July / August GOTM

[Brendan]

July / August Guitar of the Month (for Guitars and Basses finished in June / July)

Enter your finished guitar or bass here to be judged for the Pit Bull Guitars July / August Guitar of the Month.

Please remember:

For Guitars or Basses finished on (or before) the end of June / July.

One guitar/bass per member per month.
It must be a Pit Bull Guitars kit (mods and upgrades acceptable).
Guitar or Bass must be finished and playable.

We need at least 4 photos:
· full guitar shot from the front;
· close up of the body finish;
· shot of the back of the guitar; and
· close up of the headstock (please, no brand name logos)


Please post your photos in this thread. If you are having issues posting photos on the forum, please email them to brendan (at) pitbullguitars (dot) com

Please note: This competition is open to amateur guitar builders only. If you are making and selling guitars for profit, you are ineligible. Also while there are some stunning guitars around - you never know what the judges are looking for, so we encourage anyone who's built a Pitbull during the month to enter!

Competition for July closes at the end of June / July (Perth Western Australian time).

The sorts of things we judge on include:
· How well have the body and neck been prepared
· Is the choice of finish for the style of guitar appropriate
· How well has the finish been applied
· How well has all the hardware, pickups, etc, been installed
· Does it have the 'Wow Factor'· Which guitar would you make a beeline for in a guitar shop. That is, which one would you most like to take home.

BTW - remember that the winner is invited to be a guest judge the following month!

[Johnbamb]

Here is my customised GTL-1 build:

I have converted the front single coil to fit a humbucker, reshaped and carved the body. Top is a flamed camphor laurel veneer (0.7mm).

The finish is Crimson stunning stains (Red, Orange & Black Spirit, Yellow Water based), Grain is burn accented with a torch then many thin coats of Truoil. The rear carve is a map of the Murray river from Mildura stain with blue dye. Out put jack and neck plate areas have been carved to be flush fitting. I have re-cut the neck plate to accommodate the deep access bottom horn.

I have finished the neck with a more traditional look but have flattened the profile to make it faster and thinner. Head stock incorporates a semi inlaid logo on a two tier design.

Black hardware are the stock kit items. I have noticed the bridges are much better now.

Wiring is upgraded with a 5 way switch. The treble pot runs a .22 cap. position 4 runs both pickups through a .47 and position 2 through a .22 cap. These combine with the tone pot to give you some really cool tones. Position 1,3 & 5 are normal set up.

I had a lot of fun putting this together. I am giving this as a gift to a friend as part of NAIDOC week so the finish and carve are very personal. Hopefully Melbourne gets out of lock down soon so I can pass it over. He doesn't know he is getting it yet!
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[Wayne.Mumford]

Nice work John, a bit different but nice. I wouldn’t try burning a guitar finish as I would probably burn the place down ha ha.

[Johnbamb]

Nice work John, a bit different but nice. I wouldn’t try burning a guitar finish as I would probably burn the place down ha ha.

I have done it a few times before so much more confident.

[count sudoku]

Putting forward my first ever build! GTL1 Tele Build.

Decided to try and keep it simple given it was my first go at this and went for a black stained and tru oil finish, with a few final coats of a hard wax to give it a semi gloss/satin look and feel. I wanted to try and go for the open grain look you get on a lot of bass guitars and am pretty happy with the result.

A few upgrades such as brass compensated saddles, hitshot locking tuners and some new american standard fender pickups and it was good to go!

Made lots of mistakes along the way and learnt lots but luckily none of them are too noticeable!

[Brendan]

With only 2 guitars - lets keep this open for a little longer.... Closing end of July.

[Fatboy]

Here is my entry to the competion - a GPR-1M.
I actually built two of these as the first example sent by Pitbull had some issues.
They very kindly sent me another kit free of charge and said practice on the first one !
I did and gave that away to a friend who loves it.
I really like mine, it is mainly as per the kit except that I added switching for each pup.
Three way mini toggle switch gives Humbucker coils in series, parallel and one coil only.
Quite a wide range of tones.
The first guitar was called No.1 and the second No.2, hence 'two' on the headstock.

