JUDGES
"The Captain" Lee Anderton
Lee "The Captain" Anderton started working for Andertons Music Co back in the late 80s. For the last 15 years he's been at the helm of Andertons & has overseen the development of their YouTube channel & helped to grow the business into one of the largest & best known music retailers in the world. Lee also co founded Chapman guitars in 2010 & has worked on designing guitars, amps & pedals with several well known manufacturers.
Derek - Big D Guitars
Derek Lenard is a luthier and owner of Big D Guitars in the Chicago area. He has been designing and building guitars for almost twenty years and has made over 500 YouTube videos.
Derek is best known for his whiskey barrel guitars and placing 2nd last year in the 2020 great guitar build off.
Combining her sultry voice and electric guitar to create rock songs infused with blues and soul, Mary Spender’s songwriting showcases her virtuosic style of guitar playing as well as her wide vocal range, however, for a decade, up until 2016, Mary was performing intimate shows around the UK and Europe, before turning her attention to creating videos about her music online for a global audience.
Maria - Mango Guitars
Mango Maria is a guitarist and content creator. She debuted her musical career with her guitar progression videos on YouTube and ever since has worked on creating videos on various topics relating to music, such as beginner guitarist tips, song covers and skits. Maria is also a singer-songwriter indie pop musician and is currently forging her path to find her unique sound.
With gear reviews, guitar lessons, live looping, and tutorials, Steve Chapman brings a fun, energetic perspective to your favorite guitar topics and trends on YouTube. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, you'll hear a wide variety of tones and musical styles in his videos – rock, surf, acoustic, reggae, metal, indie, rockabilly, country ... you name it.
During this year's Build Off, Steve will host several livestreams on his channel to showcase competitors and invite his viewers to help him narrow down his top five of each competition!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTEuh2dF2-SYhcJrGdxHrcQ
Sophie Burrell
My name is Sophie Burrell. I'm a guitarist, musician, songwriter, teacher and influencer from the south coast of the U.K.
After watching School of Rock aged 5, I knew music was what I wanted to pursue as my life career. Now 21, I've been playing guitar for over a decade.
Since graduating from music college in 2017, I have been focusing on building my social media presence, teaching business, sponsorships and songwriting for new projects set to debut in the near future!
I am proudly endorsed by PRS Guitars, EVH Gear, D'Addario, No.19 Pickups, BOSS FX, Roland, Positive Grid and more.
Dagan Wilkin is the Charismatic Electric Guitar Expert at the Newcastle store at PMT and he is a Presenter for PMTVUK. His entertaining style and love and infectious enthusiasm for all things guitars put him in good stead to be our next Judge for GGBO.
Texas Toast Guitars
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Matt Flaherty and Chris Fesker from Texas Toast guitars have been, collectively, building instruments for over 50 years and are two of the most fun guitar builders on YouTube. After winning the 2020 contest they are extremely excited to be on the judging panel for the 2021 Great Guitar Build Off.
Look for lots of madcap reaction videos to your builds from the guys at Texas Toast.
Additionally, Texas Toast Guitars will be awarding prizes in the form of Build A Classic Set Neck classes to the two most deserving entries.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrik4MK7fHh2gRNgyZOmKIg
Dan Thompson - Guns and Guitars
"My name is Dan, my YouTube channel is called Guns and Guitars. Guns and Guitars are my two favourite things, so i know a lot about them. But not everything. I'm still learning, and just sharing what I've learned as I go. I also like donuts and bicycles. If i start another youtube channel, thats probably what it would be about. But even more than Guns, guitars, donuts and bicycles, I love Jesus. Ultimately my goal is to connect people to God..through guns and guitars."
https://www.youtube.com/c/GunsandGuitars/featured