June GOTM

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

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

Please remember:

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

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 (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!

The aim of this build was to give me something with a whammy bar so I can play some Shadows/Hank Marvin instrumentals. Second was to try out some of the gadgetry that forum members had been mentioning during my couple of years membership.

Here are the details of my second build:
- finished this ColorTone Red Mahogany, black Timbermate grain filler, and 50 coats of TruOil.
(the Ash needed a lot of filling and levelling)
- Electronics upgraded
- Grover Mini Locking Rotomatics machine heads
- Babicz Bridge
- ToneRider AC2 pickups

I couldn't bear to cover the grain with the horn on the pickguard so it was cut off.

I am very happy with the result and tone.

The build diary link is in the signature below.

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Great result. Quite like the pickguard mod as well.

That's a fantastic-looking guitar, Greg. Nice work.

2 days later I realized I had not included photos of the back of the guitar.
The sun has brought out the red which is closer to the actual colour and plan for the build.
Hope this is legal. Sorry about the reflection of the verandah rails
Greg

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Entry from Scott Hardwick

"This is the kit that I built for my daughter Aabha who is from India. It is a cloth top. The peacock cloth represents India while the New Zealand native bird represents New Zealand. It is finished in gold hardware because only gold is acceptable for an Indian girl. The cloth was toped with 3-4 layers of a clear two part epoxy then finished with 2k automotive top coat. I also designed a decal “peacock guitars” and gave it a model and serial number of Aabhacaster 1. I upgraded the nut to brass and the pickups are vintage telecaster. All up a nice project. Still needs some better finishing round the neck pickup but still happy

Aabha really loves it and I hope the forum members do to

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tbc...

...and more

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by adam

Entry from Scott Hardwick

"This is the kit that I built for my daughter Aabha who is from India. It is a cloth top. The peacock cloth represents India while the New Zealand native bird represents New Zealand. It is finished in gold hardware because only gold is acceptable for an Indian girl. The cloth was toped with 3-4 layers of a clear two part epoxy then finished with 2k automotive top coat. I also designed a decal “peacock guitars” and gave it a model and serial number of Aabhacaster 1. I upgraded the nut to brass and the pickups are vintage telecaster. All up a nice project. Still needs some better finishing round the neck pickup but still happy

Aabha really loves it and I hope the forum members do to

Attachment 35100Attachment 35101Attachment 35102Attachment 35103Attachment 35104

tbc...

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Gorgeous, that is all

A couple of instant classics already this month!

Beautiful guitar, Scott.

Wow I love that guitar, great job Scott

First build and first post. New to both.
Stain burst. Satin lacquer spray. Thru body strings added. Stainless steel 3/16 pop rivets used as ferrules. Worked a treat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by A.D.

Wow I love that guitar, great job Scott

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Thanks... must admit looks better in person... wow the first entry of the month is nice... going to do a Lyttelton New Zealand tribute tele next... mix of famous artist and local musician motiff. Look up Bill Hammond and Delaney Davidson... you'll get the vibe

Hi, I'm from france so I'm sorry for my english,
here's my first guitar kit : A TLA-1F
I enjoy a lot this experience and I hope you will like my Telecastor ^^ (castor in french = beaver)

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Thx for watching :)

Here's my first build, a HB-4S. It took 2 years to complete. It sat on the shelf for a while and like a lot of you have found some free time over the last while to finally complete the task. I'm pretty happy with the result.

The body is a grey stain with a clear coat and the neck just has linseed oil.

Attachment 35301Attachment 35302Attachment 35303Attachment 35304

Nice colour Tetra.

Wow! Glad I'm not submitting a build this month. What fantastic instruments.

Spalted Maple LP kit
Body: mahogany, spalted maple
Neck: mahogany, rosewood
Hardware: Gotoh
Electronics: Gotoh, kit P90's
Finish: metal & paint (front), black keda dye & tru-oil (back)
Neck work was so good I could achieve super low action (0.2mm at 1st fret & 0.5mm at 12th fret) with no fret buzz.
Plays and sounds amazing!

Attachment 35349
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Quote:

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Originally Posted by KiMT

Spalted Maple LP kit
Body: mahogany, spalted maple
Neck: mahogany, rosewood
Hardware: Gotoh
Electronics: Gotoh, kit P90's
Finish: metal & paint (front), black keda dye & tru-oil (back)
Neck work was so good I could achieve super low action (0.2mm at 1st fret & 0.5mm at 12th fret) with no fret buzz.
Plays and sounds amazing!

Attachment 35349
Attachment 35350
Attachment 35351
Attachment 35352
Attachment 35353

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Is that a PBG kit? Have never seen that variant on the website, unless it's super old...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bakersdozen

Is that a PBG kit? Have never seen that variant on the website, unless it's super old...

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Sure is.
You could be right but I am not sure how old/recent.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bakersdozen

Is that a PBG kit? Have never seen that variant on the website, unless it's super old...

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Yeah I got one I got it off Adam wasn't in the kit list no LP was on the list I've had mine for ages its not finished I got one of them and a p90 LP kit

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KiMT

Spalted Maple LP kit
Body: mahogany, spalted maple
Neck: mahogany, rosewood
Hardware: Gotoh
Electronics: Gotoh, kit P90's
Finish: metal & paint (front), black keda dye & tru-oil (back)
Neck work was so good I could achieve super low action (0.2mm at 1st fret & 0.5mm at 12th fret) with no fret buzz.
Plays and sounds amazing!

