I recently saw a most astonsing version of a cigarbox instrument - though I think it was more designed to be banjo-ish. I'd gone to the concert to see David Francy, and the double bill had Harry Manx, who plays around with electronic modification of acoustic instruments & some truly odd things (a six string guitar tricked out with 21 strings and played like a slide guitar- kinda slide sitar) including a cigarbox instrument with two broomsticks for the neck. All of his stringed instruments seemed to have some sort of pickup for electric percussion systems on them as well.