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Guitar Of The Month For September


Guitar of the Month for September  

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It was going to be the kelvinator it really was and the the less tall came up It's simply an amazing guitar I would very much like one of each

I'd be happy to own both but my vote went to the less tall.

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Voted for the Kelvinator! I think the rustic look and the materials orgmorg has used are just fantastic. Normally I wouldn't like the "aged" look on a guitar but this one works well. The bridge is probably what makes this guitar, while the pickguard reminds me of the old fridges and fits with that theme nicely.

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carousel

This firebird was my choice all month long until the Kelvinator came up. I'm a big fan of the cleanliness of the whole thing. There's nothing "fancy" going on, but it just looks fantastic.

scottyd

As usual, this is yet another great looking bass. It just doesn't jump out at me.

mattharris

The whole concept is extremely cool and looks well executed. But... I'm not thinking the woods work well together - not enough contrast.

zyonsdream

I can't say anything bad about this one either. Very well executed. It all works well together. That zebrano has a lot of character.

orgmorg

Dude! I wish I had 1/10 of your creativity. Piecing these gutiars together from what ammounts to junk off of the scrap pile behind the barn is brilliant. You're just one of the many on this board whos work I love and makes me hate you out of sheer principle. Great stuff.

argytar

When you're building an ax, you can't go wrong with one of the tried and true classics that have stood up against the test of time. You also can't win GOTM with one. At minimum, it'd be an extremely uphill battle. That isn't to say the ax is sub-par in any way, just that it doesn't stand out in any way.

pinefed

THIS is how you win GOTM with a basic LP, or at least make a serious run at it. If you didn't say anything, it could be easily mistaken for a full-sized LP, which is the whole point.

I think this is the first time there haven't been any entries I DIDN'T like. I'm a picky turd, so this is quite a surprise. Well done, gentlemen,

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I voted for scotty for the third time in a row. Last month's entry was my favorite from him, but with 4 strong entries in 4 months he deserves to win one of these contests. The rest of the instruments were great (especially the two Pauls), but if I had my choice of which one I'd like to own, it would have to be scotty's bass.

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carousel182: It's really cool to see a firebird and this one has an interesting mix of Fender and Gibson features. I really liked the natural maple top with the F hole. It was a cool combo. I'm not sure that the zebra works with the maple or at least I would have liked to see an alternate wood used for a headstock cap. All in all it's an interesting build and would be fun to play.

scottyd: I love the top! I have some canary that I just haven't been able to use yet so it's cool to see some in action. Everything looks spot on with this build. I personally thought that the walnut clashed with the polished canary wood where the neck meets the body on the face of the guitar. when I look at the pictures that is where my eye goes every time. It just sort of sticks out to me.

mattharris75: I love the story for this build. He is likely the youngest person in history to receive a custom built guitar....umm ukulele! The shape is interesting but yet a bit hard to imagine at full size. One thing that really stood out for me with this build was the finish. I love that color and the pickguard really worked well with the color choices. Not so sure about the bridge though. I might have matched the color of the tail piece.

Orgmorg: Dude, I always love your stuff and I need to get with you to see about building me one of these rustic recovery guitars. This one is not my favorite but I absolutely love the tail piece and thepickguard. Danelectro should be proud of you! On this one I thought that the back wood was more interesting than the front.

Argytar: This is a very clean and classy Les Paul copy. I'm a fan of the finish. More red than open grain face. Just enough to look great. Everything about it looks standard Les Paul issue to me. However, I'd avoid putting the man's name on a guitar he hasn't endorsed but I'm a strict fanatic on stuff like that.

pinefd: I thought this was a cool build when I first saw it but to me a guitar has to have form and function and I did not really think it was a viable instrument for my collection...until you posted more links to someone playing it. This really helped me understand that this is not just a high end kids guitar but a functional musician's instrument. All of the finishing is done nicely and everything looks to spec except for the pickguard. I don't recall seeing a les Paul where the guard went that far into the bridge but I could be wrong. All in all, an interesting build.

