April GOTM

[Brendan]

April GOTM

Guitar of the month Comp time again! While for this there are no fortunes (just fame - or at least within the BYOGuitar fraternity) there's an opportunity for fame for the best guitar completed in March 2017.

April Guitar of the Month (for Guitars and Basses finished in March 2017)

Enter your finished guitar or bass here to be judged for the Pit Bull Guitars April 2017 Guitar of the Month.

Please remember:

For Guitars or Basses finished on (or before) 31 March 2017

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 March closes 31 March 2017.

The sorts of things we judge on include:
· How well has 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.

I'm a personal fan of demos - no matter how simple - everyone likes to hear how an axe has turned out!

Also worth thinking - we've got a range of judges and who knows what they'll like (or not), so don't be afraid to enter your guitar - no matter whether you think it's good enough to win or not - on the day, you may get a couple to swing your way!

[nitroburner1000]

Well here goes guys. My second guitar and enjoyed every minuite of it. Before i start i want to thank all the guys for their help from this community and to Adam (And Brendon of course)for making this possible.

Rundown SG-2


Body was beveled completely round to extenuate the already nice bevel.
The top was veneered.
The neck and body were stained with feast watson golden teak.
The cap was clear wipe on poly, gloss as was the rest.
Homemade pick-guard and rear cover plate..
3 way switch was moved to mimic the Les Paul
As was the mono plug socket.
Standard switches were moved to accommodate the 3 way on-on-on mini switches
Aftermarket gold and black switches used for vol. and tone.
Brian May 24k gold plated strings.
Custom decal.
Custom truss rod cover plate to match the walnut veneer
Standard tuners.
Replaced plastic nut with graphite one

Electronics
Aftermarket tri-rail Warman pickups and surrounds.
Aftermarket 3 way mini switches that split the 3 way pickups.
Custom wiring using braided wire.
Replaced volume pots with CTS pots.
Tone pots standard

And amazingly everything works!!!! YAY... im stoked.. cheers guys.

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[nitroburner1000]

More

17903 17904 17905

17906 17907

[nitroburner1000]

And more, sorry lo

l17908 17909

17910 17915

[Andy40]

Wow, just beautiful mate

[vh2580]

Nitro that is classy as. Really looks like a boutique custom

[nitroburner1000]

Wow, just beautiful mate

Thanks heaps Andy.

[nitroburner1000]

Nitro that is classy as. Really looks like a boutique custom

Thanks Tony, thats what i was aiming for, an antique, botique look, rough but glitzy.

[Zandit75]

Nice work Nitro!!!

[Hobastard]

Lovely, I really like the individuality of this guitar.....

[FredA]

Looks amazing nitro!
Great job!

[nitroburner1000]

Nice work Nitro!!!

Cheers Zandit

[nitroburner1000]

Lovely, I really like the individuality of this guitar.....

Thanks Hobastard

[nitroburner1000]

Looks amazing nitro!
Great job!

Cheers FredA

[andrewdosborne]

Awesome work Nitro pro-job!

[WeirdBits]

That pickguard makes me think 'Phoenix', looks awesome Nitro. Great job.

[nitroburner1000]

Really appreciate the comments guys @andrewosborne @WeirdBits

Phoenix?

[WeirdBits]

The shape of the pickguard looks like the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes.

[wokkaboy]

top work Nitro, you transformed a plain SG kit into a real piece of art, very original design and love the upgrades, well done !

[wazkelly]

Gotta agree with everyone's comments Nitro. Now just sitting back waiting for the sound demo of those scorchingly hot PUP's.

[nitroburner1000]

The shape of the pickguard looks like the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes.

Now im with you... good analagy

[nitroburner1000]

top work Nitro, you transformed a plain SG kit into a real piece of art, very original design and love the upgrades, well done !

thanks, im beaming Woks

[nitroburner1000]

Gotta agree with everyone's comments Nitro. Now just sitting back waiting for the sound demo of those scorchingly hot PUP's.

Thanks Waz, just a bit more tweaking and letting the strings settle in then will post a video

[CascadiaGuitarGeek]

Damn Nitro, the bar has been set high this month!

[nitroburner1000]

Damn Nitro, the bar has been set high this month!

Thats a real nice comment, thanks Cascadia

[Hodgepodge]

It has been a blast to complete this kit. One of the most enjoyable projects I have taken on.

