June GOTM

[Brendan]

June Guitar of the Month (for Guitars and Basses finished in May 2018)

Enter your finished guitar or bass here to be judged for the Pit Bull Guitars June 2018 Guitar of the Month.

Please remember:

For Guitars or Basses finished on (or before) the end of May 2018

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 June closes at the end of May 2018 (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!

[SamMoor]

So here's my Pitbull Guitar kit build. It is obviously a copy of that brand with an R that produced the legendary frying pan. I've wanted one of those (not the frying pan, the more common guitars) for a long time, but the originals are very expencive.
The kit did indeed contain everything needed apart from paint. However I was not happy with the tailpiece and the fact that that carved part of the body underneath the tailpiece is mahogany and therefore much darker than the top. I therefore went for a B-style tremolo which looks nicer than the included one, conceals most of the darker wood and is a cool Tremolo. I decided to go for the Guitarfetish Vintage X-Trem. I then added a wilkinson rollerbridge (had to fit dowels in the original bridgepost holes and drill new holes because the post distance is slightly different.
The pickups are also from Guitarfetish (minitron Liverpool), as well as the pots. The knobs and toggle switchare from Stewmac.
For the finish I used waterbased pigments, diluted with some water and applied them with a sponge. So the sunburst is basically a watercolours painting. I then appplied a waterbased Polyuretane finish, again with a sponge, in multiple layers. Turned out OK but definitely not as nice as if I could have sprayed it.

About the controls: I wanted the original 5 knob wiring with the blend knob. Once I was done with that and started trying the knobs I didn't like the way the blend knob works and changed the wiring so the 5th knob would funtion as a master volume. That is much better.
Finally the headstock: I changed the shape to a non symmetrical shape that is pretty close to the original. From an old piece of pickguard I made the big, white truss rod cover and engraved it. If you look properly you will notice that the writing is not only shaky and irregular, it is also not spelt like the real thing. Since the name giving founder of the company that makes the original was born in my home town in Switzerland I decided to spell his name like we pronounce it here. So no copyright infringement here. And now the pics.
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[rook]

Stain looks great! Wow looks fantastic. You must be pleased.

[ChefBrianNYC]

For your consideration here is my first build...an HBB-5 semi hollow bass: The Rooster.

It's finished with ebony varathane sanded down to varying degrees and wipe on poly

Only mod is that it's wired in "stereo" where each pickup has its own channel. Like ric o sound but only the one jack. A simple adapter on the lead makes it a "regular" functioning bass if I choose.

All major parts stock except an allparts stereo jack and a Gibson 3 way switch I needed for it's 4th lug. I swapped out the cheapo pot metal screws where I could, replacing them with ones that had a patina that matched the guitar more.

I made the pick guard with the nifty stencil included in the kit as well as the switch plate. Rhythm and treble dont make sense to me...its either rhythm and lead or bass and treble...why the mixing? Now the world has its first rooster/hen pickup combo.

The inlays are stickers from Jockomo for $8 TRC without 2 screws because it's been a revolving door the last few days lol. And yes the strings are too short! (Still waiting on my set from pitbull that was missing from the kit)

It plays so much better than I expected it to. The pickups are hot and grindy, lacking a little punch...not the best for fingerstyle stuff but so perfect with a pick!

Doing a vid review/demo tomorrow cant wait to share it!

Thank you everyone for all the kind words and advice!!!!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/e962a2203e7571d06214abc139963f5e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/1365dcab3b88954078bfddb044624b21.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/fbed5a82b7dfd4acbadeb6ec11bb1f08.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/ddc150915e270bd1ebaa20697343c53a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/f21f6bc57ae71beaff557497f05cd2ff.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/b58734423590d4924a2b507d1ab68b8a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/b96fdff0d0b446e7101056e47a79c49c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/2e6db62c9e34fc3074ab452f6428233d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/4b3694e5338f62984f46ca9b0c66eed2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/5dea355253d92d7a8252d4ed28e73b12.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180513/e99101293d366c59a250993f4462e577.jpg

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

[Andyxlh]

Well done, I really like both of these guitars!
The headstock and f hole decal I really love on the bass. Would love to hear how it sounds.
The trem on the R guitar looks good, nice sunburst too.

[ChefBrianNYC]

A video demo I hope doesn't detract points! Haha

https://youtu.be/l9Iq9LBJZJ4

[blinddrew]

Sounds pretty good to me. :)

[ChefBrianNYC]

Solo neck pickup is my least favorite and both together the preferred so far...there's still lots of playing to do though!

[nitroburner1000]

Whew, im finally finished, 14 months in the making and a brand new learning experience at every curve only smoothed over by this communities help, so A BIG THANKS GUYS.
Esp to...Weirdbits for the wiring help, Sonic Mountain and King casey for the headstock decal help, Simon for the technical detail, Wokkaboy, Dedman, Wazkelly, Frankenwashie, Chuck, Olisam, for the continued support, Zeromick for guidance, and all the others, you know who you are, without your help this project wouldnt be finished.

