September 2015 Guitar of the Month

[Tonyewen]

Ya know we all win anyway lol

[adam]

1. Arzi’s RC-4 “The Cole” http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...6&d=1439276717
Really like what you did with the pickup surrounds. A really nice build that you must be proud of.
Looks great, good colour choice, well built.
A beautiful finish, love the colour and the extra's make this a bass that really grabs my attention. This would jump out at me whilst it was hanging on the wall every time I walked into the room. sensational job
I went back and forth on the body finish for a while, finally arriving at it was a great way to highlight the grain pattern that only appeared in one spot on the body and is a awesome finish and response to the natural grains given to you. Great work on this one Arzi. Points for customization, flexibility as the kit required, and giving it a name. Every loved guitar should have a name... One of the five guitars at a Les Claypool concert
Pure class - great way to kick off GOTM. Fantastic mods, all comes together with this. Like the logo as well!

2. Rabbitz’ LP-1M
http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...6&d=1439366634
The natural colours work well together and the body of the guitar looks terrific. Pity about the headstock not being claimed (as we say month after month). You might also want to remove the protective white dots from the tuners and look at the intonation of your guitar to really enjoy it. A really good first build Rabbitz!
Fantastic simple but looks good. Well built
Traditional bright colour and well made. Head stock looks great but does sream put a logo on me. Very nice work sir!
Beautiful gold finish is eye catching. Points taken away for no logo, customization, and the comment, "won't stay in tune yet" Garage band
Lots of effort has gone into this one. Couple of minor adjustments - e.g., plastic on the back of the tuners and the pups and this guitar would be stunning.

3. Tom’s TL-1A
http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...0&d=1439775075
This is a really awesome Burst. Love the Bigby upgrade and when you upgrade the pickups...Dave Allen Cheetah's (you can thank me later). Name the headstock! Is it intonated? This will really improve your playability.
Very good, well built
Sensational Burst (really nice), I love the Bigsby Add on but you really need to set up your intonation and a logo would finish it off a treat. Great job and an attractive guitar.
Color/burst choice is great, matches and "fits" the grain pattern. Added Bigsby was making this guitar definitely dray my eye and make me want to play it. That being said I had to drop a few points because of no logo or truss rod cover. And i am sad about it. Outdoor festival beer garden
Classy tele. Pretty impressive for a second effort. All looks good, only recommendation would be a personalised logo - it's a great job, be proud of it!

4. Andrew Osborn’e TLA-1
http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...2&d=1440209449
Wow! This finish looks like glass. Really impressive. Some really nice mods to appreciate as well. Colours work well yet so simply together. Getting better all the time Chips!
Really well built and finished
I love it Andrew. A clean job and a traditional look makes me want to grab it and play, Well done.
Very clean and polished looking. Nothing looks out of place on this guitar, and the mention of the fretwork leads me to believe this would be a great guitar to play. good to see a logo, but No truss rod cover. Weezer concert
Another classy tele.

5. Tony Ewen’s ESB-4 http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...6&d=1440125828
As you stated, so nice and simple even if you did threaten us with a 'full-frontal'. You must be very proud of this guitar it looks terrific.
Simple but looks good and seems well built.
EL Natural. What a sensational looking bass! You do need to set up your intonation as per the video's on PB how to's. Your hidden wiring looks great too. A great looker!
Beautiful clear stained back. Kept plain on purpose and it does look a little plain. But the builder likes playing it and that always says a lot! Wires in the picture, not "looking intoned" and bridge pickup and strings not looking aligned are negatives. Elvish name? I love it that he claimed it! Jazz Bar
Nice elegant ES Bass - stunning…

6. Bargeloob’s STA-1
http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...0&d=1440395728
What a great looking Strat. Design is WoW! You have some guitar porn on display here. The headstock is sensational (Pab's work is tops too) and the curves, use of colour and layers make this a great submission.
Great shape and colour scheme. Looks great and shows a huge amount of work has gone into this.
What can I say Bargy. Looks like a benchmark in the customizing side of things has been set. This say's I replicate no guitar and I am an individual. But to be honest I am disappointed that you have not set you intonation up before you entered. This is no less of a guitar than I will be expecting to see from you in the future. Fantastic axe.
This was a really unique finish which I believe probably required the most skill to pull off. coupled with the custom carves and other custom goodies thrown in make this a really high quality looking instrument. love the two tone headstock and am thinking about how I could do something kinda like it. Very professional looking minus the truss rod cover. Probably left off on purpose. Prince concert
What a Strat should look like! Love the character of this one and how it has all come together Barge… Another great build.

