May 2016 Guitar of the Month (for Guitars and Basses finished in April 2016)

[Peter H]

and wait...

[stan]

oh my, this month is just sensational... well done everyone

[Muzza]

Come on judges. You're killin' us!

[WeirdBits]

If you distract them they'll lose count and have to start all over again...

[canada]

Hello I would like to add my ST 1 its nothing out of the ordinary but its my first build even though theres not much soldering theres still lots of work to do for a beginer. Thanks Pitbull I had fun and looking forward for my next build

[adam]

Apologies for the delay, it has been a CRAZY week.

The Judges have spoken and we have the results for our Pit Bull Guitars May 2016 Guitar of the Month.

Due to the number of entries, we split the 16 entries in half and asked each Judge to comment on 8 entries; half the Judges commented on odd numbered entries and the other half commented on the even entries.

All the Judges scored all of the entries.

Also, as there is a lot to go through, so this announcement will take 2 or 3 separate posts.

And here are the comments in submission order:


Mulldoe’s LP-1SS.

It is obvious time and effort has gone into this black beauty. Fantastic gloss.

A fairly well finished guitar but the stain is too dark and hides too much of that lovely spalted grain. No headstock logo to say you built it and it would have been much more personalised if you shaped the headstock.

I am a Gibson fan. I love the spalted top. The finish is done really well, but perhaps a lighter finish would have shown it off a bit more.. comes down to taste I guess. Overall great build. Lack of headstock shaping loses points for me though..


Mark H’s TL-1Q.

Never thought I’d see a green esquire but I am loving this. The faded out green matches so well with the rosewood board and white pickguard. Vintage modern vibes suit this kit.

Love the quilting on this! Looks like you've got a great guitar here. Personally would have loved to see some personalisation like a logo / symbol or something like that - that said - great all round guitar!

Overall a really nice job. Only detail that needs a bit of work is the pick guard. I would take it off and even up the space around the bridge. Quite an easy job with a file and sandpaper.


Fretworn’s STA-12.

Fabulous finish the grain pops. The setup looks great a personalised 12 string. Unique… great work.

Well done Fretty, you have brought out that ash grain nicely and the colour suits the 12 string. I would have preferred to see a pickguard cut to suit the mods to the controls. Overall a nice build.

I’ve never seen a Strat style 12-string before. Very unique. I like the natural-ish finish, without heavy gloss. Wiring plan is very interesting as well. A blank pickguard with the right holes for the components would have gained a little better score, but didnt lose a lot. With all the acreage on the headstock, maybe a bit larger logo? I hate to nitpick, but with all these sweet axes, you kinda have to.. nice build.


Lipponen’s TL-1TB.

Rustic looking build here. Looks like it was cut out of an old barn. The finish is a bit patchy but I think that adds to the worn look. Gotta love a bigsby tele.

I like the earthy quality of the finish. You have allowed the timber to "speak" and I like that.
Just a few purely cosmetic things to consider though, clean up the binding! This being the main area that lets the overall build down slightly. No biggie though as you can still fix that one. Also the dreaded glue spot on the back.. these can be a challenge but not impossible to overcome.

Great, classic effect - overall stunning guitar! Very striking.


PappaKen’s ESB-4SC.

You have definitely made this yours. A really nice finish with personal touches on the headstock and body. Well done PappaKen.

First time I've seen this model built. Nice colour choice and the finish appears to be well done. You need to submit larger images so we can see more detail. Logos are a cool touch.

Nice build overall. Again, I like the natural finish. I can’t tell if it’s the picture, or the binding could’ve used some clean up. Sounds like the electronics have been upgraded too. The wood TRC is a beautiful touch!


ClintVincent’s TL-1Q.

This green tele oozes high quality. Lovely quilt top, contrasting colours and high quality finish makes this hard to fault. Well done.
Holy Moley thats noice!

Holy Moley... Really digging the acid green finish, especially as you have not overdone the polishing and left it satin. This really lets the figure of the quilt to leap out. Upgrade choices are good, why not go totally crazy and drop a Babicz bridge on?... You will get a lot more out of the Bareknuckles.

Two green quilted Tele's! Great! Love the look and some red hot upgrades! Love the understated headstock logo!


DMorrison’s TL-1TB.

I really like the finish, nice headstock, very good.

Great colour combination and a well finished axe. This is a sexy looking build.

Wonderboy... I like this a lot. The blue is just awesome. The binding looks clean, the yellowish tint of the sides and back just sets the blue off. I love the headstock shaping… reminds me of a macaw! The logo is perfect. Very nicely done!