SPECS
As the JM-1 comes with a fender style bridge and is not setup for a jaguar bridge setup and tremolo assembly i had to custom route for the bridge and tremolo setup, custom make the pickguard from a blank.

This guitar is setup like a normal jaguar but with these differences.
The top horn switch in the up position activates the neck pickup with a separate volume and tone control set in the chrome addon.
When the switch is in the down position it activates the humbucker and the middle pickups with their separate bass, treble and volume knobs.
The difference her is that the lower 3 switches have been wired as 1) master volume 2) treble cut tone 3) bass cut tone. These are generally referred to as G&L Style PTB Tone Stacks. They have a very interesting sound.

The last 3 switches are on and off switches for the 3 pickups.

The body and headstock are finished in candy apple red with a 2k clear over the top. It has 4 primers, 3 silver basecoats, 3 cherry apple red coats, 2 clear coats, then 2 more cherry apple red coats finished with 4 coats of clear.

The headstock decal was redesigned by Sonic mountain, painted and applied by myself and coated with 6 coats of wipe on poly then polished.
Grover tuners, aftermarket knobs, and chrome accessories, and Warman pickups.

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[nitroburner1000]

Some more...

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[nitroburner1000]

And finally some more

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Thanks everyone.

[FrankenWashie]

WOW...this month's contest may actually see a judge physically rip themselves in half as a manifestation of their internal struggle to decide between entries.
Best have paramedics and counsellors on standby.

[Dedman]

you wish Frankie, you just want spares for Igor!

[Sonic Mountain]

Ha ha!

Seriously though Nitro has my vote. That is one of the best I've seen on here in my time.

[blinddrew]

That chrome logo is the icing on a pretty incredible cake. :)

[Sonic Mountain]

I've just watched Chiefbrians demo and that is a rad bass as well. Another guitar I didn't know I wanted.

[ChefBrianNYC]

That Jag is hot nitro!!! Amazing finish! Wow

[nitroburner1000]

Appreciate the comments guys

[Wayne.Mumford]

Beautiful Nitro, top job.

[nitroburner1000]

Beautiful Nitro, top job.

Cheers Wayne

[Simon Barden]

Superb guitar, Nitro. Lots of care and really nice touches.

You just need to get the use of those locking tuners sorted out. To get the best from them, you shouldn't have more than one complete turn of string around them. Line the tuner hole up with the neck so a new string can run straight into it. Pull it hand tight, then lock it. You should normally then be able to tune up with 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn. The whole idea of locking tuners is that you don't have 3 or 4 turns of string around the post, as it's these turns that move position when you use the trem and slacken off the string tension, and so the tuning can suffer.

[king casey]

Whew, im finally finished, 14 months in the making and a brand new learning experience at every curve only smoothed over by this communities help, so A BIG THANKS GUYS.]

Quite an exceptional result nitro...despite all the pitfalls along the way.
Thanks for the tip about chrome nail polish. That's the sort of lateral thinking I like about this lark.
Of course kudos to the other two entries... semi-acoustic 5 string bass and the sunburst Ric. Standards well above my paltry effort.

cheers, Mark.

[nitroburner1000]

Superb guitar, Nitro. Lots of care and really nice touches.

You just need to get the use of those locking tuners sorted out. To get the best from them, you shouldn't have more than one complete turn of string around them. Line the tuner hole up with the neck so a new string can run straight into it. Pull it hand tight, then lock it. You should normally then be able to tune up with 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn. The whole idea of locking tuners is that you don't have 3 or 4 turns of string around the post, as it's these turns that move position when you use the trem and slacken off the string tension, and so the tuning can suffer.

Thanks mate, thats the first time ive heard that, even the instructions wernt that clear. Will redo asap.

[nitroburner1000]

Quite an exceptional result nitro...despite all the pitfalls along the way.
Thanks for the tip about chrome nail polish. That's the sort of lateral thinking I like about this lark.
Of course kudos to the other two entries... semi-acoustic 5 string bass and the sunburst Ric. Standards well above my paltry effort.

cheers, Mark.

Thanks and no problems Mark.

[cork sniffer]

Whew, im finally finished, 14 months in the making ......

Man, that's very special!
Glad I won't have an entry demonstrating my inadequacies this month :-)

[nitroburner1000]

Man, that's very special!
Glad I won't have an entry demonstrating my inadequacies this month :-)

Hey dont ever put yourself down, we are all individuals and no one in the world will make a guitar just like yours, so it will be truly unique, and believe me mate its the inadequacies, faults, problems, stupid stuffups that will make you better every time. Im following your post and your guitar is very cool.

