GP #545 – “Tom Tom”
3 String Fretted Drum Head Guitar
Scale : 666.75mm /26¼ Inches
Strings : .042NW / .028NW / .020NW /
Tuned: G D g / F C f / E B e /
Every Build has a Story, hope this one is not too long and boring.
The 16” x 16” Floor Tom Drum was a $2 purchase many years ago from a local Salvation Army Charity Shop, the original idea was for it to be a Kick Drum, I added a Kick Pedal, but was never coordinated enough to play a Git and Kick a Drum at the same time, so there it sat, unused for ages, at one time I had visions of turning it into a Standup Bass of some sort, but it never happened.
A recent posting on a FB CBG Site of a similar Build made my mind up to turn it into a Git of some sort, I had no idea of what the final sound of it would be like, but guessed it would probably have a Banjo Type Tone, so was originally going to be a 4 String Plectrum Banjo Build, but after making and fitting the Neck, realized it was only 40mm Wide, which would make the String Spacings a bit too close together for this Hamfisted ex Bricklayers Arthritic Fingers, so opted for the old Standard 3 String GDg Build.
The final Sound & Tone is a bit on the Banjo side, albeit a bit Bassy, it is quite loud Acoustically Unamped, but has virtually no Sustain when Amped, the String Gauges I used where for GDg, but sounds better on the lower FCf & EBe Tunings.
The Neck is Merbau, the Headstock Wings & Bridge are Pine, the Vol Tone Knobs are my own DIY Grey Ironbark creations, all coated with Paste Wax.
A 2.3k MGB Micro Single Coil Pickup is hardwired through Vol & Tone Pots to the Output Jack.
An YES!, because its size, it is a bit cumbersome to play, and the rough sawn fiberglass bottom edge is a bit harsh on the thighs, but should be remedied by the arrival of some Rubber Edge Stripping I have on order. 
Comments
"Sorry Mathew", but I have never sold any of my Builds, I have given a few away to relatives and Friends, I often think about setting up a Web Site or something similar to sell some of my many Builds, but ultimately the idea ends up in the "Too Hard Bin"
It may happen sometime in the future, as I am fast running out of space to store them
do you sell these? do you have a web site somewhere
"Thanx UJ", did have thoughts of removing the Mag Pup, as its pretty loud Unplugged, but did find some nice clean Amp Settings, so on it stays, was originally going to be a 4 String Plectrum Banjo, which are tuned CGBD, as opposed to the DGBD Strings on a 5 String Banjer, the Tailpiece Extension is Tulip Poplar, sourced from that cheap Piano I purchased many years back.
Ooooh, nice mag pup. Good job extending the tail piece. Please add a tuner, tune it DGBD and add a few more of your builds and send them my way.
"Thanks Doug", the final weight of this Build is 2.8kg / 6.17lbs, which isn't too bad, considering the average weight of Fender Strat is around 3.6kg / 8lbs, will try and get a Sound Sample done, when I can find a suitable Tune, for an Unplugged and Amped Demo, seems to sound best on the Clean Amp Settings.
Cool build Alan! That's a big body. Is it very heavy? And, more significantly, are we going to get to hear the tone you have described both unplugged and plugged in?