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Brendan
09-02-2019, 10:56 PM
March Guitar of the Month (for Guitars and Basses finished in February)

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

Please remember:

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

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 February (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!

shr1mpy
15-02-2019, 06:24 PM
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)

Fretworn
23-02-2019, 10:18 AM
Here’s my AST-1FB.
Tru-oil neck back & sides. Top popped with FW Mahogany, then FW Golden Teak, with Tru-oil top coat.
Grover tuner upgrade
ST wiring upgrade
Tonerider City Limits pickups
Gotoh bridge. The block on the Gotoh bridge is so big I can’t fit the tremolo cover
Realparts barrel string trees
Tusq bridge
Gotoh oversized strap buttons.

dave.king1
23-02-2019, 06:45 PM
A couple of real kickers to get this month rolling.

FYI. I've just strung my PBH-4 BEAD and man is it taking some getting used to, I need the notes below the normal low E for one song

Fretworn
28-02-2019, 03:29 PM
Brendan, do we need to have a minimum number of entries? Maybe we should roll this into the April GotM?

Brendan
28-02-2019, 06:16 PM
We'll see what we get tonight. If we only have two entries, I'll see how shr1mpy and you feel.

wazkelly
28-02-2019, 07:00 PM
A couple of real kickers to get this month rolling.

FYI. I've just strung my PBH-4 BEAD and man is it taking some getting used to, I need the notes below the normal low E for one song

Sounds like you need a fiver.

Brendan
04-03-2019, 02:36 PM
Given we only have two entries, we've decided to roll this month into April - may be a bumper month!

Brendan
04-03-2019, 02:38 PM
Due to only having two entries for the March we've decided to roll over the comp to April. Apologies to the entries at this stage - but we figured that this was the best way forward.

Brendan

shr1mpy
04-03-2019, 05:29 PM
All good. Looking forward to checking it out

Booooooom
05-03-2019, 04:48 AM
Here's my RC4 Rhythmplucker..

Born 3rd February after ten months of sanding, sanding, more sanding, routing, staining, working, sanding, living, sanding some more, more staining, oiling, more oiling, assembling, disassembling shimming, reassembling, disassembling again, building, waxing, soldering... then finally playing! Build diary here (https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=8523)

Its a stock RC4 kit build with an Allparts Ric style bridge upgrade and different knobs as I chipped the supplied ones when I first took them off. I shimmed the neck pocket (to tweak the angle) and had to make a new scratch plate as the supplied one didn't fully cover the cavity once I set the neck in place for a 34" scale length. I finished it off with a larger truss truss rod cover from an offcut of scratch plate material with custom 3D printed logo.

It's my first build and was unplanned as it was bought as a present for me. This forum is really great for information, encouragement and when you're unsure of anything. My main goal was to build something that was playable and hopefully gigable... then I saw a blue burst Ric which was all the inspiration I needed but took me way, way down the finishing route. That said, its done both gigs since it was finished and has become my main go to noodler too!

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ozzbike
09-03-2019, 08:27 AM
Boom,

That is a very very nice Bass guitar you have there. I love the Blue and the build thread was a great read. Awesome weapon of lowness. :)

Paolo
10-03-2019, 07:43 PM
Hi,
Here's my GR1-SF Lefty first build. Took a while to get started and settle on the finish. So glad I went with Tru Oil and the stains.
Wiring was done 4 times! Thanks to forum for help there.

Body Stained with 2 colours mixed from Feast and Watson Golden Teak and Maple with some black mixed in for headstock.
with up to 20 coats of Tru-oil on body (less on neck). Face of the HeadStock I used Polyurethane to resist string scratching.
Custom pick guard made from five layers of veneer, stained and finished with Tru-Oil.
Upgraded Pots and caps
Orange drop and Fidelity Upgrade.
Bigsby Tremolo
Roller Bridge from Real parts
Knobs from Real parts
Vintage braided wiring
Really enjoying playing it.

30196301973019830199

Paolo
10-03-2019, 07:47 PM
That is very Cool Boom!
Love the colour.

Bakersdozen
12-03-2019, 01:02 PM
Here's my ST-1 build.