Edit.. and BTW i would NEVER have the courage to do a resonator.

[Ozo]

Nice one Nitro....Now I'll post mine and watch you win lol. Not quite sure what the marks are on the back of the body. But they showed up when the clear went on, and is definately from the factory as if you look closely at the last pic the marks in one area finish where 2 seperate pieces of timber meet.

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[Sonic Mountain]

Pretty sexy SG. Shame about the finish on the back. Looks like maybe glue?

[FrankenWashie]

Pretty sexy SG. Shame about the finish on the back. Looks like maybe glue?

Lovely little SG build, those marks really do look like gluey fingerprints don't they? Wonderful Job Ozo, its got a beautiful shine to it and a lovely colour green. It seems to really set off the maple veneer. Great Job!

[nitroburner1000]

love the green colour and contrasting yellow logo, and a well earned effort all round mate. bet it sounds sweet.

[Guvna19]

Yet another fantastic feast of fine guitar building on display this month ! Whilst I have a favourite so far, I would be happy to own 2nd, 3rd, 4th all the same. just building is winning - no-one can lose. Well Done all.

cheers
Guvna

[wazkelly]

Have to agree with Frankie and thankfully those marks are on the back.

Nice shade of green, very tropical and makes me wonder if it was inspired by a local tree frog species?

[Ozo]

Thanks a lot guys. Yeah Nitro it sounds sweet alright.............but what guitar with humbuckers doesn't sound sweet. :cool:

[nitroburner1000]

Thanks a lot guys. Yeah Nitro it sounds sweet alright.............but what guitar with humbuckers doesn't sound sweet. :cool:

Hey i hear ya mate ive got 4 electrics and they all have buckers.

[Simon Barden]

............but what guitar with humbuckers doesn't sound sweet. :cool:

Any Ibanez guitar fitted with their 'Quantum' pickups. Nasty thin shrill things.

[nitroburner1000]

Any Ibanez guitar fitted with their 'Quantum' pickups. Nasty thin shrill things.

Lol youve got a point.

[nitroburner1000]

Just a quick question to the experts, in the GOTM Contest do i need a full frontal upright picture with headstock or will the side frontal pick i submitted be ok?

[wazkelly]

Just a quick question to the experts, in the GOTM Contest do i need a full frontal upright picture with headstock or will the side frontal pick i submitted be ok?

Hi Nitro, plenty of suitable pics for judges to work with.

[nitroburner1000]

Hi Nitro, plenty of suitable pics for judges to work with.

Cheers mate appreciate the get back.

[Spychocyco]

Man, it looks like I picked the wrong month to finish my first guitar. Tough competition. :)

Here she is, though, my JK-1 project that was almost firewood a few months back when I thought the finish would never come out right. It's a loud and obnoxious tribute to my 1980s upbringing, finished in a blue-purple flip paint, all rattlecan. I upgraded it with Dragonfire Screamer pickups, CTS pots, Switchcraft switch and jack, Hipshot locking tuners and a Randy Rhoads tribute neckplate (bought, not made by me). The back of the neck is sanded to 2000 grit and then rubbed with a Birchwood-Casey oil and wax blend to try to emulate my favorite Music Man necks, and it's slick as glass. I think I did pretty well. The blue strings will go away after photos and never come back. They sound a bit dull and feel weird, but I thought they completed the loud and obnoxious part of the ensemble. :)

In hindsight, I probably would have gone with covered pickups in chrome to match the hardware instead of the purple ones, but there's always time to change that.

It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but way better than I thought it would be a few months ago when I almost gave up on it. I'm happy with it and proud of it. Here's the build diary for more: http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=7895.

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[Spychocyco]

A few more ...

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[Dedman]

I'd hate to be one of the judges this month....oh wait. Must rush to finish my current build so i can exclude myself.

[nitroburner1000]

Man, it looks like I picked the wrong month to finish my first guitar. Tough competition. :)

Here she is, though, my JK-1 project that was almost firewood a few months back when I thought the finish would never come out right. It's a loud and obnoxious tribute to my 1980s upbringing, finished in a blue-purple flip paint, all rattlecan. I upgraded it with Dragonfire Screamer pickups, CTS pots, Switchcraft switch and jack, Hipshot locking tuners and a Randy Rhoads tribute neckplate (bought, not made by me). The back of the neck is sanded to 2000 grit and then rubbed with a Birchwood-Casey oil and wax blend to try to emulate my favorite Music Man necks, and it's slick as glass. I think I did pretty well. The blue strings will go away after photos and never come back. They sound a bit dull and feel weird, but I thought they completed the loud and obnoxious part of the ensemble. :)

In hindsight, I probably would have gone with covered pickups in chrome to match the hardware instead of the purple ones, but there's always time to change that.