Since I posted a guitar for the competition I threw a null vote. Although, It was a tough month and it was hard not to vote for myself just ensure I don't go voteless with this crowd in competing against this month!

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Carousel 182

I love everything about this firebird, even the binding which I don't normally like .... If it wasn't for the F hole I may have voted for it. Don't ask why, I have never liked them on guitars.

Scottyd

Again another gorgeous natural looking guitar, I like the curves, the quilted top, Where there may have been a truss rod cover I think the laminates, esp the Paduak stripe, but the control knobs to big for me.

Mattharris

I bet this is brilliant "in the flesh" I wouldn't think the pics do it justice, your god son is going to love it.

Zyonsdream

This is the one for me this month. Zebrano is one of my favourite woods, it just looks so good. The Gold hardware really

stands out on this one. It just looks small in the owners hands.

Orgmorg

Recycling don't you just love it. The hickory is stunning, tail piece from a fridge, piece of aluminium lying around exellent build.....oh dear I just noticed the "F" hole

Argytar

I have a Les Paul styled guitar on the go now, well the body shape any way. This looks just like a factory one to me, I suppose there are differences but not being a LP connoisseur I wouldn't know. I do like the finish a nice colour red with the maple pattern coming through

Pinefd

Again like Argytar' LP, I couldn't tell it from a regular one, apart from the subtlety of the graphics.

So there you go, just my opinion doesn't make it right. The standard of these builds as allways is superb. Well done guys

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Carousel 182

I love everything about this firebird, even the binding which I don't normally like .... If it wasn't for the F hole I may have voted for it. Don't ask why, I have never liked them on guitars.

Scottyd

Again another gorgeous natural looking guitar, I like the curves, the quilted top, Where there may have been a truss rod cover I think the laminates, esp the Paduak stripe, but the control knobs to big for me.

Mattharris

I bet this is brilliant "in the flesh" I wouldn't think the pics do it justice, your god son is going to love it.

Zyonsdream

This is the one for me this month. Zebrano is one of my favourite woods, it just looks so good. The Gold hardware really

stands out on this one. It just looks small in the owners hands.

Orgmorg

Recycling don't you just love it. The hickory is stunning, tail piece from a fridge, piece of aluminium lying around exellent build.....oh dear I just noticed the "F" hole

Argytar

I have a Les Paul styled guitar on the go now, well the body shape any way. This looks just like a factory one to me, I suppose there are differences but not being a LP connoisseur I wouldn't know. I do like the finish a nice colour red with the maple pattern coming through

Pinefd

Again like Argytar' LP, I couldn't tell it from a regular one, apart from the subtlety of the graphics.

So there you go, just my opinion doesn't make it right. The standard of these builds as allways is superb. Well done guys

f Pine mini LP
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I went for the "face melter" Zyonsdream SG...

All the entries were great as always but this one did it for me as it would appear to be exactly what the new owner was ofter. Some lovely wood grain and a simple no nonsense guitar with enough of a twist to shred away without if being yet another JEM or similar clone. A little of classic familiar design, no extra frills and designed to play and do what it does well and looks beautiful and distinctive. Despite my apparent addiction for trick electronics, I appreciate a good guitar that does what it does well even more.

I like the firebird but the F-hole and wood choice didn't do it for me. It lost some of it's character with the loss of the body "step" and hooked and distinctive peghead.

The canary bass is beautiful, but some of these are starting to look a bit like "furniture" for some reason. I would like to see some of the bass innovations in construction and electronics brought into the six string area, but to me they are starting to look very similar and the blending of so much wood does not provide the visual relief for the eye. I bet it sounds great, I'd like to hear the piezo thing for instance.

The little 4 string really pulls my heart strings for it's intent, but I don't think that it works for me design wise or has the kind of whimsy that building a guitar for a child could offer.

The kelvenator really appeals to me too, and I have voted for a relative in the past, but it is starting to become a little kitsch. For sure though I would go to the exibit...quirky is perhaps not enough.