Fairly stick standard, however upgrades are;
Tusq nut.
Tortoise shell PG
Flamed maple headstock veneer
Bourns mini 250k pots
Orange Drop Cap
Treble bleed
Musiclily alnico 5 pickups
Switchcraft jack
Blender wiring
Roller string trees
Neck finished with TruOil
Fretboard Dingo Wax

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Bakersdozen
12-03-2019, 01:03 PM
Some more pics
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30226
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190313/cbaaf7cc8e87eeb13a75eee7128e64f1.jpg

Sonic Mountain
12-03-2019, 01:13 PM
Hah, I'm a sucker for that colour combo Bakers :) Some great looking guitars in here this month.

Dedman
12-03-2019, 01:41 PM
Final touches done today.
TL1-TB Kustom
Kustom ordered with double binding and the thumbnail markers ( ordered white factory guy's head exploded and I got black).
Built during a very trying time in my life so it's far from perfect. Duesenburg trem, tuners, knobs and switch top. Bridge is a Vibramate with Goto compensated brass saddles. bridge pick up is a Tone Rider Hot classic, neck is a GFS rickenbacker voiced Retrotron which splits on the volume knob.. Pick guard is my own design and first attempt at cutting one from scratch. Nut is bone. Paint is auto acrylic, pale blue front and back, white on the sides, neck is done in Tru-Oil
Sounds great, nice to play. The Duesenburg trem is a vast improvement over the original Bigsby, not sure, why maybe a softer spring, certainly more adjust-ability in the arm but strung with Ernie Ball Paradigm 9-42's the trem is just so touch sensitive. Love it.

CascadiaGuitarGeek
20-03-2019, 12:06 AM
This is becoming a stacked Guitar of The Two-Months competition! So many awesome builds. Everyone's colour choices are looking great.

step1507
23-03-2019, 09:01 PM
OMG It's Finally finished, It's taken way to long, with many setbacks but I'm quite pleased with the finished product
there have been a few changes from the standard kit

Grover Locking Machine Heads
Bone Nut
Tonerider AC2 N&B Pickups
Allparts Pickguard and Bracket
and a Guitar Sauce Wiring Loom with Orange Drop caps

The finish on the front and back is just a generic brand stain in red and cedar the neck is Feast and Watson black and all with 20-25 coats of Tru-oil (I lost count) and 5 coats of Gilly Stephenson’s Carnauba Wax

loved the build but so glad its finished

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Bakersdozen
24-03-2019, 05:40 AM
This is turning out to be a bumper edition GOTM [emoji3] judges are going to have a lot on their plates this time round.

DarkMark
24-03-2019, 07:09 AM
Respect to Fretworn and shr1mpy for combining with a larger group.

step1507
24-03-2019, 07:38 AM
Here are some more photos

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JohnH
25-03-2019, 09:59 AM
A tough month for the judges!

Brendan
27-03-2019, 09:16 PM
And an entry from Ian (marshi):


Latest build, its a custom order based on the GS-2. I modified the kit to include: Floyd Rose tremolo, reverse Ibanez headstock and rosewood fretboard. I then modified the stock tremolo to include an Allparts brass block. Other modifications include a Gotoh locking nut and Floyd Rose fine tuners. The guitar was finished with the Dingotone finishes, Bushfire Sunrise on the body and clear on the neck. I also added a timber back electronics cover to match the body, as best as I could. Plays great and has a lovely blues tone from the neck pickup but shreads from the bridge. I modifed the wiring to include a volume control for each pickup and the 3 way switch, no tone. Great fun building this guitar even more fun to play. Thanks everyone PitBull Guitars.

Simonism
30-03-2019, 10:31 AM
Hi folks,

First post ... Simon here (moniker: "Simonism").

I've just finished a thinline quilted maple neck ST guitar. Thanks PitBull!

This was my second PitBull build and it was even easier than the first. The first was a jazz style bass guitar and then I just had to have a six string to go with it.

The AST-1QB "Thinline" kit was fantastic.

I've popped in a few pictures because it came out so well. Is the March comp still open or does this roll into April?

Anyway, I've got to tell you that I took to heart the advice about being careful sanding the thin maple veneer and I so did ABSOLUTELY no sanding on the guitar or neck at all (other than the fret ends, which needed a little filing and sanding so as not to rip my fingers to shreds, and where I sawcut the headstock shape). I'm a wimp but I'll say that again because it speaks volumes for the quality of the finish on this kit. No sanding of wood whatsoever other than headstock and fret ends.

