February GOTM

[Brendan]

"February Guitar of the Month (for Guitars and Basses finished in January)

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

Please remember:

For Guitars or Basses finished on (or before) the end of January.

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 closes at the end of January (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!"

[Bakersdozen]

Here is the list of upgrades done to this kit;
Grover locking tuners, mini rotomatics (PBG upgrade)
Tusq Nut (black XL 6060-00 to suit Epiphone)
MusicLily adjustable wrap around bridge (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pro-Chrome-Tune-O-Matic-Wraparound-Adjustable-Bridge-For-Les-Paul-LP-Guitar/142943084713)
MusicLily Ceramic Humbuckers (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pro-Zebra-Neck-Bridge-Humbucker-Pickup-Set-For-Strat-Les-Paul-Electric-Guitar/142943113176)
Guitar Family Recessed Jack Plate (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/GuitarFamily-Metal-Jack-Plate-For-Tele-Electric-Guitar/32469518839.html)
Switchcraft output jack
Speed Knobs (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Custom-Electric-Guitar-Speed-Dial-Knobs-Control-Knobs-Black-Gold-For-Les-Paul-SG/173228400787)

Electronics;
2 x BOURNS MINI 500K AUDIO TAPER POT
Orange Drop Cap
PBG Treble Bleed
2 x DPDT (on/on) switches (https://www.jaycar.com.au/dpdt-flattened-actuator-mini-toggle-switch/p/ST0547)
3 way selector switch (standard from kit)
Followed this wiring diagram (https://guitarelectronics.com/2-humbuckers-3-way-toggle-switch-1-volume-1-tone-series-parallel/)
(ignore reference to push/pull pots - I used the mini DPDT switches in their place)

Finish;
Stain and intesifier coats of DingoTone Nullabor Ochre
The final coat didn't really take very well, so I stripped that back and went with Spray Poly (Cabbots exterior)
Dingotone Wax on the fretboard

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190109/d5e007a13874bdc8e4b15994752c816b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190109/2b2bfdc77ac0f9509a61cb3c0224edc4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190109/00c55f5ebd9e0c5a4463070b6bc54eff.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190109/3bd42c955a30d91f947243e9f1a6a0e0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190109/5ba36553c6e76109b1e8dfbadd08f773.jpg

[FrankenWashie]

That's going to be tough to beat, Great Job Mark!!

[Bakersdozen]

Some more pics

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[Bakersdozen]

More pics...
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[Bakersdozen]

Final Pics
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[Bakersdozen]

That's going to be tough to beat, Great Job Mark!!Thanks FW, much appreciated!

[blinddrew]

Starting strong this month!

[sharpy]

Nice work Mark your PRS-1H looks awesome.

Thought I'd submit my first build. Took on the GR-1SFG through December and January.

Had some challenges with the finish. Started staining it but then couldn't get a nice smooth finish with the polyurethane so went with paint instead. Not the finish I was going for but happy enough with it.

Moved some of the control knobs around so it was more like a Gibson ES-275.

Anyway here are some pics.

Cheers,
Tony

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[Bakersdozen]

That looks sharp Tony! Well done, mate.

[FrankenWashie]

That’s really lovely Tony, I really dig the gold and maroon scheme, great work!

[sharpy]

That’s really lovely Tony, I really dig the gold and maroon scheme, great work!

Thanks FrankenWashie. Was good to finish my first build. Only problem now is I'm already thinking about my next one ;)

[BuffaloGhost]

Nice work Mark your PRS-1H looks awesome.

Thought I'd submit my first build. Took on the GR-1SFG through December and January.

Had some challenges with the finish. Started staining it but then couldn't get a nice smooth finish with the polyurethane so went with paint instead. Not the finish I was going for but happy enough with it.

Moved some of the control knobs around so it was more like a Gibson ES-275.

Anyway here are some pics.

Cheers,
Tony

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29706

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I love this. What’s the paint process? That gold looks lovely. Like the anniversary series.


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[sharpy]

Thanks BuffaloGhost. Honestly nothing special with the painting process. Just a couple of cans of spray paint and a can of clear coat. I had stained the body and applied polyurethane so I had to sand off the poly first but then it was just a case of masking the binding and spraying it.