7. VH2580’s PRS-1TS http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...8&d=1440818799
Some great work on display this month and this is added to that. Whilst not a fan of a blue guitar this has turned out well. The bridge is really cool too!
Well finished the build looks good.
What a classy looking guitar. Love the bridge and the colour of the cap is a stand out. A lot effort has gone into this guitar and a very nice job you have done.
I liked the finish, color and grain highlight. Cool headstock and very cool truss rod cover. nice custom "devilish" bridge. this was a nice guitar but the lack of the full frontal shot made it so I couldn't get a real good feel for it. Megadeth calling.
Tony - like the choice of upgrades - focussing on the tone - looks like it should be a cracker to play.

8. Luke Michael’s LP-1SS http://res.cloudinary.com/djtbsud8r/...361_sgrhyb.jpg
Loving what you have done with this build. Spalted always look that bit special don't they? A lot of effort has gone into this and it shows. You will get to enjoy and show off this guitar for many years to come.
Well finished and built. Nice choice of stain.
Loud and proud and a sensational looking LP. This to me screams play me mellow and bluesy. A nice finish and a nicely presented guitar. Well done.
I liked the electronics shot showing all the custom caps, pups, and wire. The outdoor shot of the top is beautiful! same for the headstock photo. Im fine with a drawn on logo, but his could have looked better so minus for sloppy looking. Punk rock club
I like the simplicity of the choice of colours - just really comes together well.

9. PabloPepper’s EX-1
http://i.imgur.com/H9INmMIh.jpg
Looking good Pabs. Expected to see something more with the pickguard! But a great effort with the rest of the guitar!
Highlights the grain nicely, well built and finished.
Way to mellow an angry axe Pab. Very clean lines and clearly nicely built , bet she play's like a dream. Awsome job.
Mmmm very nice clean and sleek. I think I could play better than I can if I had this guitar in my hands. and my playing would sound like the future.... I like the color as it isn't seen too often, dark but not cherry. points off for some discoloration around the headstock logo... this would probably be the guitar I would grab out of the bunch... New new wave concert
Great EX - nicely finished and presented.

And the Winner is...

Bargeloob's STA-1

Congratulations, and thank you guys for another 9 awesome entries. Roll on Rocktober!

[pablopepper]

Ooh, judges aren't pulling punches anymore, I like it.

No surprises on the winner though, supreme effort by Barge. Well done sir.

An excellent month, not a stinker among them. Well done all.

[Arzi]

Congrats to Barge! Well earned win!

[Rabbitz]

On ya Barge!!!!

I'll just head back to the Garage and plan for the ST-1. Although as it is also unlikely to have a logo, it may not ever get out of the garage.

[crundes]

Congratulations Barge! a well deserved win :-) Another quality round of builds this month!

[andrewdosborne]

Well done Barge and all other entrants

[wokkaboy]

congratulations Barge and all other entrants, a really great collection of axes this month and the bar keeps rising !
Also well done judges on another tough month

[Gavin1393]

On ya Barge!!!!

I'll just head back to the Garage and plan for the ST-1. Although as it is also unlikely to have a logo, it may not ever get out of the garage.

I think we need to understand that the GOTM is not all about a logo. It's supposed to be a fun competition that encourages builders of varying degrees of expertise to gain insight and understanding of crafting a guitar. Most of us going into a music store will be looking at the headstock and what is written on it. It's how the manufacturer identifies that they built the product.

Building your own guitar is about the thought, the planning and execution of your build. Putting something on the guitar that claims it as yours is that 'little something extra' that we all expect as we would when walking into a store to choose that one guitar that we will leave with. Some forum members have engraved the Truss Rod cover or the Neck plate. Some have put something on the pick guard for example. (Some have omitted Truss Rod covers and lost GOTM comps by doing so - Wokka / DB and Pest - Shutup!)

By not having anything on your guitar doesn't make it a bad guitar. Some of the judges simply feel that if you are making the extra effort to spend time thinking about adding something identifying the guitar as yours and then turning this thought process into action needs to be rewarded.

[keloooe]

What? I never omitted the truss rod cover? On the LP I had it and the Strat didn't have one? The rest I agree with, it is always nice to have those little "tweaks" to the kits to really give it a life of its own, like the carving I did on the Frankenpester!

Congrats to Barge and well done to all of this month's entrants, I'd walk away with ANY of those amazing builds if I saw them at my local music store!