There was no glue to remove. The untouched kit looked great. Maybe I'm not all that fussy?

The finish was quick and easy - I used red, yellow and a little black Rit dye, dissolved in water, to get some colour on the body. All mixed in one pot - starting off yellow only, applying, adding some red, applying, adding some black, applying, etc. More colour and more black towards the outer edges, to make it darker and to blend with the black edge strip (whatever-you-call-it). I used a little less of the same pot colours on the neck. Then six or seven coats of Tru-Oil, all on one warm Melbourne day. No steel wool, no rubbing, no fuss. Oh, and did I say no sanding.

I quite like the outcome.

I bought two upgrades - Grover locking tuners (which I fitted after briefly trying the stock ones, and they're great and absolutely worth it) and Tonerider Vintage pickups (yet to be fitted because I wanted to try the stock ones first, and stock is not bad at all to my old ear. I play through a Fender Frontman 15R that I found on someones nature strip and easily replaced the intermittent input jack, pumping into a pair of Tannoy 15" Gold Monitor speakers - woohoo.

Thanks once again to PitBull for your great offerings. I've had a huge amount of fun for not a huge amount of money!

cheers
Simon (Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula
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G-Axe
01-04-2019, 08:51 AM
That's beautiful, Simon. Love the subtle burst!

Brendan
01-04-2019, 08:48 PM
OK comp closed. New one to start soon!

B

Brendan
01-04-2019, 09:00 PM
I've popped in a few pictures because it came out so well. Is the March comp still open or does this roll into April?


Yep - you made it into the April comp (same as the other guitars in this thread).

The month is based on when it is judged and announced...

wazkelly
14-04-2019, 08:09 AM
No results yet???

Brendan
14-04-2019, 05:11 PM
And the comments - quite a few guitars so its taken some time to get the results back...
Shr1mpy’s PB-4
What a great Vintage amber stain with satin finish. Love the bass job here the neck is straight and true and I'm sure I can see some sort of veneer on that headstock. Amazing first build, tidy effort.
Nice and classic and simple – what’s not to like! Good consistent colours, nice shiny finish – overall great guitar.
A nice, clean, classic PB. Great first build and definitely has that 60's feel.
Top effort for a 1st build. Nice colour choices and there is some really interesting grain on the headstock but it still needs a logo.
A nice traditional build. I like the colour choice, sets off the pickguard well. A good straight forward bass, nice job.

Fretworn’s AST-1FB
Fretty this thinline strat is just built to be played. Gold stain top, natural finish on the back and neck, love the ensemble. I bet that tremolo is second to none and joined over those toneriders to a tusq nut to those grover tuners, this would be a tone monster!
I love the look of the back and neck. The top is great, but I think the red pickguard detracts a little for me. Nicely finished and excellent upgrades.
Mix of colours doesn’t do it for me. Nicely finished and work done is great. Being super picky (need to in this comp), the only issues I could pick was with the headstock – the logo hasn’t blended in as well and rounding off of the headstock is a touch inconsistent – but these are only minor.
FW Golden Teak finish always look good and works well with the gold hardware. Love the headstock shape and elegant logo. Lots of tasty upgrades too. Not a fan of the Red scratch plate and reckon pearl white may have looked better.
nice slick build, love the subtle but cool headstock logo. The amber tones work nicely with the red pickguard and gold hardware. Some nice detail on the flame. Eye catching without looking too busy.

Booooooom’s RC-4
Nicely finished! Love the use of the RC style bridge as well, while keeping the other components. Colour is nicely done and consistent. Overall effect is good. Personally keep the bridge pickup cover off – it tends to get in the way if you’re playing fingerstyle.
Blue with white plastics really suits these RC's, it looks fantastic. Although, with blue under any oil I worry it may green up over time. Nice TRC and great overall look. Are they the stock strings with the thick wind short of the nut on the E?
This build is simply stunning. The stain and satin finish are, for me, jaw dropping The white scratchplate sets off the blue stain. Its extremely tidy work. I hope to see more of this work in the future Booooooom.
What a stunner. Blue is such a hard colour to get right and you nailed it with plenty of Ash grain on display too. Bonus points for Truss Rod Cover and personalised logo plus custom made single ply scratch plate.
These basses always look the business, and this is no exception. Love the blue, it goes so well with the white and chrome. Cool logo! A lot of work here to make a great looking bass.

