Bumper March GOTM

This is a ES-1Q build I just complete.It's only my second attempt at Nitro Lacquer. I was really surprised at how these colors came together. The stains and Nitro lacquer are from ColorTone. I would've loved to use some Dingo Stains but can't have it sent to the US. The back and side is a special blend of Vintage Amber tinted down with a tad of Tobacco Brown. The front was stained in water and alcohol with 3 different colors (black, cherry red, and blue) to achieve this purple, then sealed and cleared over. She's been wet sanded from 600 to 2000 grit then polished with medium and compounds plus swirl remover and buffed with drill attachment. The head stock decal was made at a local company near home. I always wanted a hollow body guitar and now I finally have one. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

The upgrades are as follows:
- Seymour Duncan Jazz Neck and JB Bridge Pickups
- CTS 250K Pots
- Emerson Paper and Oil Capacitors (.22uf)
- Steel Braided wiring
- Switchcraft 3-way switch
- Bone Nut
- Custom Gold Left Headstock Decal

Used from the Kit:
- Tuners
- Strings
- Bridge and Saddle
- Output Jack
- Pickup Rings
- Truss Rod Cover
- Cavity Covers and Treble/Rhythm Plate

Here is my newest guitar
JK-7 Kit (7-String V) - Custom Special

This is a 7 string, set neck and has a 27" scale with 24 frets.

The nut has been upgraded to graphtech.

I have reshaped the body and carved the integrated neck.
This kit was a blank canvas so all the routing and bridge placement was done by me.

The finish is Crimson stunning stains and duramax top coat.
The black base is a spirit stain and the red is water based.

Pickups are pair of matched HOT overwound Deadly Sinners from the UK by Warman.
Wiring is fairly standard with a 3 way toggle push/pull volume and a tone pot.
I retained the bridge but replaced the stock tail piece with string through ferrules.
Fret markers are from Fretlook in Germany.

This is a IC-1 kit
I used Keda dye, for the first coats of oil I used Crimson Guitars Penetrating Guitar Finishing Oil, and for the rest I used Tru oil, 22 coats in total.

mods:
Tonerider pickups
Grover tuners

I also made a bone nut, the cavity covers and the truss cover instead of the black ones that came with the kit.

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Bumper March Guitar of the Month (for Guitars and Basses finished in December 2021 - February 2022)

Due to some issues with previous months, I have rolled the last few months together and will be having a Bumper March GOTM!

Enter your finished guitar or bass here to be judged for the Pit Bull Guitars Bumper 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 the Bumper March GOTM 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!

I wasn’t going to enter but these folk need a competition.
Here’s my ‘Special’s’ buy on an unwanted custom kit.
I made some modifications to the headstock.
More photos to follow.

The intimate side.

Up close and personal.

Headstock. (I know judges…no decal 😉).

Gotta be pretty happy with that!

It looks great DM

[mention]DarkMark [/mention] looks awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Here is my first build PSH-1 kit complete after overcoming a few challenges dealing with glue stains in the veneer and getting my neck angle sorted. Thanks again to the community for all the help.

Finish - Dingo Tone Nullabor Ocre with intensifier coat but not top coat. Back, Sides and Burst Feast Wason proof tint Japan Brown. 30 coats of Truoil on body and headstock. Neck has about 20 coats. Polished with Meguiars ultimate compound

Headstock has a water slide decal from Novo Sublimation who printed my design and serial number. All Parts Schaeler style locking tuners.

Electrics all customized from Kit
- Tonerider AC2 pickups
- 2x DPDT on on on switches (from evatco) wired to run pickups in either split , parallel and series modes
- pickup selector is a musiclily 3 way switchcraft style switch
- pots are mini cts taper
- capacitor is a 0.022 mf sprague orange drop
- treble bleed circuit from real tone
- all wiring shielded where possible
- cable jack is a pure tone multi connect
- bridge is a gotoh 510ub
- running 10/46 strings to suit scale length

Finish
- white pickup rings (eBay) finished with a few coats of tru oil to take back the white brightness
- bone nut from pitbull
- vintage style bell volume and tone knobs from eBay.
- strap connectors from kit
- truss rod cover custom made from a bit of scrap plastic and polished (potentially tm dubious word removed)

Setup with Intonated tuning and a 2mm action. Plays beautifully with no fret buzz or electronic hum.


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My TL-1Tb with gold hardware.
The back of the body is FW Japan Brown stain, tru-oil for neck and the top coats.
The pickguard is red tortoiseshell.
The headstock logo is vinyl decal.

I do not envy the judges this month! :O

Here is my first build. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be but was fun and I am very satisfied with the result.
The kit was an EX1-A but I upgraded the pickups to EMG H4 and H4A and replaced the plastic nut with a compensated nut made from water buffalo tusk.

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OK comp closed - new (non bumper) comp up soon!