[Coganite]

This is my Thanoscaster.
I used dartfords wood dye to get the colour, innumerable very diluted coats as I didn’t want to overpower that grain.
Grain filled with a darker mix on the neck for a dirty effect.
Multiple coats of Tru Oil on the body polished with 3000 grit wet and dry as well as three coats on the neck.
I decided against using the pickguard included as I couldn’t stand the idea of drilling into that body.
In its place I used a p90 pickup cover routed out to hold the lipstick in place.
My original plan was to use a hot rail hunbucker in the bridge but I decided against it for numerous reasons.
I used a template from a 50s tele for the headstock and added the “pinched” effect on the outer curve to distinguish it as my own.
No real upgrades from the original parts supplied in the kit as I was really happy with the quality of all of them.
https://i.imgur.com/M5J5Bpm.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/4RwioYa.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/rJ5Lko6.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6D0jVDP.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/TL7Y0RT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/zGxocMj.jpg

[Bakersdozen]

Looking great Coganite!

[Coganite]

Thanks mate, I very nearly didn’t enter when I saw the other builds entered. Both incredible looking guitars.

[Hardcoretroubadour]

Love the purple, great finish

[sharpy]

Nice work Coganite. That looks really good. Think my next one might be a tele.

[Richy17]

Some great entries so far this month. I wasn't sure about entering this but i figure i may as well have a crack.

Heres my JTL-1 kit "The Blasteroid"

Modifications & Upgrades

Both horns cut and reshaped

Reshaped the forearm bevel

Made a custom pick guard

Painted Block "inlays" on the neck

Countersunk washers instead of a neck plate

Brass screws for pick guard and selector switch (To accent the brass bridge saddles)

4 Layer 2K Paint

Joe bardon Vintage Tele bridge

Kluson tuners

Tonerider AC2 Neck pick up

Tonerider Vintage Plus Bridge pick up

PIO Cap

4 way oak grigsby switch

Recessed jack socket

Overall i really enjoyed this build, Its really nice to play and has that tele twang about it but with a little more oomph in the neck. The string through drilling didn't go the best but i learnt some valuable lessons there. Probably if i was to do it it again i would take a little bit more off the top horn.

Currently planning my next build. Its going to be quite different to this :p

https://i.imgur.com/qXd9rsd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nVupSo7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BttF6UA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CMMxtES.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/UR8qgeq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Fv2OwOh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/x0paJQM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ue5aNY9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GPIqwDA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FOCgKnB.jpg

[Coganite]

As much as I would love to win this, there would be no shame in losing to any of these excellent builds.

[BuffaloGhost]

The blasteroid is amazing. Beautiful period colour and enough space age void to be jetson esque!! Love it. I’d buy that!!


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[Brendan]

As much as I would love to win this, there would be no shame in losing to any of these excellent builds.

Never any shame in coming second / third to the quality of builds that people enter...

[Dave the Pom]

Beautiful kit to build. No problems except for fitting the wiring loom which was a bit pf a paint. Intonation spot on and it plays really well even with the supplied pick ups. Will now get a a RC-1 when in stock

[corsair]

So much yes!!

[Sonic Mountain]

Nice work. There is someone with your exact user name on the Mopar market forum.... but I suppose there are a few Poms named Dave

[Dave the Pom]

HI Guys & Gals. Just finished my FTD-1M kit. This kit was a gem to build. As i'm in the UK had to use Crimson Guitar dyes for the colour with 15 coats of poly on the top. Wiring a bit tricky to install but not too bad. Guitar plays well through a Maui 5 amp via a Zoom G5 board. Guitar set with a lowish action and gives great sustain. Would definitely recommend this kit.

[Dedman]

nice work, great to see another one finished!

[Coganite]

As a fellow U.K. resident do you mind if I ask, did you get hammered with with customs charges as well when your kit arrrived?

[Bakersdozen]

HI Guys & Gals. Just finished my FTD-1M kit. This kit was a gem to build. As i'm in the UK had to use Crimson Guitar dyes for the colour with 15 coats of poly on the top. Wiring a bit tricky to install but not too bad. Guitar plays well through a Maui 5 amp via a Zoom G5 board. Guitar set with a lowish action and gives great sustain. Would definitely recommend this kit.Looking great, Dave!
Crimson stunning stains line?