[Fatboy]

And a couple more for good measure.
The last pic is of No.1, more of it can be seen in my build log if interested.

[Mike.L]

So I built this as a gift for good friend, who used to race a black and white drag car nick named “Black Betty” due to the Betty Boop sticker on the dash.

Took just over five months to complete due to the finish and I’m going to struggle to hand this one over, so I’ve decided to build another for myself (with a twist)

Two piece American ash body with a flame maple neck and rose wood fret board, body finished in a gloss black and white ceruse burst with a tri coat pearl white faux binding, neck stained and also full gloss finish.

Parts modified where:
Tusq XL black nut,
Wilkinson bridge with brass compensated saddles,
Black Guyker professional locking tuners,
Iron gear steel twin 2 pickups (second coil activated via mini toggle switch)
Bourns pots, Oak Grimsby 3 way switch and a sprague orange drop cap.
Betty Boop neck plate.

[Mike.L]

Some more pics

[blinddrew]

That is very nice!

[Fatboy]

And there I was thinking that I had a chance in this competion.....

[blinddrew]

Oh I reckon you do! ;)

[Brendan]

Comp closed. We'll organise judging and get back soon!

[Brendan]

So some comments up front...
Johnbambs GTL-1
Undeniable attention to detail. Great skill went into this guitar. Not sure how I feel about the reshaped lower bout, but nonetheless a great job.
Interesting and meaningful modifications producing a unique art piece instrument, although the style of photos isn't the best for close scrutiny. Fantastic carving, particularly on the headstock. Finish looks good and appropriate for the style of build. I really like the overall result, but the lower horn is a bit jarring like it's had an oops.
Really nice customisation work on this. Love the detail of the headstock
Nice complementing colours and interesting electronics. Overall great work.

Count Sudoku’s GTL-1
Simple, clean build. It’s like Clapton’s Blackie or Gilmours black Strat, but it’s a TL.
Nice, clean traditional TL. Love the grain showing through the semi-gloss black finish, with chrome and white plastics combo. Very nice.
A totally classy, classic. The open grain looks great.
Classic, classy, clean. Nicely done.

Fatboy’s GPR-1M
Incredible looking guitar with cool hardware choices. Not sure if the back colour & the top colour gel for me, but you will rarely see both at the same time
Nice combination of colours matching with the gold hardware. Well finished with nice mods, and a very clean look overall. The f-hole sticker is an excellent added touch. The headstock writing is a slight detraction for me.
Great customisation, both in look and functionality. The finish really shows off the quilting - it feels very summery.
Love the sticker in the f hole. Finish is amazing – overall a great guitar!

Mike L’s DTL-1
That binding looks immaculate & the balck on the front of the headstock is precise. Great job.
I love this style of finish, and this is a beautiful example. Really stunning. Great hardware and upgrades and very slick overall look. Faux binding is a standout and really highlights the finish. A real roasted maple look to the back of the neck, which may be a touch dark with the rest of the finish for my tastes. Excellent build, definitely the sort of thing I would bee-line towards in a store... when we could still do that.
Simply gorgeous. The fit, finish, and customisations are wonderful. A real object of desire. And I'm a huge Betty Boop fan.
Stunning in its simplicity. Love the grain patterns from the neck. Overall stunning.

[Brendan]

So to the runner up - Fatboy - your slim and sexy GPR-1M has taken the judges fancy...
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=41049&d=1626549685

And the winner - non other than Mike.L's DTL-1. Well done to all who entered.
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=41098&d=1627206265

[blinddrew]

Tough month for the judges, congratulations to the winners!
Lovely guitars. :)

[Mike.L]

Wow, I’m chuffed to bits, well done to all that entered.

[Fatboy]

Chaps,
Thank you for the comments, all very constructive, I am very pleased to be a runner up
and well done to all who entered.
I'll have to get round to doing an audio demo and show how the switching works.
Cheers, FB.

[jmax]

As last month's winner, I got to be a guest judge for this one, and it was really difficult - they were all great.

I wished it could be like WeRateDogs so I could give scores like 15/10.