Guitar of the Year 2016 (Non-Pit Bull Guitar kits and Scratch Builds)

[wokkaboy]

very nice Gav, what have you used for the natural finish ? love the burl maple top and the upgrades. You know we are going to need a demo to hear that x-trem and GFS pups !

[FrankenWashie]

hi guys,
Here is my 335 from A DIY kit. It's got a burled maple veneer and sounds amazing. I have a very thin finish on it and this thing twangs like you wouldn't believe. I've got GFS pickups (Dream 180s) as well as an xTrem and roller bridge. Amazingly, with just the xTrem and roller bridge, tuning stability is really great. Anyway here she is.

pure and unadulterated Guitar/Wood Porn Gav. So sweet. Does it need a home?

[gavinturner]

Thanks guys. Wokka, the finish is just 5 layers of Tru-Oil and a few more of Acrylic Lacquer. The maple veneer made it very easy to keep the coats to a minimum.

cheers,
Gav.

[Zandit75]

hi guys,
Here is my 335 from A DIY kit. It's got a burled maple veneer and sounds amazing. I have a very thin finish on it and this thing twangs like you wouldn't believe. I've got GFS pickups (Dream 180s) as well as an xTrem and roller bridge. Amazingly, with just the xTrem and roller bridge, tuning stability is really great. Anyway here she is.

This just guaranteed that my build won't be finished until after the New Year!!
Bloody beautiful Gav!!!

[DrNomis_44]

That ES335 looks awesome Gavin, the finish on it looks a lot better than the finish on my HotRod Strat, I'm a bit limited in workspace and also I don't really have the equipment I need to produce great pro-quality finishes, nor do I have the budget to buy the needed equipment, so I had to make do with what I could afford.

[Simon Barden]

Thanks guys. Wokka, the finish is just 5 layers of Tru-Oil and a few more of Acrylic Lacquer.

Very nice guitar Gavin.

So does acrylic lacquer stick to a tru-oiled surface. or was it a tru-oil neck and acrylic lacquer for the body?

[gavinturner]

Hi Simon,
Thanks man. Yeah the acrylic will stick to the Tru-Oil so long as you don't do too many coats. I find that the Tru-Oil can be used to get into the grain and pop it a little, so long as you dont make the surface shiney. TBH poly is much better at adhering to Tru-Oil (even a nice TO surface) than acrylic. I'm trying to get away from acrylic now because of a few major fails, but I've had fails with poly too! Still trying to find the best combo.

cheers,
Gav.

[Simon Barden]

Thanks, Gav.

[wazkelly]

Gotta say Gav that your finishes are consistently awesome. Always shiny and so tastefully photographed to show them off in all their best angles. Well done.

[Gavin1393]

hi guys,
Here is my 335 from A DIY kit. It's got a burled maple veneer and sounds amazing. I have a very thin finish on it and this thing twangs like you wouldn't believe. I've got GFS pickups (Dream 180s) as well as an xTrem and roller bridge. Amazingly, with just the xTrem and roller bridge, tuning stability is really great. Anyway here she is.

Awesome....the Burl always come up so well if you look after it. And you've given it the treatment. Well done.