[chrissyinbkk]

As a fellow U.K. resident do you mind if I ask, did you get hammered with with customs charges as well when your kit arrrived?

We all do here mate....

[Fretworn]

HI Guys & Gals. Just finished my FTD-1M kit. This kit was a gem to build. As i'm in the UK had to use Crimson Guitar dyes for the colour with 15 coats of poly on the top. Wiring a bit tricky to install but not too bad. Guitar plays well through a Maui 5 amp via a Zoom G5 board. Guitar set with a lowish action and gives great sustain. Would definitely recommend this kit.

Hi Dave, so you can be considered by the judges can you provide the other photos asked for in the instructions. Don’t want to have you disqualified on a technicality.

[BuffaloGhost]

We all do here mate....

I certainly did. :(


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[blinddrew]

I certainly did. :(


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Yeah, tax + customs charges + extra postal handling fee. It's quite a chunk to factor in. :(
Worth it though :)

[AndyKilburn]

Here's my first build, hope you like it. All stock apart from the saddle trapeze which I replaced and also the truss rod cover which I made myself by cutting out and shaping a sheet of 2mm perspex. The finish is 3 coats of royal blue stain, 6 coats of finishing oil then a couple of coats of Renaissance wax. Took several attempts to get the finish right and both the front and back were fully sanded back at least twice to start again from scratch but I'm over the moon with how it turned out.

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[Brendan]

Comp closed - will open a new one soon.

[Brendan]

Sorry for the delay in the results - work had me out of town for a few days...

So the feedback - again - I can't express my gratitude to the lads who month in and out provide feedback. There are a group of about 14 who are involved - and I try to post when I've got over 5 results. Judging takes time and there is no reward for a judge beyond the thanks of the forum... Entrants - please check the rules for entries - as above, it takes time to judge and its unfortunate if your guitar is undersold by not meeting the photo requirements so it can be judged effectively.

BakersDozen’s PRS-1H
Love the elegant simplicity – zebra striped pickups, natural colours, nice and glossy, cool headstock logo, etc. Only thing that clashes slightly for me is the knobs – but not sure what would work here…
classy build, the colour goes well with this shape and the finish and upgrades look great.
The colour really suits this build, further enhanced by the narrow dark edge burst/accent. The dark edge is a little uneven in places, understandably, but the overall effect is excellent. The stain variation on back actually adds to the look for me, and works well with that beautiful top. The neck, headstock and logos look great. Some nice upgrades topping off a fine looking instrument. Intonation?
Nice natural tones with just enough stain to show off the grain. Looks like a veneer on the headstock and love the logo and faux carbon fibre on the truss rod cover. Some very tasty upgrades too.
All of a sudden I desire toffee! Beautiful guitar. I like your subtle mods, although I kind of wish there was a little more “meat” left on the headstock.

Sharpy’s GR-1SFG
Nicely finished – overall sharp effect. Great work! To me it looks slightly unfinished without a logo and it’d be great to have an update to the truss rod cover to link in with the rest of the theme for the guitar.
love the colours and the finish, this is a stylish looking GR well done ! Gold hardware looks tops !
I love the look of this from the front with the gold hardware or from the side, but seeing the gold neck and sides with the maroon/wine front and back starts to clash a little for me in the photos. This leaves me torn as I really do love it from the front. I would have loved to see the headstock shaped just to add a touch more character. Overall a very nice, albeit conflicting, looking build.
Interesting colour scheme that turned out good with a strong 50’s retro vibe. Close up of the top appears to be showing some timber pores and not sure if that was intended. Squared off headstock looks a bit blunt in comparison to rest of the build and it would look great with a logo. Top effort for a 1st build.
The mix of crimson and gold is unique. I would have loved to see some shape to the headstock to go with the curvy body.

Coganite’s TLA-1S
Love how you have a bit of flame coming through the spalted maple. Nicely finished and a great outcome… Is the neck pickup set up right – from the photo it seems somewhat recessed.
looks great the spalted top and ash body. Pity there was a bit of glue on the top. Nice looking tele !
The top has almost a burnished metal look about it with the flame, spalt and purple stain. Fantastic. The nice blonde neck with the purple and black hardware all work together well to produce a very cool look. Nice job with the Soapbar cover mod for the neck pup, but it looks like you need some black in the pickup rout. Tasty build.
Light purple stain looks good and not overpowering the spalted top. Top job on shaping the headstock and good to see your own unique logo too. Very clever idea to use a P90 pickup cover in the neck cavity to allow you to show off more of the body. Stock parts are generally OK but suggest it may look better with plastic removed from back of tuners.
That’s one of the most successful purple stains I can remember seeing. I’d probably lose the plastic saddle for the neck plate so it doesn’t overhang the body.