I cut a chunk off the bottom near the neck to give better fret access. I painted it with a thinned cerulean blue artist oil paint to let the grain show through a bit, carefully drew the stripes with a black marker, added a coat of linseed oil that greened the grain highlights a bit, then put a few coats of clear poly. After a light sanding it has a smooth matte finish. I got a blank sheet of adhesive pickguard material and cut it to shape. After a trial and error of the wiring, (my first wiring experience), it sounds beastly.

- One happy customer.

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[dave.king1]

Nice work HP, but bloody hell Nitro I think anyone else thinking of entering this month just curled up into a jibbering ball in the corner

[wokkaboy]

looks fantastic HP, love the colour. How does it sound and play ?

[stan]

Wow Nitro , most modded SG ive seen, nice

[stan]

Sweet build Hodgy, looks as beastly as it sounds - it screams Metal!!!!

[nitroburner1000]

Nice work HP, but bloody hell Nitro I think anyone else thinking of entering this month just curled up into a jibbering ball in the corner

Aah thanks dave, but remember the standard is always high every month and i just feel privileged to be able to enter, and the month is not finished yet.

[nitroburner1000]

It has been a blast to complete this kit. One of the most enjoyable projects I have taken on.

I cut a chunk off the bottom near the neck to give better fret access. I painted it with a thinned cerulean blue artist oil paint to let the grain show through a bit, carefully drew the stripes with a black marker, added a coat of linseed oil that greened the grain highlights a bit, then put a few coats of clear poly. After a light sanding it has a smooth matte finish. I got a blank sheet of adhesive pickguard material and cut it to shape. After a trial and error of the wiring, (my first wiring experience), it sounds beastly.

- One happy customer.

18174 18175 18176 18177

Wow cool looking guitar hodgepodge, love the detail and colour scheme. bet your stoked.

[nitroburner1000]

Wow Nitro , most modded SG ive seen, nice

Cheers stan, wasnt an easy trip this time, lots of problems, but the forum helped so a lot of credit goes to them.

[Hodgepodge]

Wow cool looking guitar hodgepodge, love the detail and colour scheme. bet your stoked.

Thanks man. I love it and can't put it down. I've had some problems with the grounding. The bridge they supplied is heavily powder coated and doesn't ground well. I'm still working that out. I'll have to scrape away some spots. But aside from that annoying hiccup it is wonderful. Your guitar is amazing. I've never seen gold plated stings before. Pretty cool.

[nitroburner1000]

Thanks man. I love it and can't put it down. I've had some problems with the grounding. The bridge they supplied is heavily powder coated and doesn't ground well. I'm still working that out. I'll have to scrape away some spots. But aside from that annoying hiccup it is wonderful. Your guitar is amazing. I've never seen gold plated stings before. Pretty cool.

could you get to the underneath of the bridge and drill a very tiny hole, and solder a ground wire in there? And thanks for the compliment. Neither had i but found the strings on ebay.

[Fretworn]

Great job there Hodgepodge.

[phrozin]

Hodgepodge i dig that colour mate

[Chuck]

Figured I might as well add my latest to the mix! The build is based around a stock ST-1M kit and inspired by my favourite surfboard. Painting was done with MTN rattle cans, and the keyline is automotive pinstripe tape. There was my usual body reshaping, and instead of the normal pickups I ordered a neck and bridge Entwisle AS57. The wiring features a Freeway Ultra switch which provides the following: Positions 1, 2 and 3 are neck, both, bridge, Positions 4, 5 and 6 are series in-phase, series out-of-phase and parallel out-of-phase. The little toggle switch is a simple bright switch. The master vol works in all switch positions as does master tone. Bridge volume works in position 3, or adjusts the mix of the bridge pickup in pos 2, 4, 5 and 6. I also built a fuzz face clone pedal to go with it.

It's been a very interesting exercise in trying things I haven't done before so pretty satisfied with how it all turned out! Apologies I haven't updated the pics from the build diary but have had some camera/phone issues (and, yes Wok, I have taken the stickers off the back of the tuners!)

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[Zandit75]

Nice one Chuck!!
I still think you should have covered the trem cover with surfboard grip tape!!

[wokkaboy]

sweet build Chuck, love the theme, you nailed what you set out to do. Going to be tough to beat this build

[Chuck]

Nice one Chuck!!
I still think you should have covered the trem cover with surfboard grip tape!!

Just for you I will hunt some down to at least see what it looks like!!

[Zandit75]

Just for you I will hunt some down to at least see what it looks like!!

Haha, good stuff!!