The Les Paul...well it is a beautiful Les Paul and a great achievement to be even make one, but as others have pointed out, nothing particularly "new" enough to win a GOTM.

The Les Tall...is remarkable, and it is tempting for the novelty factor, but when it comes down to it, it is not really playable and fails for the purpose of my vote the same reasons as some of the others...it is a Les Paul, it is a little Kitsch, it relies on novelty alone, etc

....

No one should feel let down for a low vote count...so often this competition has seemed fickle in its results...there are so many different reasons for attracting a vote. It is good that in recent times people have spent the time to give all of the entries some positive and constructive feedback.

All of these entries are inspirational and will influence people for a long time...they may well be influenced to make their own kids a guitar (a beautiful thing and there have been a few threads recently with this intent), to build their own classic (always an ambition), to try a new twist to a familiar design (minimizing an SG or hollowing out an unlikely Firebird) or build a fetish LP they can hide from the wife or place on the mantle. :D

The GOTM is a showcase and a reference for years to come. These entries will be referred to for years to come and just being an entry inspires and encourages others...GOTM hasn't had a clear "winner" for a long time now, the standard is so high, but the entries a major contribution to what makes PG such a unique and valuable forum and community...there really isn't anything else quite like it...

pete

ps...be gentle on me next month...it will be my first time... :D

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The GOTM is a showcase and a reference for years to come. These entries will be referred to for years to come and just being an entry inspires and encourages others...GOTM hasn't had a clear "winner" for a long time now, the standard is so high, but the entries a major contribution to what makes PG such a unique and valuable forum and community...there really isn't anything else quite like it...

Amen, brutha! I went through every entry page going back as far as there were still enough pics left to make it worth while. I saved a bunch of pics that really wowed me that I can draw inspiration from. Usually, my favorite wasn't the winner.

Yes, these are just as valuable resource as the various discussions are. :D

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I'd like to thank everyone so much for their votes and their kind words. And considering the top notch guitars in the field, I'm honored to have received as many votes as I have.

But I want to clarify something. It seems that some people are confusing my entry (the fully playable octave guitar), with my non-entry (my 1/2 scale Less Tall non-playable model). The octave guitar is a fully functional, playable guitar with a 14.7" scale length, very similar to that of a mandolin or tenor ukulele. Not only is it playable, but it will play a major role in the CD that Matte Henderson is currently working on. Here is a quick clip of Matte playing this octave guitar: http://www.mattemusic.com/smith8valester.aif

I hope that helps clear up any confusion!

Thanks again for everything!

Frank

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My apologies, I did not fully read the original thread enough to distinguish between the various "models". Regardless, while I greatly admire the work that has gone into it and there is something incredibly "cute" about it...and EVH made good use of a similar octave guitar on 'little guitars' that was ultra cool...I would still most likely vote for the SG, but all of them are so close and worthy in their own unique and different ways.

I feel a little bad if the Argytar Vagabond which is a full sized version of the Less Tall in many respects and may not get as many votes yet is still a similar technical achievement for a home builder but without the "novelty" factor of the cute attraction factor and as a player may receive more use.

Given the field, I went for something I have not seen before that modernized a design (peghead, khaler, simplicity) a nice use of wood (I love the way the neck grain blends with the body seamlessly at the back) that embodies the "shredder" thing without looking at all like an Ibanez while hinting at the old school rock (AC/DC) thing as well.

But as always...each to their own and each will have their own reasons for voting...I suspect the Less Paul will do exceptionally well in another close race and I hope that people can bring themselves to consider each by their own criteria and not mine or anyone elses...

Sorry to have misrepresented the Less Paul...it is playable and incredibly cute and a very worthy entry...

best of luck...

pete

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Pinefd Didn't you build a custom case as well??

I did, but again we're confusing the 1/2 scale Less Tall with the Octave Guitar (which is the guitar in this GOTM competition). I built a replica 1/2 scale Lifton case for the Less Tall, and for the Octave Guitar, I used a modified tenor ukulele case, which turned out to be a perfect fit. Here's a link to that 1/2 scale Lifton case I believe you're referring to: http://images.lilypix.com/displayimage.php...&fullsize=1

Edited by pinefd
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Pinefd Didn't you build a custom case as well??