It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but way better than I thought it would be a few months ago when I almost gave up on it. I'm happy with it and proud of it. Here's the build diary for more: http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=7895.

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Smick job mate, love the colour and also admire anyone who has done a painted face on their headstock. Thumbs up

[Wayne.Mumford]

Some nice upgrades there Spycho. Nice job with the flip paint job as well, love the sparkle, it’s very 80’s “glam rock”.
Wayno.

[Andyxlh]

Here's my TL-A kit just about done, a strat Tele hybrid with a blend for the centre pickup. It has tonerider hot classics Tele pickups and an Entwistle centre strat pickup, all from Pitbull. The strat fixed bridge was from eBay as was the blank strat scratchplate I cut for the different pickups.
The finish is Cabots Poly clear gloss on the neck, 8 coats or so, and a feast Watson 4 colour sunburst stain airbrushed with a thin coat of Cabots satin poly to protect it. I polished it before this photo and then left some of the polish in the grain contours on the back, I'll leave them here so you can laugh at my mistake. I'll get it out with a rub of turps later...
The strat pickup is wired as a blend parallel for the Tele, so it can be added to any Tele setting
Moved the Tele control plate about 15mm back to allow the strat pickguard to fit
The headstock is a double rout, 1970s strat under telecaster shapes
Machine heads are Grover mini rotomatics from Pitbull
Bone nut and roller string trees
Only finish gripes are the chrome on the Tele control plate and the bridge is a bit ropey, looks ok here but up close is pitted and rough so will be replacing them both at some point.
Also very slightly off with one of the through mounting ferrules on the back, it is a little high which you can see in the photo, but not too bad as I did them by hand with my Bosch electric drill, no drill press!
There's a horrid sound demo here...
https://youtu.be/mOYkqmA6mxc
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[Andyxlh]

Here's a few more...
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[Guvna19]

Awsome job Andy, very nice looking guitar

[Sonic Mountain]

This is a crazy month. Great work Andy, really tasteful smooshing together of the two models.

[Dedman]

This is a crazy month. Great work Andy, really tasteful smooshing together of the two models.

This is Pitbull, we don't "smoosh" here Schtaker!

[Andyxlh]

I'm not really sure what 'smooching' is, but I'll take it as a compliment!
Thanks Sonic and Guvna!

[nitroburner1000]

Here's a few more...
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You should be proud of this one, a very unique blend.

[ChefBrianNYC]

Really top notch guitars all around this month. I'm glad I got in early or I would have been too intimidated by the competition to even enter!! Great stuff everyone.

[SamMoor]

Christ on the cross!!! I didn't expect the competition to be this tough! All these builds are amazing!

[Andyxlh]

You should be proud of this one, a very unique blend.
Thank you Nitro, high praise indeed looking at your guitar this month 😊😊😊

[FrankenWashie]

Christ on the cross!!! I didn't expect the competition to be this tough! All these builds are amazing!
...and they just keep getting better Sam. It seems every month there are guys raising the bar, and guys like me and the average humans shaking our heads in amazement and envy.

[nitroburner1000]

Thank you Nitro, high praise indeed looking at your guitar this month 😊😊😊

Thanks mate but what youve got to remember is that every guitar posted on this forum is unique, no one else could build it exactly the same, and i have to confess with your guitar i never would of thought of that combination, the best of both worlds. Truly unique.

[Andyxlh]

Really top notch guitars all around this month. I'm glad I got in early or I would have been too intimidated by the competition to even enter!! Great stuff everyone.
I hope you wouldn't have been! That's a great job, and it sounds nice too.

[Spychocyco]

And the competition gets tougher. That double headstock is super cool, and all the options. Yow.

[Spychocyco]

Really top notch guitars all around this month. I'm glad I got in early or I would have been too intimidated by the competition to even enter!! Great stuff everyone.

I honestly almost didn't post mine after looking at some of the previous entries. Lots of talent and creativity on this forum.

[Andyxlh]

And the competition gets tougher. That double headstock is super cool, and all the options. Yow.

Thanks! I got the idea of the headstock from the 'Relecaster' from the Fender custom shop I saw whilst trawling the internet one day - it used a similar idea on a strat body which I liked the look of.

[Sonic Mountain]

TIL there was already a guitar called the Relecaster.....

Always worth entering you never know for sure what the judges will pick and besides its great to get some feed back in this context for improving your next build.

