Guitar Of The Month For June

[westhemann]

Its the same with yours here, Its done so well that the freaky genious of it is getting missed.

Yeah man..those guitars are completely off the wall but in a VERY soothing sort of way..One of those things that you have to keep looking at to really "get" it..

[Our Souls inc.]

I can't believe I got any votes at all with this line up.

It's gotta be the novelty of the guitar and certainly not the build quality that gets them votes - this month and months prior. .......

but I never vote for myself and I do appreciate the votes I get - be they pity votes or not.

That said - there is no way on earth that the Zulu is a better guitar than Not You's entry.

This month I started off confident but all hope is gone after seeing the other entries.

Lots of head turners and oddities this go 'round.

[pauliemc]

I think were all screwed. The diablo is buildin up such a lead you would need the starship Enterprise to catch it

[Workingman]

I can't believe I got any votes at all with this line up.

It's gotta be the novelty of the guitar and certainly not the build quality that gets them votes - this month and months prior. .......

but I never vote for myself and I do appreciate the votes I get - be they pity votes or not.

That said - there is no way on earth that the Zulu is a better guitar than Not You's entry.

This month I started off confident but all hope is gone after seeing the other entries.

Lots of head turners and oddities this go 'round.

Ok with that I think you should know why I voted for you.

1) I like that you are using found materials. It gives so many possibilites and chalanges that you would not face if you were using fresh wood.

2) You made great use of the carve. I like that it is on the back and thus there but, literaly, not in your face.

3) Related to the first point, the way you met the chalange of the control cavity is great.

4) I just like explorers

That said it was hard not voting for any of the others.

[Our Souls inc.]

I can't believe I got any votes at all with this line up.

It's gotta be the novelty of the guitar and certainly not the build quality that gets them votes - this month and months prior. .......

but I never vote for myself and I do appreciate the votes I get - be they pity votes or not.

That said - there is no way on earth that the Zulu is a better guitar than Not You's entry.

This month I started off confident but all hope is gone after seeing the other entries.

Lots of head turners and oddities this go 'round.

Ok with that I think you should know why I voted for you.

1) I like that you are using found materials. It gives so many possibilites and chalanges that you would not face if you were using fresh wood.

2) You made great use of the carve. I like that it is on the back and thus there but, literaly, not in your face.

3) Related to the first point, the way you met the chalange of the control cavity is great.

4) I just like explorers

That said it was hard not voting for any of the others.

Thank you .

On a side note - has anyone ever catalouged (sp?) all the GOTM entries/winners? It'd be cool to be able to look 'em all over, one by one.

How bout a GOTM calender? I'd buy one!

[Narcissism]

lol, I think the calender idea has been tossed around. But you can find the archived guitars on the main page, or go here

[low end fuzz]

im in the same boat as a lot of people this month; it seemed like i liked everything for one reason or another, so i couldnt vote based on things i liked, basically i had to tally up things i didnt like, to eventually get at a pick;

chef- love the woods; everything on that guitar seems to have figure; im sure in person its like a 3D movie; but i found the horns too 'oblong' or disporportioned for me; originally a front runner

metalhead- all around clean crisp look, great colour and great wood selection; probly would of voted for it if i didnt watch the whole build, cause it was less suprising to see the finished project watchig every step so frequently; sorry

not you- i like this kind of stuff; like the orgmorg style; but not something i could vote for, but something i would have a great time playing

Strandberg- i just hate the ergo style of guitars; so ya, sorry. but it is a great treat to see one in natural wood as opose to a vibrant paint job/gloss black; so kudos on the great work; i was wondering how long it was gonna be before i seen someone use those lace pickups; gonna go listen to those sound clips now.

hitone-i like wood.... maybe some sound clips would have swayed my opinion but its too 23rd Century for me.

Avenger63- once again John you have made a work of pure 'art n soul'; not a huge mirror top fan, but damn that thing looks as professionally done as anything ive seen; unfortunatly the neck join had it bumped from the top spot; so; strictly a 'style' conflict as opose to any 'human error'

maddhattr- liked this, looks very organic and comfortable ,reminds me of an old bigsby guitar i seen, merle travis i think?

but it was preety stiff competition; nothing really critical i could say

RestorationAD- i like this one aswell; it was clicked as a vote but changed at the last moment; kept tellin myself how nice it would of looked wih gold hardware, and something happening on the fretboard; at this point of the decision im getting reeeaaally picky, to try to make up my mind

pauliemc-not for me; i thought i might vote for it when i first saw it, cuz it looked like the back was gold! apparently its black but i still dont see it!

oursouls- if we had a 'Spirit of the month' compitition you'd be on it like gavy on rice; i love the story and the 'green-ness' of a recycled material; and the carving would be as interesting if you did it yourself; i just like stuff like that even if theres an essence of cheese involved, good work, n keep em comin

crow- got my vote this month; and that really suprises me; curly maple topped prs copy; probablythe next most boring thing to me to an ash tele.

but when it came down to it; the carve was flawless; the colour really made the curls interesting; like a sunset burst (?) new coined phrase?)) it looked great with the chrome, but im glad you chose a wraparound bridge to limit the amount of metal on the face; i like the inlays, nice twist on a 'common' inlay theme; and i love the headstock with the walnut and the crow accompining the engraving , it reminds me a cover on some crazy novel;

would of liked to have seen at least one back shot, but it seemed not to effect as much as it should. good luck!