Paolo’s GR-1SF
The GR's just look classy, even the lefties. I love the colour and look of the finish, and a great headstock face. Strangely, the custom pickguard doesn't quite work for me, not sure why. Very nice first build.
Nice personalisations with the pickguard . Colours all sit together nicely and the overall effect is awesome.
Nice to see a lefty pop up. What a slick machine - that two tone style finish looks traditional and classic - this will always look good. Smart use of roller bridge with the Bigsby. Love the wooden pickguard. lots of work here and it shows, super nice build - you need to put your name/logo on it!
Paolo this build is understated and gorgeous. That wiring is a job in itself, you;ve done a really great job wiht the set neck and custom pickguard! look at it!. Sorry points off for using furniture stain on a guitar as awesome as this, but it still looks awesome.
Very subtle antique look and vibe going on here. That headstock is awesome and your own logo would add the finishing touch. I like the rounded off truss rod cover as most kit ones are more angular and can look harsh. Kudos on the custom pick guard too.

Brendan
14-04-2019, 05:11 PM
Bakersdozen’s ST-1
Super cool retro S type build. Love the way the racing stripes are colour matched , really pulls it together. Soft blue tones look great, nice build
Overall effect is sweet, but not my pick of colours. Racing stripe is great, but I’m looking for it on the back! Logo is nicely done and hard to see any edges. Nice mod of the custom shop logo as well.
BD this is a great build. I love that flamey flame flame veneer. great decals. Not a big fan of the colour choice but that's personal taste. great finish and great attention to detail. There are some really great upgrades except for the tuners, sorry they stood out for me. Hopefully you can upgrade the, this guitar deserves it. Great work mate.
Love the headstock veneer, great flame. Nice finish and colour combo, not sure about the stripes not continuing to the back. A nice clean looking ST. Well done.
Vey bold colour scheme. Not my cuppa tea but looks well finished. Love the flame maple on headstock plus front & rear logos. Sensible upgrades too.

Dedman’s TL-1TB
A real departure from previous guitars Deddy, but no loss in quality. Overall I like how this comes together for a great overall effect.
Stop it! just stop Dedman. Just take my money. Very tidy work yet again. All of those extra (expensive) sprinkles are nothing short of awesome, although not very Dedman colour, I'm a fan of that colour choice! beautiful finish too.
It’s a Dedman guitar , but its not black.... Pale blue is the go this month for F type guitars... and it looks retro cool. Sweet single/hum setup and like the pickguard shape. That Duesenberg trem is a ripper , and love the knobs and switch. In true Deddy style, this is a nice hot rod.
A nice custom kit with excellent upgrades and mods. Well finished and a nice look, but the colour is a little pale for my tastes. Nevertheless, it suits the style and look it was designed to for.
Nice pastel blue shade where the attention to detail is right up there with all your other builds. Would love to hear how it sounds.

Step1507’s ES-1
Great overall effect. Colours are classic – red white and black and go together well. Hope it plays as well as it looks. I got a thing for ES type guitars at the moment so this build speaks to me. Classic look from the front and interesting colour choice for the back of the neck. The colour of that body stain is just perfect. I only wish the photos were a bit better (in focus) as its hard to see the quality of the finish. Those Tonerider AC2's will sing. You clearly need to do another build step, please do a build diary this time. great job mate
Lovely ES, red always looks good on these, nice satin look on this one. You’ve worked with the 4 panel top nicely. I’m pretty sure after finishing one of these you get a bachelors of wiring, so well done. A nice looking build, with nice headstock and logo.
A build of two faces for me. I love the colour and look of the front and that combines well with the dark back of the neck. I also love the wood tones of the back and sides. Each look great but they don't really gel together for me. Really nice upgrades and still a classy looking build.
Gotta love a traditional looking Red ES guitar with a few subtle upgrades including control knobs and scratch plate. Good to see a headstock logo but for a few bucks a more rounded off truss rod cover would look better. Personally I reckon that all set necks should be same colour as what they join. The black looks great but just doesn’t fit in with the overall theme.