[Andyxlh]

Ha! Yes there was of course!
I can't find the relicaster I was referring to. It had a double headstock a bit like mine and was based on a strat body with a Tele bridge pickup

[Dedman]

Sliding in sideways to scrape in......
Vex : verb: vex; 3rd person present: vexes; past tense: vexed; past participle: vexed; gerund or present participle: vexing
:.make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried, especially with trivial matters."the memory of the conversation still vexed him"

I was vexed when these showed up in store because I had long wanted a Vox Teardrop guitar however these had quite a few differences especially the fact that it was heart shaped rather than tear drop shaped. There had to be a workaround that didn't involve pulling the binding off and reshaping. The the holy goth mother ( Siouxsie Sioux) presented me with an idea! Hide the dip with a Bigsby!, and so it was done.
Specs:
Grover Mini tuners, tru-oil on the neck and head stock.
Tone Rider Rebel 90 humbucker sized P90's in chrome rings.
Goto roller bridge.
tail peice holes filled with dowel and a Licensed Bigsby B30 installed.
Paint is auto acrylic custom mixed to match a Bic lighter :D
Pots are a mix of full size and mini CTS as after liberating the loom from a LP where the pickups had resided I found the full size pots didn't fit in the lower positions as there were too close to the edge.
the words 'Sin in my heart" are the title of the only song I know of that Siouxsie played on. And kind of fits with the heart shaped rear of the guitar
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[markallan]

Here's a TBJ-5 Fenderbird that was finished and assembled by Tim Reede at Tim Reede Guitars (http://www.reedeguitars.com/) in Minneapolis.

The jazz pickups were custom wound by Ted Vig at Vig Guitar Shop (http://vigguitarshop.com/) in St. Paul.

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[king casey]

I was not going to enter into this as there is no chance I'm gonna win it...
Then I realised I couldn't care less, so here's my one and only entry.
Edit: Oh Yeah it's a hard tail STA.
Non pitbull scratch plate and knobs/pickup cover.
Vintage tuners. No-name string ferrule.
ToneRider Hot Classic bridge pickup.

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cheers, Mark.

[Sonic Mountain]

Gee Mark don’t write yourself off - that’s a gorgeous guitar. Very tasteful. What are the chances of two Tele strats in the one month???

Also top work on the vex Deddy. The judges will need counselling- even these two entires are so awesome yet completely different to each other, I have no idea how you’d split them from an objective perspective.

[king casey]

Thankyou Sonic. Yes it aint who wins or loses but how you play the game.
cheers, Mark.

[Andyxlh]

I was not going to enter into this as there is no chance I'm gonna win it...
Then I realised I couldn't care less, so here's my one and only entry.
Edit: Oh Yeah it's a hard tail STA.
Non pitbull scratch plate and knobs/pickup cover.
Vintage tuners. No-name string ferrule.
ToneRider Hot Classic bridge pickup.

cheers, Mark.
That's great! I love it, add it to mine, mix and seperate and you would get a stock Tele and strat! We probably could have saved ourselves a fortune in parts if we had shared...
Nice finish, good colour and the colour of the neck is great.
Good headstock decal
Wonder what they would sound like next to each other???
You should be really pleased with this one.

I think we all know who will win this month, but that doesn't matter, I entered mine for the same reason you did...

[Wayne.Mumford]

Very nice Mark, don’t write yourself of mate, it’s a great addition to the Pitbull family album and I bet you had great pleasure building and sharing your build on the site. It’s like a great journey.
Wayno.

[Andyxlh]

Sliding in sideways to scrape in......
Vex : verb: vex; 3rd person present: vexes; past tense: vexed; past participle: vexed; gerund or present participle: vexing
:.make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried, especially with trivial matters."the memory of the conversation still vexed him"

I was vexed when these showed up in store because I had long wanted a Vox Teardrop guitar however these had quite a few differences especially the fact that it was heart shaped rather than tear drop shaped. There had to be a workaround that didn't involve pulling the binding off and reshaping. The the holy goth mother ( Siouxsie Sioux) presented me with an idea! Hide the dip with a Bigsby!, and so it was done.


I love this. The lettering down the neck looks cool, I have never seen a guitar like this and have no idea the Vox you reference, but it is a great look. Wow you would really notice this if you walked into a pub and someone was playing it! Fantastic job.

[king casey]

Thanks andy and Wayne. I did indeed have some pleasurable times building it.
Good luck to the other 7 excellent entries (yes even you Dedman).

cheers, Mark.

[blinddrew]

The only reason i can see not to enter GOTM is the danger that you might win and then have to judge next month!
So many beautiful guitars being shown on these pages, makes me wish i got into it years ago. :)

[wazkelly]

Well, one of our usual judges has an entry in this month so that burden falls on fewer shoulders. There will be some very close scores when it comes to final tallying. Well done to all entrants.