Andy40’s LP-1SS.
Always have loved the spalted LP-1SS kits and this one looks great in a deep red. I find the headstock inlay a bit too much personally but the finish was executed extremely well. Loving the gold touches on the hardware.

Sweet spalted goodness! Love the outcome and the upgrades! Hope it plays as well as it looks!

Holy Moley! I had go change my trousers.... Andy, that is amazing..
Can never go wrong using red on a spalt, they were made for each other.
I am almost ready to forgive you for using Tru Oil over Dingotone but half a point off 😜

cont...

[adam]

Cont.

Dedman’s TLA-1.

Very nice, a clean finish. Simple is often the best.

Simple but ultra cool tele Dedman, looks well finished and the ash tray a nice touch. The black and white work so well on this shape.

Very clean, very neat. Great looking axe! Love the logo and the ashtray is sweet looking!


Bluesmartyboy’s LP-1Q.

Appetite for destruction? Great looking figure (almost tiger striped) and an excellent fade too. The cream pickup rings set it off.

Amazing quilting - love how the colours have really highlighted it!

Overall a nice job done. Personally I would lose the R/T disc as it is a bit too in your face and possibly swap out the strap locks with gold. Also there is a bit of bleed through on the binding, this is hard to avoid I know, but with some signwriters vinyl tape to mask it you can avoid this happening.. Next build. Otherwise a nice Guitar.


GenXDave’s JBA-4M.

Great finish the ink/clear finish combo really makes the grain pop. It looks great.

Nicely executed build, the colour combination works well and the finish looks good.

I love this bass. Very straightforward, nice upgrades… The finish is what does it for me. Gloss but not plasticy.. I like how the grain of the ash comes through. Nicely done!


WazKelly’s EX-1.

Loved following this build and the guitar has come up a treat. Love the headstock logo - classic.

The Gold DT has really worked well on this beast... but half a point off for sacrilegious use of Tru Oil over DT 😂
Nice touch with the truss rod cover and upgrades.
I am glad you kept the overall feel of this Guitar simple, Explorer style Guitars are easy to go mental with and over do the decoration...

Loving the simplicity and classic lines - colour reminds me of a XXXX. Nice touches like black hardware and pups!


PeterH’s LP-1.

Wow it is obvious a lot of love went into this build and that makes for a fabulous guitar. Great work.

Love the colour choice and the tribute to your wife Peter. Some nice personal touches. a knockout LP for sure well done.

This guitar is amazing. I love everything about it.. the colour.. unreal! The finish... unreal! Love the headstock borders, the "Vivienne"..awesome! This one takes the cake for me. Excellent build. Well done! Beautiful tribute!


Tuneden’s JB-4M.

Droooool. The relic has been done extremely tastefully and I love the aged parts. This is a bass I would love to have a jam on – it looks like it has been played for years. Well done not going overboard.

This has really captured the Vintage look nicely. Great job and a bass you gotta be proud of.

Great job on the relicing - looks like it's spent all of it's life in a dingy dive joint! Colours look great and an awesome overall effect.


GibsonFender’s JM-1.

This wouldn’t be my choice of colour, however, it is finished and built well.

I feel this build was rushed, was put together in about 2 or 3 weeks I think ? A good effort for first build. Think about a headstock logo to tell people you built it for your next build.

I like the blue... nice clean build.

Darthdamo ES-1G.

What an awesome burst you’ve done on this axe. Nicely transitioned between the reds/oranges. The headstock logo is also extremely nice and you’ve gone the extra mile by fading the face of the stock too. Top quality mate.

Very nice Damo. Bursts are never easy to pull off and you did a great job on this one. The only thing I can suggest is with practice you will get the transition blend ins more fluid so you won’t have a tide line.

Burst beautifully executed, amazing gloss and an overall stunning guitar!

cont...

[adam]

And the Winner is...

I am not making this up... May 2016 is a 3 way tie for Guitar of the month.

In Submission order, the 3 Winners are:

Andy 40's LP-1SS



Peter H's LP-1



Darthdamo's ES-1G



Congratulations to the three of you, these are simply stunning guitars.

[DaveyCustom]

Wow! What a tough crowd to judge! Im not sure how the regular panel does it month after month! 16 awesome builds, 3 amazing winners!

Dave Henry
Davey Custom Guitars

PBG kits
#1) RCA-4 "Kilmister One" April 2016 GOTM winner

[WeirdBits]

Congrats guys, three excellent winners in a field of awesomeness.