December GOTM

[Brendan]

OK - Comp for the month closed - will open up a new one soon!

[Brendan]

Judges comments are in...
Ozzbike's MMB-5
love the pickup options and nice natural finish, another top build Ozz, well done
Love the stripped back look. Great design & finish choices.
A really slick build, basic clean and nicely finished. The timber tones and black hardware always look good together. Some great electronic mods, well done.
I'm glad this unwanted Bass found a home. I absolutely love the black on natural finish with the Mahogany grainfill on this Bass. Its so simple and beautiful. I especially like the string retainers and unfortunately I can't hear the electronic trickery through the photo. I would have liked to have seen a photo of the finished recessed jack hole, they aren't easy to do. Nice work Ozzbike a Bass you should be proud of.
Well done, looks elegant and very functional electronic mods. I liked the headstock details, simple and clean as the entire bass. I do like the natural honey color combined with black hardware. I am not a bass player, otherwise I would choose this instrument to take my home for sure.
A very natural and understated build perhaps the clear on the body is a slight letdown given that the grain is a little bland, but having said that the finish is absolutely top shelf.
The fit and finish is flawlessly executed and the understated finish would make this a perfect workhorse for the pub circuit.
Sadly finds itself up against a couple of rather imaginative builds that have that extra wow factor
Beautiful, clean, nicely finished build. The black hardware works well with the mahogany, giving it a deceptively simple natural look. Great looking headstock with the fantastic decals, although the uneven tuning spacing grabs the eye from the back. Nice wiring mods and, more importantly, you like the sound. Great job.
This one has been buzzing around for a while and good to see it finished in all its naked glory. Nice & glassy Tru Oil finish which Ozzie seems to have mastered plus an informative build diary that went through many steps before ending up with seriously modded controls setup.

Ahzcay's PB-4
good work on the artwork it goes well with this kit, top effort for a first build !
This bass is a lot of fun. Would love to see a picture of it in full sunlight.
A bright fun build, with excellent painted graphics. Show what can be done with a bass kit, and no mods. The year it took was worth the wait, well done.
Original artwork is nice my friend. I always wanted to do that on a guitar. fairly neat build, everything is where it should be. nice job for a first build.
It’s a classic PB with an astonishing hand painting on the body which looks funky, modern and fun. It will be fun to play some classic funky on this one. I can imagine this thing catching some attention at the guitar shop, it’s unique. In my opinion I would apply the same artwork on the neck and headstock. In general, looks fun.
The second low ender for the month and one that must be described as a work of art, reminds me a bit of the weird mind and wonderful work of Robert Crumb all those years ago.
The finish is right up there with the imagination of the art on the body that seamlessly wraps around from front to back and the little fellas claws hanging over the scratchplate completes the image.
A slight letdown with no headstock decal.
Definitely has wow factor but do you hang it on the wall or play it
Wild paint job, and certainly unique. Great detail. Neck/headstock stain may be a little dark for the body finish, but looks still good. Great first build... and claws on the pickguard!
Good first build choice that has turned out looking great. Some seriously out there hand painted artwork is different and would definitely be a conversation starter. No headstock logo but could be forgiven due to first build.

MaxS' ESPM-1
great photography Max, not sure why there is a piece of wood behind the headstock, finish looks pretty good, missing a headstock logo
Colour looks great, it really suits this style of guitar. The flash reflections do show up some issues with the top coats though.
A great effort with a non modded kit. Despite the minor blemishes, this a rocking guitar. It looks ready for the metal scene. A nice clean look, well done.
Dude, Its not my kind of guitar but I love the colour choices here and you pulled it off. You've got the right idea with the satin finish a few more coats and sanded back up the right grits and that sheen would be to die for. Veneer on the headstock? or just stain? I can't tell, I need more info on your build diary. But overall great work MaxS.
The ESPM has an aggressive design which calls for play it until you cut your own fingers… This instrument looks good in general. Natural wood with black hardware works well.
Plain and understated but in this case I find this very attractive, it has a dark appearance to match it's personality and intended use, it belongs in a loud and rowdy band along with Ozzbike's MMB5 but I don't think that little CUBE is going to cut it somehow.
There are a couple of minor niggles such as lack of headstock decal and the bleed of the dark stain into the lighter areas but no one is going to notice in a sweaty pub when the whole show is going off.
I love the look of a dirty dusty brown finish with black hardware, and this is no exception. Although a little rough in places it still looks great and makes you want to grab it. The strip on the back of the headstock looks ok, but would prefer it to have been either more matched or more contrasting. Nice build and excellent photography.
Guitar looks too mean for a tiny Cube amp. Elegantly understated look. Usually I am critical of two tone effect on set neck builds however natural finished mahogany neck looks good and gives it a more industrial look. Additional headstock strip to space tuners is different and a build diary would have been good to see how it all came together. No logo and also stock kit truss rod cover are things that can be updated at a later date.