[nitroburner1000]

Sliding in sideways to scrape in......
Vex : verb: vex; 3rd person present: vexes; past tense: vexed; past participle: vexed; gerund or present participle: vexing
:.make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried, especially with trivial matters."the memory of the conversation still vexed him"

I was vexed when these showed up in store because I had long wanted a Vox Teardrop guitar however these had quite a few differences especially the fact that it was heart shaped rather than tear drop shaped. There had to be a workaround that didn't involve pulling the binding off and reshaping. The the holy goth mother ( Siouxsie Sioux) presented me with an idea! Hide the dip with a Bigsby!, and so it was done.
Specs:
Grover Mini tuners, tru-oil on the neck and head stock.
Tone Rider Rebel 90 humbucker sized P90's in chrome rings.
Goto roller bridge.
tail peice holes filled with dowel and a Licensed Bigsby B30 installed.
Paint is auto acrylic custom mixed to match a Bic lighter :D
Pots are a mix of full size and mini CTS as after liberating the loom from a LP where the pickups had resided I found the full size pots didn't fit in the lower positions as there were too close to the edge.
the words 'Sin in my heart" are the title of the only song I know of that Siouxsie played on. And kind of fits with the heart shaped rear of the guitar
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Lovely job mate, another speccy.

[nitroburner1000]

I was not going to enter into this as there is no chance I'm gonna win it...
Then I realised I couldn't care less, so here's my one and only entry.
Edit: Oh Yeah it's a hard tail STA.
Non pitbull scratch plate and knobs/pickup cover.
Vintage tuners. No-name string ferrule.
ToneRider Hot Classic bridge pickup.

26715
26716
26717
26718

cheers, Mark.

Wow, so pristine and uncomplicated, great job casey

[trv]

The only reason i can see not to enter GOTM is the danger that you might win and then have to judge next month!
So many beautiful guitars being shown on these pages, makes me wish i got into it years ago. :)

Haha, yeah, no doubt... oh wait :p

[Brendan]

Alright lads and lasses - comp is closed - will open the next one soon!

[phrozin]

great job guys well done, i haft to give nittro a shout out as i know how much work he had do to get that level of finish its simply beautiful

[nitroburner1000]

great job guys well done, i haft to give nittro a shout out as i know how much work he had do to get that level of finish its simply beautiful

Thanks again Phrosin, great compliment coming from the guru of finishes

[JohnH]

Sheesh! There is some very fine builds in this GOTM.

[Simon Barden]

To make it easier for the judges, and considering the number of builds coming out, can we change the comp to Guitar of the Week?

[Brendan]

An opening salvo – from the Mod
Each month as I look at the guitars it’s a: “Oooh its an RC bass month or ST guitar month”. Never before can I say it’s been a hybrid Stra-le / Te-rat month… until now…

SamMoor's RC-1
This RC-1 has a burst finish and headstock shape that's true to it's inspiration. The X-Trem and the rollerbridge are excellent upgrades and their installation looks clean. The Minitrons have that cool look that suits the guitar perfectly; and the name on the headstock is a nice nod to the original.
Very nice burst, good colour choices. For me the shaky writing detracts from the purity of the body. Maybe look at replacing the truss rod cover later.
Fantastic cherry burst! Good looking, well suited upgrades. Logo is a bit rough, but otherwise a solid build. Well done.
Well blended burst finish that looks great. Interesting upgrades including the master volume mod. B style trem doesn’t look out of place.
Love the burst finish and completeness of the build – it all seems to come together nicely… Great job!

ChefBrianNYC's HBB-5
The classy dark wood finish give it a high-end boutique bass appearance. The speed hole in the headstock is unique and well executed. The custom decals are great, especially the subtle headstock logo. The thumbs up in the picture is ridiculously funny. My only critique is the selector switch is labelled backwards; 'coq' should be for the bridge pickup and 'poule' should be the neck.
This is an absolute glamour. The detail of the headstock, the pickguard and the sticker in the f-hole sets the bar very high for anyone else making one of these.
Super sexy 5 string tricked out with some beautiful additions. Great looking finish and the headstock design is superb. All the little details handled masterfully.
Nice colour scheme with a seriously Rad headstock. Like the lighter contrasting scratch plate. Some of the block fret markers don’t look centred and not sure if that was done deliberately. Stereo wiring plus the printed diagram inside control cavity is a brilliant idea. Sounded good in the demo video too.
There’s nothing I don’t like about this build! It’s a bass, its classic and its beautifully finished.

Nitroburner1000's JM-1
This is a straight up hot rod. Really clean job filling the rout on the back for the original trem. From the pickups to the bridge and the control switches, there are so many great upgrades. This looks like the tailpiece that this guitar is meant to have. My only critique is the placement of the upper strap button looks a little high; other than that this guitar is flawless.
Great upgrades & mods on this. The finish is beautiful. Probably my favourite guitar made from one of these kits ever.
So shiny!! Stunning finish, great mods. Personally, I wouldn't have gone with red tortoiseshell pickguard on a candy apple red guitar, but personal taste is just that. Very well thought out and put together.
Wow, wow, wow. I thought we had seen GOTY last month and then this comes along. This looks showroom quality. Personally not a fan of the red scratch plate but will not deduct points. Perfect score.
Lipstick red and beautiful. Can’t believe that this hasn’t just come out of a shop where they handle all guitars in cotton gloves…