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spalted maple you sure about that the p90 LP kit wasn't spalted maple, it's an interesting finish you got there what's that all about?

Ooops - comp closed. New one on the way...

Judges comments are in...

1. GregLane's STA-1
This is a fantastic guitar, great choice of grain filler and stain and 50 coats of Tru oil. truly a labour of love. Let me at that Babicz bridge and grover tuners. The strings are dead straight over those magnets meaning great neck alignment.
Very nicely finished Ash bodied Strat with plenty of tasty upgrades. Modified scratch plate works well and simple headstock logo is all it required.
nicely finished and mods and upgrades look great, nice build
I love this guitar. Awesome look. I’d be proud to have this one.

2. Scott Hardwick's TL-1
This is truly an original finish, I've never seen anything like it. Great background for the choice. I can see why your daughter loves this guitar. The only thing I would probably add on the negative side is that the string trees are pulling too hard on the strings and on an angle, this may adversely affect the tuning of the guitar.
Very colourful and pretty looking Tele. I’m sure your daughter would be happy to own and play this guitar. Might need to re-do string wraps on the last 5 tuners as they have been wound on the inside with tuner turning towards you and it should be other way around as the strings are pulling too much to the left after passing through the nut.
different look but I like it ! certainly an original look haven't seen an axe like that !
Really impressive. Finish look incredible.

3. Zulu's TL-1
Great Mods on this one, the belly cut, the wave pattern and killer burst. Extra points for adding the string through, although if you went to that all trouble some really good ferrules are needed. They don't cost very much and would give an added level of professionalism to the guitar.
Wow, what a stunning slab of timber to work with and love the burst colour scheme. Gold hardware looks great but not completely sold on the stain on front & rear of headstock as that makes the neck and fretboard look a bit stark & plain which is a shame as the rear of neck appeared to have some good grain to work with. Wave shaped headstock and pick guard work well and the tummy cut looks like that how it came from the factory. Well done.
Finish looks great. The pick guard mod is very clever.
nice burst and cool headstock/pickguard shapes. The gold hardware suits nicely

4. qetn's TLA-1F
Love the artistry and the natural finish, really one of a kind. Really cool neck pick up cover. Really dig the headstock shape and inner carve. Cant see the string trees though? it may not assist in getting the right break angle over the nut. Good alignment of the neck.
Gotta love the French flair on display here. Lots of intricate design work all over and that cut-out on the headstock….Wow, impressive.
cool artwork and love the headstock shape and cutout !
A very unique guitar. Great job

5. Tetra's HB-4S
Simplicity at its best. The subtle grey stain, spalt peaking through and natural neck. The chrome looks great on that back drop. I've never built a HB kit but should the strap button be on the neck or the body? It may be right, just looks a little out of place there. Overall I really dig this guitar.
Hoping that 3rd photo close-up on the body is a truer representation of colour as the front & rear looked a bit too dark for my taste. Always reckon set necks should be the same colour as the body leaving natural finish for bolt-on’s. Headtsock logo would have added that finishing touch.
I like the simple look of this bass. Nice build
Love it. I personally would have swapped the truss rod cover for something less angular to suit the curvy bass.

6. KiMT's LP-1S
Interesting build this one. Its not my kettle of fish but I can see the work that has gone into it. I bet those P90's sound awesome. One volume and one tone simple and great. Well done KiMT.
Very interesting as at first I thought photos were monochrome. Hard to believe you would cover a spalted maple top but that scrunched up aluminium foil effect looks pretty damn good. Would love to own a P90 LP and good to see you kept it simple with just 2 knobs. Unique headstock shape but it still needs a truss rod cover. Clear acrylic might be the go.
love the paintwork and sounds like its playing well. Good work
A one of a kind! Such a unique look. Good job.

And with no further ado - Runner up is.....................

Zulu's TL-1
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...1&d=1589636376

And deserving winner:

GregLane's STA-1
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...0&d=1589086630

Congrats both - there's some great builds here

Very strong game this month. Congrats to the winners

Congratulations to the winners. Both are stunning. The others were great. I particularly liked the violin bass.

Brendan and Judges.

Thanks for the very supportive comments about my guitar. That's going to set the bar high as I have just started an ES-1F as my Corona lockaway project.

Regards

Greg

Congrats all entrants and winners.

Nicely done lads, two very tasty guitars. Bar Very High!

Great work again, some lovely guitars in there. Congratulations to the winners. :)

Yes, there are some real beauties in there. It's so cool to see all these instruments that are so unique. Stuff you'll never see at the nearest guitar shop.

Also, I really appreciate the comments on my Bass. I think it's great you do such a well thought out review of each entry.

Congrats to the winners!

Well done to all the entrants.:cool:

Thanks everyone & congrats to the winners. I appreciate the comments - I do enjoy working with unusual materials/finishes. Thanks PBG for the great kits!

Congrats. Every guitar deserved to win this month. Incredibly high quality all around.