Marshi’s GS-2
Love the natural colours of the front – the book matched flames come out beautifully. Overall effect is classic and sweet!
I can instantly tell that this has been stained with colourless Dingotone. The quality of the colourless stain shows and I bet the lustre of that guitar is just beautiful. Whilst the type of guitar is not my thing its a great build, reverse headstock not sure what the pickups are but the zebra bobbins look very cool.
I love the blonde top, really nice. A clean but still aggressive look with the zebras and black hardware. It's the shame the photo of the back isn't as well lit as the front, as I'm sure it would look even better. Well done.
Perfect choice with natural finish to show off flame maple top. Rear looks good too, especially with custom made timber control cavity cover plate finished in same colour as the body. Were you tempted to do tremolo cover the same as that would look superb. Only nit picking thing is the daggy stock truss rod cover which probably best suits the sharper angled headstock.
really nice clean look that just screams shred. All the black fixtures look just right on this. The top hasnt given you a lot to work with, with only a hint of flame, but the colour combo you’ve chosen works really well. Cool logo and zebras look just right on this.

Simonism’s AST-1QB
First one in a comp and a beauty! Well done, love the brown tones and not pushing too hard. Overall great!
A quilted thinline strat, you beauty. Great stain colour choice with pearloid scratchplate. wish there was a build diary. The only issue I had was I wish the headstock had a decal and a bit more work as it detracts from the body, but for a second build great work Simon.
Just beautiful. Love the colour with the subtle changes, it works so well with the flame and plastics. The neck is not too blonde, not too dirty and matches perfectly. The only detraction for me is the headstock face looks a little plain in comparison to the rest. Great build.
Whilst the surface may not be glassy smooth, you nailed the colour scheme. White pearl scratch plate makes the world of difference and compliments the flame grain popping. Rather large oversized headstock shape that might need some string trees and could do with a logo too.
How cool are these semi hollow ST guitars. Nice quilt on this one, and you’ve come up with a nice amber tone, nice treatment on the quilt. A nicely executed build, and the colour tones work well. Needs a name on the headstock!

Brendan
14-04-2019, 05:16 PM
Now votes were very close across a couple of guitars with about 4 within a whisker of each other. But the runner up is...
Booooooom’s RC-4!
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30159&d=1549580906

And the winner by the thinnest of margins...
Marshi's GS-2
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=30376&stc=1&d=1553692577

Fretworn
14-04-2019, 05:38 PM
Congratulations guys! Glad I wasn’t voting.

wazkelly
14-04-2019, 07:20 PM
Another hard month for judges.

Congrats all entrants with Marshi & Boooom for reaching top steps on the podium.

Bakersdozen
14-04-2019, 07:28 PM
Congrats guys. What a super GOTM

Booooooom
14-04-2019, 07:45 PM
Wow! Honoured to be runner up amongst such high quality builds and not an easy task for the judges. Congratulations to Marshi, that’s a fine looking axe - well done!

Yes, it was the supplied E string with a short thicker winding. Strings have since been replaced with some rotosounds that fit fine.

Thanks to everyone for comments and encouragement which were greatly appreciated. I’m currently planning on building a couple of bass cabs but have my eye on another kit once they’re finished...

Dedman
14-04-2019, 08:18 PM
well done chaps, well deserved wins!

Andy40
15-04-2019, 03:32 AM
Well done guys, really top notch guitars.

marshi
15-04-2019, 08:00 AM
Hi all

Thank you all and congratulations to everyone on amazing builds, they're all beautiful instruments that inspire the individuallity I think we all desire. Thank you Brendan for uploading my entry, thanks to Adam for helping me with my custom order and DB for the great finishes. Like I said recently to Adam, once you've played an instrument you've built there's no turning back. Without a doubt Pit Bull Guitars have made making guitars both easy and fun but most of all inspiring. Thanks again. I'm truly honoured .

shr1mpy
16-04-2019, 07:29 AM
Well done to everyone. And thanks for the great feedback. Will do a 6 string strat next I think

Simonism
22-04-2019, 12:11 PM
Thanks Brendan, thanks Adam, well done Booooom and Marshi, and thanks everyone! So much fun and so rewarding, to be in such esteemed company.

I might have another in me, yet ...

Simon(ism)