Ozo's AG-1F
An absolutely stunning and unique colour choice. The green is perfectly complimented by the black and chrome hardware. The flamed veneer pops nicely and the maple neck has a great contrast to the body. The logo on the headstock is clean & classy.
I love the colour on this guitar, and it's a real shame the issues with the back weren't discovered earlier so they could be fixed. The front is truly gorgeous though.
You don't see many green SGs, but damn, maybe you should. Great colour choice, subtle burst looks fantastic, I think the clear finished neck suits too. Yellow logo script is a very nice offset.
Nice tropical cool green looking SG where flame maple top has blended well into the basswood bezel edges. My only pet hates are the stock kit truss rod cover that always looks a bit out of place with the squared off edges and also reckon set necks should always be the same colour as where it joins the body. In this case the natural neck finish is good, just an abrupt contrast.
Nicely executed – finish has been nicely completed and the colours come together well.

Spychocyco's JK-1
This metal machine speaks to my heart. The colour flip paint is rad and the custom coloured pickups & rings complete the look. The locking tuners are a nice upgrade, but the truss rod cover is missing a screw.
Everytime I see this guitar I think of '80s era Danny Spitz. It's like a time capsule to my youth. The perfect kit to use that colour scheme on.
Whoa, subtle this is not. Straight out of a glam rockers dream. Colour change, sparkles, hot pink pickups on a pointy guitar. All you need now is a sweet mullet and some leopard print leggings!
Takes us back to the big hair 1980’s era where one of these was a must have axe. 2 tone paint looks great and ties in the purple faced pups and mounting rings. Cool headstock logo but slightly let down with the stock kit truss rod cover.
Sweet colour changing guitar – fits with the big hair and 90’s. Great job!

AndyXLH's TLA-1
Congratulations, this is perfectly equal parts Strat and Tele; it takes a minute to fully appreciate all the subtle nuances. The custom headstock is incredibly original and well executed. The string ferules are near perfect considering they were done by hand. The finish colour was an excellent choice and compliments the maple neck nicely.
Too clever by half! Well conceived and executed from top to bottom. I'd love to own this guitar.
A guitar having an identity crisis. The effort put in to this is remarkable. The headstock by itself is outstanding. Tons of planning and time are evident. Just amazing.
Very interesting take on 2 iconic shapes from the same maker all blended into one. Visually appealing from every angle and impressed with the attention to detail shown on the headstock. Cool demo video too.
I like the hybrid, but a few minor things that don’t do it for me – love the classic brown and off white pickguard, but would have loved to see the chrome and off white carried through the pickups and knobs.

Dedman's FTD-1M
This guitar should be hanging up in a shop it looks so professional. The colour choice is perfectly suited to the body style as well as the maple neck. The upgraded bridge and knobs look like they're meant for this guitar. The chrome pickup rings also add nicely to the overall aesthetic.
Typical Dedman quirkiness. Great finish. The customisations improve the overall design.
Unusual, but tasty. Once again, stacks of effort on show here. Beautifully finished and put together. Unique and quirky. Dedman strikes again.
Another Dedman masterpiece. Nice shade of French Bic lighter blue and top job with the trem mod in hiding the bum dip. Additional points for Union Jack TRC and custom script on neck.
Stunning build by the Dedster again… Can’t understand how he can pull these out at will it seems… Continued great work from the maestro.

MarkAllan's TBJ-5
A really interesting combination of two very different basses. The finish is clean and professional looking with a stunning contrast between the dark stain on the body and the maple neck. The Thunderbird logo and bullet knob are nice custom features.
A very fine job, but it was professional finished and assembled. Like the Fender/Gibson mashup. The string tree arrangement looks ungainly and an alternative style of string retainer would have looked better.
Flamey goodness. Tidy work. Excellent logo and an interesting mash up.
Body looks nice and clean with just the one shot gun cartridge control knob and traditional FB logo. Nice custom headstock logo but geez those large tuners make things look a bit cluttered. I like the chunky bridge.
Nice work. Hope that its great to play!

King Casey's STA-1HT
Another unique combination that's slightly more Strat-forward. The headstock has a great shape that is equal parts unique and familiar. The ferule plate gives the back a nice clean look. Without a third knob on the pickguard the volume and tone knobs look a bit too close together.
Great job. Reminds me of an old school Fender Bullet. Classic colour. Great finish.
Love a hard tail strat. Lovely colour combo, nice features. A solid build. Don't sell yourself short, Mark. This one's a pearler.
Nice work done here converting a Strat body into a Tele configuration. Colour scheme works well and love that headstock logo. Cool demo video too.
Like the hybrid – nicely executed and a nice way to blend the two styles of guitar.