Then, just to top off the look, rub surfboard wax all over it!!! :p

[Adam Barnes]

Hi guys got some time today to finish off and thought id better enter GOTM. T184461844718448he only mods are the dirty finger pickups and the crome knobs. Sounded unreal but is going out of tune due to the strings needing to settle in. I'll put some better ones on over the weekend and do a sound demo
Thanks to all the guys for the help and advise
Barnseys ES1TL

[Adam Barnes]

18449184491845018451a couple more18456

[wokkaboy]

looks great Adam, you just need to post a close up of the body (entry conditions). Don't rush a sound demo, newly built guitars need a bit of play in time and probably a new set of strings.

[Adam Barnes]

1845818459a photo with my bought guitars

[wokkaboy]

nice collection Adam, is the neck pup surround on the green LP Epi broken ?

[Adam Barnes]

Thanks wokka yep it is

[nitroburner1000]

Figured I might as well add my latest to the mix! The build is based around a stock ST-1M kit and inspired by my favourite surfboard. Painting was done with MTN rattle cans, and the keyline is automotive pinstripe tape. There was my usual body reshaping, and instead of the normal pickups I ordered a neck and bridge Entwisle AS57. The wiring features a Freeway Ultra switch which provides the following: Positions 1, 2 and 3 are neck, both, bridge, Positions 4, 5 and 6 are series in-phase, series out-of-phase and parallel out-of-phase. The little toggle switch is a simple bright switch. The master vol works in all switch positions as does master tone. Bridge volume works in position 3, or adjusts the mix of the bridge pickup in pos 2, 4, 5 and 6. I also built a fuzz face clone pedal to go with it.

It's been a very interesting exercise in trying things I haven't done before so pretty satisfied with how it all turned out! Apologies I haven't updated the pics from the build diary but have had some camera/phone issues (and, yes Wok, I have taken the stickers off the back of the tuners!)

18441 18442 18443 18444

Wow, i love your build, the switching setup is amazing, a No.1 contender.

[nitroburner1000]

18449184491845018451a couple more18456

i love the colour, its so unique and unusual, great job Adam, you can see the time spent on this one.

[Adam Barnes]

i love the colour, its so unique and unusual, great job Adam, you can see the time spent on this one.

Thanks nitro but ithink your sg has got this one hands down.

[Brendan]

Last bids for this month's comp, the bar's closing :).

[nitroburner1000]

Thanks nitro but ithink your sg has got this one hands down.

never say never until the fat lady sing.

[Adam Barnes]

never say never until the fat lady sing.

I can hear the fat lady singing nitro

[Brendan]

Ok - entries have closed - any more and I'll be opening the May comp shortly.

[Adam Barnes]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ynqv9mp55lh5fk0/ads%20song2017-04-02_12-12-11.wav?dl=0
Rough demo

[Brendan]

Before I get to the comments,

Just a note to the participants - Only 4 guitars this month, but I must say all were great builds, hard to separate them, you should all be proud - well done.

So to the feedback - in submission order...

Nitroburner's SG-2:
"I do love this guitar, but it can't seem to work out if its a shred machine, or a piece of antique furniture."
Truly a unique SG, very old-world hand-crafted furniture feel to it with the walnut veneer and bevelling. The finish looks excellent. Custom plastics work nicely with the build, but the pickguard is a little too wild for my taste. Excellent mods and tweaks to realise your vision for the build. A gold jack plate would better complement the other hardware.
Mods are off the chart. So much to like here. Kudos to Nitro! Keep blowing our minds, dude.
Excellent custom mods and you got over several issues during the build. Awesome looking and sounding axe well done Nitro.
Nitro, this is a great build with a heap of work and mods, there's hardly any of the kit left.
A lot of work in the top, the rewire and all your custom touches. Everything beautifully executed and to a great standard. A ripper of an SG, well done.
Highly customised labour of love with it's share of challenges that cropped up throughout the build. Nice base colour that contrasts well with the walnut coloured veneer and speckled scratch plate plus gold hardware adds some additional bling. Good to see a sound demo video that demonstrated the various sounds available from the pickups and wiring configuration

Hodgepodge's JK-1:
Making the JK your own. Angular, vibrant and a distinctive design - both with colour and body mods. The headstock shape suits the body well and echoes the cutaway for the upper frets. Very nice result.
Very nice turquoise blue with black contrasting bits. Additional cutaway mod to provide more fret access doesn't look out of place and is complimented by the blunt angular headstock shape. A build diary would have been good to see this axe to life.
Hodepodge, this is a great first build, with a great mod with the fret access cut, and cool self designed pickguard. A budget finish that looks pretty cool, you've truly made it your own. A players axe you can be proud of, nice job
"I love the colour on this guitar.
I like the colour but think the white pickups are too much of a contrast. Black pups would have suited better IMO. Like the custom stripes and mod to the shape.
Oh man, what a killer! Very well put together, great style and vision. Those chevrons really compliment the design of the guitar.