Sonic Mountain's YB-4
love the mods to the steam punk you nailed the theme you are chasing, the jack plate, TRC and bridge work is sensational, top build again Sonic !
I know it isn’t exactly what you had in mind originally, but this truly is a wonderful beast. I love the little touches, like the jack and the truss rod cover. Great job!
An outstanding build, with so much awesome work to take in. The brass work tentacles, custom bridge, truss rod cover, cool output jack and love the headstock logo.. it goes on. This is a first rate build, you should be proud, top effort.
Epic build Sonic, the steampunk octo looks great on the bass and your brass work is spot on. I especially enjoyed reading the design inspirations from concept to action in your build diary. Satin finish? yeah great choice man. just the right amount of busyness and dark calm for this one. One negative, I am really really not a fan of F&W stains, they draw moisture from the wood and give a lackluster effect, but that is just personal choice for me. Still a build to be proud of man well done.
Great instrument based on the Y-B4, I loved the finish, looks smooth and very well done. The colors match very well, I liked the way how the bridge integrates with the metal tentacles, looks like an octopus floating in a dark brown sea, its awesome. Attention to details is the key here and therefore it catches my eyes into it.
This has to be one of the most amazing builds that we have seen on this forum, simply stunning from every angle.
Every single component of this build reflects the Steampunk theme and becomes the work of art that it is.
Find a spot in The Louvre for it, possibly not next to the Mona Lisa.
Wow, just spectacular. Concept, innovation, problem solving, integration of components... and true dedication, effort and talent in caving those beautiful tentacles. TRC, jackplate and bridge fabrication are all just fantastic. Finish looks great and works well with all the brass. The only thing that looks a little off to me is the gold switch, and only a little. It just looks a little too gold against the brass, and maybe a black body/ring would work better. Stunning build.
Watched intently as this Bass came to life. Not my cuppa tea but it does look oh so good. It has just the right amount of adornments but not too many to make it look overdone. Great logo and compass is one of the best truss rod cover ideas seen on this forum.

[Brendan]

And the runner up - Ozzbike's MMB-5


And the winner - with a stunner custom job - take a bow Sonic Mountain...

[wazkelly]

Congrats Sonic & Ozzie plus MaxS & Ahzcay.

Even with a small field the quality for judging was still quite high.

Cheers, Waz

[DarkMark]

Congratulations everyone. Must be hard to judge which guitars don’t win, but I was a fan of Mr Mountain’s Steam punk bass.

[Sonic Mountain]

Woo hoo. Such a buzz to take this one, even against a relatively small field. Congrats to Ozzbike, I really feel like it could have gone to your build for being almost the exact opposite to mine with the understated look but fancy electronics. Completely agree with the small negatives such as the gold switch not quite matching.

Thanks to the judges as well, every month you are asked to compare apples with oranges and pick a winner.

I mentioned in another thread that I’m going to retire from GTOM. It’s great fun, but I’d like to see newer builders and people who haven’t won it before have a crack. It’s so good to get the feedback even if you don’t get up and over the last year or so I feel like I’ve progressed from total novice to not totally clueless amateur. Thanks again to all, I’m off to celebrate with a run round the park 🙂

[JohnH]

Congrats Sonic and Ozz! Great builds all around, once again. Never envy the judges

[Bakersdozen]

Onya Sonic and all other entrants!

[andrewdosborne]

Congrats Sonic, Ozzbike and all other entrants!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[ozzbike]

Pretty happy with my 2nd place.

Great win SonicMountain....awesome Bass you made.

Thanks to those who have or do offer congratulations.