I did, but again we're cofusing the 1/2 scale Less Tall with the Octave Guitar (which is the guitar in this GOTM competition). I built a replica 1/2 scale Lifton case for the Less Tall, and for the Octave Guitar, I used a modified tenor ukulele case, which turned out to be a perfect fit. Here's a link to that 1/2 scale Lifton case I believe you're referring to: http://images.lilypix.com/displayimage.php...&fullsize=1

Oh my bad. I thought you build cases for both! That lifton case is amazing.

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I thought I'd go into a bit more detail as to why I voted for the less tall. and Pete I'm not getting at you because I know exactly what you were saying, but it may look like it as I am pretty much going to disagree with everything you wrote :D

Firstly I don't think its a novelty instrument no more say than picking up a uke/banjo/mandolin/sitar/bass (I'm guilty of owning all except the banjo) or building a cigar box guitar. I like fretted intruments that are different and playable for a useless guitarist like myself, it allows me to make different noises!

Secondly whilst building a good full size les paul is similar I don't think its the same for a start you can't work from plans atleast not baught ones and scaling something down is pretty tricky without making it look warped especially when a full width neck, pickup and bridge etc are being used. And by the same token the face melter is just a sg made with different wood and strpped of an extra pick up and the kelvinator is just a telecaster with "unusual hardware" :D

Thirdly if it was full size it would still be a very beatiful guitar I would have voted for it or possibly the kelvinator... aaaaargh I can't decide!

before some one starts flaming me I like the face melter and I like the full sized les paul and I really really like the kelvinator my comments aren't supposed to be negative in anyway. I'm just making the point that there isn't that much to change other than the wood selection, hardware and shape. A testement to the extremely well thought out guitars conceived by fender and gibson I guess!

Edited by joshvegas
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B)

I know...I should keep my big keyboard shut!!!!

B)

Your points are all valid and I appear with mine, only increased the popularity of the Less Tall.

:D

Next month I will for the first time be subjected to similar treatment no doubt and all this will return to haunt me.

I wonder if I were to 'dis my own entry I would have as much a positive impact for the thing that I seem to have had in this case :D

I still personally liked the SG ( I liked the kelvanator but I voted for one similar a while back, and I would have voted for the mini LP as second choice) as I like the thing for what it is (I don't know if it would suit me personally, mind you)

suitably embarrassed...

pete

Has anyone noticed that I have not commented on GOTM entries for a long time...now you know why!!!

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You should still comment man I was just saying my reasons which it just so happened were exactly the opposite to yours :D

I hope I didn't come across as being argumentative it wasn't my intention.

I can see yours doing rather well next month. I think it may get my vote actually. :D

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No...not taken that way at all. B)

It is true that I may have misrepresented the Less Paul or been harsh with the "novelty thing". Really, it comes down to personal choice and my choice should not influence the vote either way unduly.

In this case there has been a significant increase in voting for the Less Paul, while only one new vote for the SG and no change in the others so obviously if anything, my comments have only helped it along...ironically! Or is that an indicator of what people think of my opinion :D

Anyway, as always, each to their own and again, all entries are incredible works of the highest order and it is good to see such a variety in the completion. As I said originally, this variety is what makes these GOTM threads valid for years and years and years to come...not just the winners.

It is incredibly hard to judge one against the other, particularly where there is so much variety...so opinions should be taken as simply that and I think in general we are in agreement and my reasoning for my choice is going to be different from everyone elses...

pete

ps...as for next month...Metal Matt has got a good solid entry there and a bigger longer running thread to back it up than mine...so I don't know, might have to up the anti with some sounds...his has more strings than mine too :D plus, early days yet, there are a few guitars nearing the completion that if entered would get my vote over mine!

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I have to work out sometime to spend on mine nothing original apart fromt the shape and the "how did he get the trussrod in" neck

Edited by joshvegas
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