Richy17’s JTL-1
Awesome classic retro vibe to this guitar. I like the little things like the serial number on the back of the headstock, etc. Trying to think of some constructive criticism and not sure I can find any!
love the reshaping and the colour goes well. Cool mods and upgrades. The pickguard shape gives it a great flow. Well done !
Tele, surf, grunge machine... a bit of everything in here producing something unique. Not a colour I'd normally go for, but I love this with the grain showing through and perfectly matched with the large white pickguard. It's modern 60's in my mind. Drilling string-thru holes is tough and although they're a bit wonky here they don't detract too much. The slightly aged look of the neck and headstock, block 'inlays', logos and vintage tuners just suit the look of this perfectly. Great mods and a vision realised. Wow.
Wow, what a gorgeous looking guitar. Stunning grain on display through the Turquoise coloured finish. White scratch plate, aged tint on neck and fret board with block inlays all complementing one another. All is forgiven on the string through ferrules as the rest is superb.
I’ve never been a fan of the shape of these kits, but you have redeemed it with your thoughtful redesign & a great colour that suits it perfectly. I would be proud to own this guitar.

Dave the Pom's FTD-1M
So much to like here, but can’t give much feedback as its missing a couple of photos!
not enough photos to see it in detail, but the one pic I could see looks pretty good
A good looking build and the colours suit the kit nicely. It's a shame there aren't more photos to actually judge it.
Only 1 photo to look at which shows what looks like a good attempt at a dark blue burst finish on the body & headstock. Good to see a logo too but unfortunately we cannot see enough (back, sides and a front close-up) to judge the whole guitar.

AndyKilburn’s RC-1
Nicely done – simple and classic logo, nice consistent colour and gloss – overall a great guitar!
the royal blue goes well with the white guard, are the tuners upside down on purpose ? Cool looking axe
A nice, clean and elegant RC. The blue works well for the kit and with the white plastics, although perhaps a touch patchy on the headstock (the wax maybe?). Unfortunately, the tuners are flipped and installed on the wrong sides, so there may be some tuning instability in the long term. The custom TRC looks good with a nice logo. Great neck colour and classy overall look. Nice job.
Good first build that looks pretty close to Riccy Midnight Blue. Hard colour to get right, particularly on what looks like basswood with just a hint of grain poking through. Would have liked to see back of neck in same colour as I always reckon set neck guitars look best done that way. Bonus points for making your own truss rod cover and personal logo.
Really impressive. Great colour. The back-to-front tuners distract me though.

[Brendan]

And the runner up:

BakersDozen's PRS-1H
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=29646&stc=1&d=1546921714

And the winner -
Richy17’s JTL-1
https://i.imgur.com/FOCgKnB.jpg


Congratulations to all entrants - these guitars are all of a very high standard!

[Andy40]

Big congrats to Bakers Dozen and Rich17 well done guys and beautiful axes

[FrankenWashie]

Congrats to all entrants! Well done to Bakersdozen and Rich17!

[Bakersdozen]

Well done Rich17! An absolute honor to be a runner up behind your beautiful axe. She really is a stunner. And really well done to all the other entrants and those who also finished but didn't enter the competition. We have a mind blowing calibre of guitar builders here and such a great community vibe.

[Sonic Mountain]

Congrats guys, well deserved winner and runner up from another strong field. I would have given the Blasteriod the nod as well, really great looking guitar.

[wokkaboy]

congratulations Bakersdozen and Richy17, quality builds as were all of the entries. I scored those 2 entries the highest

[Richy17]

Oh damn was not expecting this! Especially with all the other great looking builds this month. Particularly Marks PRS, I thought that was an easy winner for sure. Thanks everyone for the kind comments and congrats to everyone else who entered this month 👍🏻

[DarkMark]

Congratulations Bakersdozen and Richy17! One of the things I like about the forum is seeing what other people get up to. Often it is something I would never consider or think would look good. If someone said, “Hey DarkMark, I’m thinking of staining the flame maple BROWN with a thin black line. What do you think?”.
DarkMark, “.............(crickets).”
Or, “Hey DarkMark, I going to stain my spalt maple purple.”
DarkMark, “Arhhh..........(crickets).”
But they are right up there with some of my favourite guitars I’ve seen on this site.