[Brendan]

And to the second top score:
Congratulations AndyXLH! Your hybrid is tres chiq and wonderfully executed.
http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26624&d=1527397475

And the winner - Nitroburner1000 - take a bow! The lipstick red JM has all the judges desiring one!
http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26524&d=1526622775

[nitroburner1000]

Just want to say thanks Judges, youve made my year!

Great job AndyXLH, such a clean machine.

[wazkelly]

Congrats to all entrants. It was a hard field to judge and kudos to Nitro & Andy for coming in as winner & runner up.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[FrankenWashie]

Congrats to all, well done Nitro!

[blinddrew]

Well done everyone, some cracking guitars there. Congratulations Nitro! :)

[Spychocyco]

Congrats, Nitro. That was one of the sweetest finishes I've seen. Just like it rolled off a custom shop floor.

BTW, Brendan, I once had the sweet mullet, but never the leopard-skin leggings. :)

[trv]

Well done to all the entrants, there were some stunning builds this month. Congrats to AndyXLH & Nitroburner1000 for the win!

[ChefBrianNYC]

Thanks for the great feedback!! Congrats to the winners, well deserved indeed.

[Sonic Mountain]

Great work Andy and Nitro. I figured you guys would get the gong, despite the depth of quality in the field this month.

[king casey]

Congrats Nitro and Andy.
Hard lines for the rest (we woz robbed! :) )

cheers, Mark.

[nitroburner1000]

Thanks for the kudos guys, im stoked.

[Dedman]

Congrats guys! The continuing upward sweep in the quality of builds is what gives us something to strive for. Glad I wasn't on the board this month I would have called it a draw across the field.

[Fretworn]

Congratulations everyone. There were at least four guitars there that would have been runaway winners two years ago. The overall quality is getting kind of scary now.

[Andyxlh]

Wow fantastic! Congrats Nitro, knew you would get the gong on this one!
I just like putting things together that entertain me, I'm stoked that others like it too.
I always enjoy seeing the comp each month, and as usual there's loads of great builds, I'd be very proud to own any of these instruments entered in the competition this month.
I'm off to play my guitar now!
Looking forward to the next month of competition...........

[Andyxlh]

Hey, and 'cause I'm the runner up I don't have to have a hand in judging next month too, right 😊? That's no easy job...

[nitroburner1000]

Hey, and 'cause I'm the runner up I don't have to have a hand in judging next month too, right 😊? That's no easy job...

Gulp i didnt realise that, maybe im not so lucky...lol

[dave.king1]

The build quality is becoming depressing, I think I'll curl up into a fetal ball in the corner cuddling my teddy and sobbing :D

Well done all of you, but No.1 & 2 are simply sensational

[Guvna19]

Great Month again. Well done everyone !! so many wonderful builds, joy to watch. Andy, love the tele/strat, so nicely done, the headstock alone is a winner for mine. And Nitro raised the bar very high, calling it early for GOTY, well done guys.

cheers
Guv

[Wayne.Mumford]

Congrats to all, I love being part of this great community and seeing these amazing guitars.
Wayno.

[Andyxlh]

Great Month again. Well done everyone !! so many wonderful builds, joy to watch. Andy, love the tele/strat, so nicely done, the headstock alone is a winner for mine. And Nitro raised the bar very high, calling it early for GOTY, well done guys.

cheers
Guv

Hi Guv
Thank you! I kinda hope someone else will run with the double cut headstock idea on another guitar sometime soon...

[wokkaboy]

congratulations Nitro and Andy, 2 stunning builds. Rest of the entries were top notch too keep up the good work forum !

Sorry Bman been away and too busy to judge but looks like you got enough judges !

[nitroburner1000]

congratulations Nitro and Andy, 2 stunning builds. Rest of the entries were top notch too keep up the good work forum !

Sorry Bman been away and too busy to judge but looks like you got enough judges !

Hey nice to see you back mate, missed ya comments...

[ozzbike]

Congrats to you guys Andy and Nitro. Great guitars.

Nitro can I say wow. I have three red metallic or candy apple red guitars....and yours is just beautiful.

[cork sniffer]

Congratulations guys.
If those two guitars were put in front of me and I was told I could have ONE of them only I'd go madder than I am now, how could one choose, great work.

[nitroburner1000]

Congrats to you guys Andy and Nitro. Great guitars.

Nitro can I say wow. I have three red metallic or candy apple red guitars....and yours is just beautiful.

Thanks so much mate.

[JB RETRO]

The guitar of the month thread is my favourite by far. I love the efforts each month. Well done Nitro awsome finish. Great stuff everyone else. Just gets harder and harder

[secomic]

Stain looks (https://www.virtualpalomarwest.org/sizegenetics-review/) great! Wow looks fantastic. You must be pleased.