December GOTM

[Brendan]

Heads up - less than 24 hours until closin' time on this month's comp (last one for the year - the next one closes end of Dec, so is awarded in Jan 2017 - scary 'eh?).

If you've got something ready, get it in soon!

[Brendan]

Entries now closèd. I'll get the axes to judge out to the adjudicators and we'll get back soon!

Watch this space...

[MrMayhem75]

I had my brother-in-law record a quick clip of him playing our ES-1TL. Not trying to influence judging, but I thought you all would like to hear what she sounds like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cjozhi_wiw

[Andy40]

Sounds great MrMayhem. it really looks the biz too!

[wazkelly]

+1 from me too.

[Nickosaurus]

Corker of a month. Good luck all!

[Brendan]

So to the results - and thanks to the judges - it's a hard month this month with three guitars scoring a 10/10 with at least one judge and (2 x 9.5's). Just goes to show how close things are!

Comments first in submission order:
MrMayhem75’s ES-1TL –
Love it. Great tribute guitar. Dig the colour and the shape (see what I did there?). Looks to be well put together.
Nice colour and well finished. Extra points for wrap around bridge and Foo Fighters tributes on headstock and near neck heel on the back.
Awesome colour and finish. Only slight fault for me was the finish on the headstock, very slight orange peel, minor.
Beautiful colour. great finish.
Loved this build start to finish. That blue is stunning. Some nice custom touches too.

Thigg88’s TLA-1R –
Simple, classy blackguard TL-1
Super clean and simple, understated
Understated elegance. Extra points for string through upgraded 6 saddle bridge plus perfect ferrule alignment on the back. Would love to add this guitar to my collection.
Super classy looking guitar. I really like the elegance of the all black hardware and the ever so slightly white body. Simple, straight forward, two thumbs up.
Digging the black hardware on the natural finish – pops really well and gives a nice edge.

Urho’s Behemoth –
That colour, man, what a trip. So glad someone's finally been brave enough to do one of these. Great effort.
What a hectic axe – so much going on from the fretboard to the amount of strings. Beast!
First time I have seen one of these built. Well finished and nice colour choice. Looks like an aftermarket bridge on the Bass however there is a metallic circular bit showing under the leading edge that is probably there for earthing purposes. Slight deduction in points for no headstock logos nor Truss Rod Covers but otherwise great.
Love the colour.
This build is a thing to behold, great finish and double the effort.

Arzi’s TLA-1 –
Cool concept, not my cup of tea, but well executed. Built to a very high standard. Keep it up, Arzi.
Vey original and obviously had a plan from the start. Fret board finish is stand out on this build
This build was great to watch – particularly the techniques to distress the wood. I especially love the way the fretboard has come up around frets 2-4. Very nice.
Amazingly aged work of art. Hard to believe this isn't a 50 year old guitar.
Love the driftwood relic look. Another Arzi masterpiece where he is not afraid to go outside the square to produce a unique guitar. Extra points for upgraded string through 6 saddle bridge plus upgraded tuners.


MarkyKobane’s MK–2 -
Another great tribute guitar. Well thought out upgrades and quality assembly. I would have liked to see a bit more of an organic, realistic approach to the relic, but overall very nice work.
Hey! Ho! Let’s go! Love this tribute build and the goofy headstock decal makes it an absolute winner.
A well thought out Ramone tribute axe.
Nailed the relic look. Love the headstock logo, very artistic and unique.
Knew exactly what he was looking to achieve great finish

IRLGuitar’s TL-1Q –
And now for something completely different.... Wow, what an original and interesting take on the good old telecaster. Retro appeal to the max. Bravo.
That headstock. That quilt. That finish. What a build!
Nice natural finish with some great grain coming through
Clever mods, well finished. The headstock "binding" flaws are the only weak link.
Great swimming pool effect with blue on quilted maple. Good to see some originality on headstock design with faux binding plus unique scratch plates. Extra points for upgraded 6 saddle bridge and twin blade bridge PUP. Only blemish appears to be a glue line running all the way down from behind bridge to end strap pin otherwise looks good.
At first glance this was my winner, beautiful colour on the body great touches with pick guards and headstock. Just needed to get the taping of the bindings etc right. For me had most wow!

Depicted Minds’ LPA-1 –
Great wow factor, I just wanted to keep looking at it. Good attention to detail and finish
Love the bold grain showing on the top plus the unique cool headstock shape, logo and binding. Good contrasting colour scheme. Extra points for hardware and PUP upgrades and for also fitting gold knobs.
Epic take on an LP-1. The chrome dome knobs are the wrong choice, but other than that, superb. The natural finish neck sets the black of the body off very nicely. A class act, hard to follow.
You made the most of that awesome ash grain, and have added some high quality touches. Really nice subtle burst on this one too.
Great job all round.

Julio’s MK-2 –
Very nice. I am loving the orange, an unusual but excellent version of this guitar. Great job.
Simple & classic.
This guitar looks like it was ripped out of the ‘70s with that vintage finish. Leaving the headstock natural was a good choice.
Well finished with good contrasting colours plus original headstock design.
Great build with some nice touches.

Gallagherbuilds’ TLA-1 –
A classic T-style with a worn look.
Loved the detailed video build diary. Sanding sealer applied first probably prevented a lot of grain popping that can be achieved with Ash timber. Good to see a unique headstock shape and logo.
Classic looks for this TL-1. A bit more care could have been taken with the finish and the position of the logo, but a well rounded instrument.
Not the biggest fan of the headstock shape but that’s just me being traditional. Great quality of finish and a great choice in hardware.

[Brendan]

And the runner up?


MrMayhem75's ES1-TL! Great work and the demo went down well. Overall a killer guitar and any of the judges would love to have that one in their collection.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner
And the winner this month by a nose is..... DepictedMinds with his LPA-1. The popping followed by classic silverburst look had an outstanding effect on this guitar and the judges felt this was the best guitar this month! Congratulations DepictedMinds.

Great build DepictedMinds - congratulations and well done!


Congratulations to everyone who entered - all were great guitars, however there can be only one winner!

[Simon Barden]

And the winner is...

[Simon Barden]

Well done everyone. And especially well done to MrMayhem75 and Depicted Minds. Both great guitars.