[blinddrew]

Lovely work fellas!

[AndyKilburn]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Regarding the tuners, with this being my first build I wasn't aware there was a "right and wrong" way for them :( I had noticed that having them this way round meant the tuner protruded out from the side of the headstock about a centimetre lower (ie, closer to the nut) which I preferred purely from an aesthetic point of view. Having them the other way (which I now know is the right way! :( ) the tuner for the D string protruded out really close to the corner of the headstock where the top bit curves in.

So my question is - is there any harm in leaving them as they are or am I likely to run into problems with tuning etc? Swapping them over means I'd have to make good the screw hole which might not look too good as filler won't take stain so I'm guessing you'd be able to see it. It tunes up and plays lovely so I'm inclined to leave them unless I'm heading for problems. Any advice would be gratefully received.

[FrankenWashie]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Regarding the tuners, with this being my first build I wasn't aware there was a "right and wrong" way for them :( I had noticed that having them this way round meant the tuner protruded out from the side of the headstock about a centimetre lower (ie, closer to the nut) which I preferred purely from an aesthetic point of view. Having them the other way (which I now know is the right way! :( ) the tuner for the D string protruded out really close to the corner of the headstock where the top bit curves in.

So my question is - is there any harm in leaving them as they are or am I likely to run into problems with tuning etc? Swapping them over means I'd have to make good the screw hole which might not look too good as filler won't take stain so I'm guessing you'd be able to see it. It tunes up and plays lovely so I'm inclined to leave them unless I'm heading for problems. Any advice would be gratefully received.

If it works for you, run with it. Not sure there is going to be any tuning issue. You will be tuning up in the reverse direction to normal but it wasn’t an issue for you and you’re in tune now (I assume) so no biggie.
you can get some filler products that will take stain, or you can fill those holes with tooth picks and wood glue if it does bug you.

[wazkelly]

Another quality bunch of axes and congrats to Richy's 17 & Bakers Dozen's.

[shr1mpy]

As a drummer, I thought I'd give bass a go and have a bit of a new hobby building it, then learning to play. Wanted to go for that 60s p bass look. Vintage amber stain with a satin poly fishing. Neck done in 7 coats of tru oil. Frets with lemon. For my first build, I'm pretty happy with it (and no mistakes!!!)
https://i.ibb.co/8zMTcy1/20190215-074141.jpg (https://ibb.co/8zMTcy1) https://i.ibb.co/tq7j3gk/20190215-074034.jpg (https://ibb.co/tq7j3gk) https://i.ibb.co/yWt6s1v/20190215-074247.jpg (https://ibb.co/yWt6s1v) https://i.ibb.co/sbSmPV7/20190215-074315.jpg (https://ibb.co/sbSmPV7) https://i.ibb.co/qM5ST27/20190215-074016.jpg (https://ibb.co/qM5ST27)

[shr1mpy]

Sorry just saw the comp was closed

[Sonic Mountain]

All good I'm sure it can be moved to this months comp.

[Fretworn]

Congrats all!

[Fretworn]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Regarding the tuners, with this being my first build I wasn't aware there was a "right and wrong" way for them :( I had noticed that having them this way round meant the tuner protruded out from the side of the headstock about a centimetre lower (ie, closer to the nut) which I preferred purely from an aesthetic point of view. Having them the other way (which I now know is the right way! :( ) the tuner for the D string protruded out really close to the corner of the headstock where the top bit curves in.

So my question is - is there any harm in leaving them as they are or am I likely to run into problems with tuning etc? Swapping them over means I'd have to make good the screw hole which might not look too good as filler won't take stain so I'm guessing you'd be able to see it. It tunes up and plays lovely so I'm inclined to leave them unless I'm heading for problems. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Depends on the quality of the tuners. They are designed to go the other way so that the string pressure will pull the two gears together. With this configuration string pressure will pull the gears apart slightly.