Did we get a verdict, or did I just miss it?

Haven't posted yet. Working on it now @Franken.

aharmon's ES-1Q

This really is a visully striking guitar - the well executed finish really makes the quilt pop, and the clean binding helps. The headstock is simple and well done, and the decal is a really nice touch. Topped off with a good choice of upgrades. I feel that the knobs are a little out of place - maybe more chrome would help here, and I would use chrome screws for the pickup surrounds (but that's being picky!)
Beautiful colour and nicely finished through to the headstock. Great upgrades and selections. Overall looking great, but I think I’d go with different knobs.

johnbamb's JK-7
The headstock shape (and logo and finish!) and string-through are stand-out features on this guitar, and really wll done. I love the way the "V" string-through echos the body shape. Along with the choice of hardware it's a beast! The finish is perhaps more subtle than you might expact from an instrument in this genre, but well executed nonetheless.
Great shaping of the body and the headstock. Love the colour choices and outcome. You’ve done a great job on something impressive.

Eitan Yerushamli's IC-1
This is suitably "in your face" for a metal guitar, and the choice of blue to pink (?) fade, while still showing (and enhancing) the grain really works. The blend of black and gold hardware works well, too. It would be nice to see a headstock decal. Interesting choice of a P90 in the neck - I would have expected something with rather higher output.
Interesting colour choices, and can appreciate the overall outcome, but not quite my cup of tea. I do think however that it all comes together to be a consistent package. Great work!

DarkMark's AES-1
This is the guitar I would go to at the music shop. The finish suits the style and is really well done - I love the deep red colour and the burst, and the way the grain is subtly eccentuated by the darker stain. The simple black (?) back and neck are well done (which isn't easy with black.) That's set off by clean binding. The headstock shape is ambitious and yet well done, though I would like to have seen a logo. Hardware choice, especially the floating bridge, completely fits the style. All round, a stunning guitar.

Classic elegance again. Simple colour choices and bling to give the whole guitar that special look. Love the outcome and a worthy entrant!

mrpearson's PSH-1
This is the other ;-) guitar I would go to at the music shop. I love the ochre colour, which works particularly well on this guitar - the flame really pops, and the slight graduation towards the edges enhances the effect. The oil finish looks great, and has a good gloss. Classy headstock logo, and the serial on the reverse is a nice touch. Nice choice of hardware, particlarly with the Gotoh bridge and Tonerider pickups. The pickup surrounds that match the binding are another nice touch. Altogether, evertything goes together really well. With my picky hat on, the toggles do look a bit close to the pickup selector - might be easy to hit the wrong thing if you're not looking closely.

Love the simplicity of the colours. From simple browns and black, everything comes together nicely. Love the headstock logo as well – overall a great package!

Trevor Davies' TL-1TB
A simple oil finish on the top offsets the gold hardware and custom pick guard nicely, and forms a contrast with the sides and back. I love the unique headstock shape and logo, and the stamped serial on the reverse is a nice touch.
So many positives from this guitar – love the headstock shape – fits nicely and has character of its own. Colours work together well and the overall impact is great. Only thing that doesn’t work for me is the black switch cover and pickup surround, but that is being overly picky!

Kinger's EX1-A
This screams "metal" down to the black hardware and colour co-ordinated strings. I love how the red finish is really bold, but still shows the grain. Great choice of hardware, especially for the genre. I didn't know compensated nuts were a thing, but there you go ;-) It looks like the finish in the headstcok doesn't quite extend all the way to the nut, but again, I'm being picky.
Red hot guitar and lovely. Love how the strings match the body and neck. Great overall effect. Nothing jarring and effective looks.

And to the runner up - Dark Mark's Special. Overall there was not a lot between this and the winner and a line ball decision has it as runner up.
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...1&d=1644370360

And the winner mrpearson's PSH-1 - . Overall simple colour choices and a classic look coupled with classy logo and an overall beautiful effect.
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Congratulations everybody. An extreme range of styles this competition. Thanks Brendan. Congratulations mrpearson! Personally I rate Trevor Davies’ Tele above mine, nice work!

Bravo to the winner. Well done, mrpearson. That looks fantastic.

I must admit, it's a bit sobering to see this as a first build - my first build is nowhere near close to this standard ;)

Congrats to everyone and the judges for taking the time to review all the hard work from all the entrants. I honestly didn't expect to win against the other great builds out there this month. Next build is definitely going to take some inspiration from DarkMark's red / black stain.

Great job mrpearson

Congrats to all, really tough field and some wonderful pieces produced.

Congratulations to the winners and everyone else. Some beautiful guitars in this lot.

Congrats to all keeping the bar high as usual

Well done to all the entries. Congratulations Mr Pearson and DarkMark.

FWIW Dark Mark - there was not a lot in it either way.

Awesome work to everyone, and Congratulations Mr Pearson and DarkMark.