Homemade Cardboard Electric Guitar

I made this guitar because I had a lot of large cardboard that needed to be used up. I wanted to make it electric because I think that it sounds better and you can project the sound further. The microphone is plugged in with a speaker. The place where I placed the microphone can pick up sound from the strings.This project was complicated and it took me several days to finish. I researched how a guitar is made on the inside and re-created it with cardboard. On the inside I put pieces of tin foil to help the sound waves travel through the tunnels.

• Cardboard
• Tin foil
• Scissors
• Cardboard scissors (optional)
• Rubber bands
• Hot glue
• Microphone
• Microphone cord
• Speaker
• Open and clean work space

First I Cut out the pieces for the guitar. I cut out a front piece with a hole for sound to travel through, a sturdy back piece, two handle pieces, six strips for the sides, and I had two extra pieces to use for the inner part. Then for the inner part I cut out the base long piece, circle piece, two upper support pieces, two small bars, two large bars, and one square.

To make the guitar 3D I needed to add side panels. I could not bend the cardboard around the curves so, I cut slits on one side of the panel. If you look at the edge of a piece of cardboard (from a moving box), you will see that there is a wavy line that goes through the middle. I cut in between the middle of the low part of the wavy line. Then, I rolled the cardboard up so that it would be even more flexible and easier to glue around the edges. I used a very sharp pair of scissors because they make cutting cardboard smooth.

After, I took the front piece and hot glued the side panels on. I had to cut a little around the edge to make the back piece fit on. I did not glue the back piece on because I needed to add many details on the inside.

Next, I got some tin foil and a bag of rubber bands. I put the tin foil on the inside of the electric guitar to make the sound sharper. I used the rubber bands to create vibration sound effects while playing.

This is the inside of my electric guitar. If you can see in the first picture, I have a piece around the sound hole. This piece stabilizes the back piece.

I researched how a guitar works on the inside. I learned that there are channels inside the guitar that carry sound around the guitar. I created the channels with slanted walls.

After, I needed to make a microphone holder. It needed to be able to hold the microphone in place and keep it stable while being plugged in. The microphone fits perfectly and I am really glad that I chose to add a microphone because it added a unique touch.

Here are some more detailed pictures of the inside of the guitar.

When you place the microphone make sure that you will be able to get it back out. Still keep the microphone sturdy inside the guitar. After the microphone is in place you should glue a small wall in front/next to the microphone to make sure that it is sturdy.

After, I made a hole the size of the cord. I made sure that the cord could fit in and reach the microphone. If you have a cordless microphone that works too. You can easily open the back panel and flip the switch to the on position and play away.

Here are some more pictures that show the microphone with the cord.

Finally, I added strings. I also added a head stock to attach the strings to. If you look carefully at the neck of the guitar you can see that the lines in the cardboard are horizontal like the frets on the guitar. I used an assorted bag of rubber bands so I picked out the thinnest to the thickest to create a multi-note sound (in other words, to recreate the different notes that are created by using different thicknesses of guitar strings).

When I was finished with the guitar I was so excited to play it. The strings make a wonderful sound and the guitar looks amazing!