Chuck's ST-1M:
Surftastic. The theme, the paintjob, the modifications, the headstock curls, all combine to create a stunning build. Great effort to achieve the matching paint design mirroring the board, the only downside being that the trem cover looks a little stark in contrast. Good choice with the Freeway switch to give you all the sounds the two pickups can offer. Next step - finding someone who can 3D print you a multi-colour trem cover to match the paint design.
What a cool themed guitar - i bet it plays great surf music. Some great mods and some mad scientist wiring, and body shaping. A lot of work here , with a great finish that is eye catching. All the details are there , and it looks amazing, great work.
Love the surf theme and the paint job that matches the surfboard. Only negative I don't like how the trem cover covers up the pattern on the back
Pure, unadulterated class. The reshaping is subtle and effective, more of a Duo Sonic than a strat now. Great attention to detail..... except the stringing, man, go easy on the winds there, Chuck!
"Everything from the re-shaped body to the wave cut in the headstock serves a unique and well executed vision."

Adam Barnes' ES1-TL:
Subtle, smooth and elegant. The back of the body and neck makes me think beach and the front makes me think beach house. There's a restraint with this build that makes it all the more desirable, a tasteful vintage feel. It's definitely something that I want to pick up and play. Fantastic effort to achieve such clean and crisp striping using stain, and it really works with that colour. The only detraction for me is the headstock shape. I understand the decision, but it needed some shaping to go with the great convergent stripes.
"A guitar this well finished deserves a shaped headstock. It just feels incomplete without one."
Build looks good but would have liked more depth in the blue stain
Really dig the stain job. Way more restrained than I could manage and it has paid off well. Would have liked to see some shaping on the headstock, but otherwise very, very nice.
Well done getting this one up Adam. The finish reminds me of faded jeans, and it has lots of appeal. Mega time and effort on your finish, I think it turned out nicely. The stripes work well. The pickup swap will make it a beast, very cool. Interesting choice to not shape the headstock, but you have blended it in well with the body theme, and it gives a straight string pull - nice. Good work, these are a tricky beast to build.

[Brendan]

And the winner - Congratulations to Chuck with his swell Surfcaster! (sorry it had to be said).

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=18441&d=1490305283&thumb=1

The Judges loved the themed guitar and how it turned out. Well done Chuck!

[JB RETRO]

Well done Chuck concept to completion. Just another GOTM to your collection . Well done everyone else

[nitroburner1000]

Congrats Chuck, well deserved.

[dave.king1]

Well done Chuck, inspired choice of inspiration

[Dedman]

well done Chuck. A really creative paint job

[andrewdosborne]

Nice one Chuck well done would love to hear a demo of it. And all other entrants great work

Sent from Lineage OS 14.1

[Chuck]

Thanks guys, really tough job as usual for the judges - and huge congrats to the other entries! It's great to see the increasing individuality of each build and how everyone is putting there own stamp on the outstanding kits PBG provide us with.

[pablopepper]

Congrats, Chuck! Sterling effort this month by all entrants.

[wokkaboy]

Congratulations Chuck. Deserved winner. Was a tough month to judge as always. Well done all other entrants

[WeirdBits]

Well done Chuck, great build.

[Fretworn]

Congratulations Chuck, and well done everyone. Only four guitars this month, but they are all top notch.

[Zandit75]

Well done Chuck!
I thought Nitro had it in the bag this month, I guess that's what happens when he only spends an hour a day on here!!:p:rolleyes::cool:

[Kick]

Congratulations Chuck! One of a kind guitar you've build, truly nice!

[nitroburner1000]

Well done Chuck!
I thought Nitro had it in the bag this month, I guess that's what happens when he only spends an hour a day on here!!:p:rolleyes::cool:

Yes ive got a lot to learn yet so ill keep soldiering on. Many more builds to go yet...

[Adam Barnes]

Well done chuck,

[Andy40]

Well done chuck, fantastic build mate.

[wazkelly]

Well done all entrants and Chuck in particular in taking out GOTM.