he only paid $25 for it the day before. He vowed never to add another string, and that he would tour the world telling his story of how Sherman ripped him off. All in good fun as Sherman Cooper is a good buddy, who gave him the guitar having had it nailed to the wall as a decoration. A lot of the time he also adds (while picking up or putting away the guitar) that it is the "...biggest piece of shit in the world, I swear"....Do yourself a favor and watch this video below...you will love it!