[Zeljac]

my vote went to Metalhead !

:D

simple is the best !

[chops1983]

Great month guys.

Zulu: This got my vote this month. I like explorers but there was something about this one that appealed to me. Mike, i think you did a great job on matching the neck with the carving, your clever little cavity covers and most of all i love the carving on the back. It gives this build history and a story to tell. Great Job.

Paulie: Nice build mate as i would expect from you. The textured material finish isn't really my thing. I know the back isn't very important but the chrome and large cutaway i found weird I really like the strings through the body look instead of a tailpiece and the jack mounted in the cavity cover is pretty clever aswell.

Crow: Looks like a great job and your workmanship looks topnotch. I really dislike the inlays though, very cheap and tacky IMO It kind of ruined it for me. Cool Finish!

Restor: Great build but not really my cuppa tea. Im not sure on the headstock shape. Looks like a definate player though!

Madhat: Very cool build, simplicity is the key of this one and it looks great. I am a fan of a logo or an inlay in the headstock though otherwise it just looks plain.

Avengers: Great build John, your best to date i feel. Not much i don't like about it really. I'm curious though, are the bindings scraped flush or is it the reflection?

Hitone: Cool build mate. Im not really sure of how much work goes into one of these but it looks like alot. Im not even gonna offer any advice on what could be done better because im way out of my league and I speak for myself when i say this, but a build like this probably doesn't get the appreciation it should on this site. Sound clips perhaps?

Strandberg: Cool concept and i love the originality of design and the innovation of your hardware. For me I wouldn't play a guitar that looks like this, not my style really, but i like the use of timber and your crafstmanship. Is there any advantage to the 1/2 inch scale difference between the bass and treble side?

Notyou: Man your guitars are more art than anything else. I really dig the way you go about your work. I couldn't gig with one, but it would be an awesome talking point hanging on the wall. Don't get me wrong i would still play it. The knobs look blue, im not sure they are, maybe its just the photo but black or dark brown would look better IMO.

Metalhead: No introduction needed, exactly what i would expect from you...excellence! But,... im not really a fan of the colour. A black cavity cover and pickups for me please and it would be pretty hard to beat.

Chef: Really nice for a first build. Wood knobs are not my thing and the horns look a little elongated other than that the claro walnut looks beautiful.

Wow probably the longest post ever from me. Till next month!

Chad.

[NotYou]

Thanks for the comments everyone! I didn't assume I'd get votes, but it's nice to know my work is appreciated. You'll see something completely different from me next month.

Notyou: Man your guitars are more art than anything else. I really dig the way you go about your work. I couldn't gig with one, but it would be an awesome talking point hanging on the wall. Don't get me wrong i would still play it. The knobs look blue, im not sure they are, maybe its just the photo but black or dark brown would look better IMO.

That's iron that was painted onto the wood (that's part of the reason I was able to rust it). It does have a bit of a blue hue to it, but it's the same stuff that's on the pickup rings and the headstock. It matches better in person. I think I should have emphasized that more in the photos.

In time, probably a few years, it'll all start turning black. That's my theory at least.

[Our Souls inc.]

Thanks for the comments everyone! I didn't assume I'd get votes, but it's nice to know my work is appreciated. You'll see something completely different from me next month.

Notyou: Man your guitars are more art than anything else. I really dig the way you go about your work. I couldn't gig with one, but it would be an awesome talking point hanging on the wall. Don't get me wrong i would still play it. The knobs look blue, im not sure they are, maybe its just the photo but black or dark brown would look better IMO.

That's iron that was painted onto the wood (that's part of the reason I was able to rust it). It does have a bit of a blue hue to it, but it's the same stuff that's on the pickup rings and the headstock. It matches better in person. I think I should have emphasized that more in the photos.

In time, probably a few years, it'll all start turning black. That's my theory at least.

Try some Osphoric acid to get it black in a couple of days. We use it in automobile restoration as a rust killer, it converts oxidized metal into iron pryrite. ( so I'm told ) lol ... it does turn the rust black and shiny though ... You have to nuetralize it after a couple of days or it gets a white crust on it. Mineral spirits is the stuff to use.