NGD: Ormsby TX GTR

[Dredg]

For the uninitiated, Ormsby is a custom shop in Australia. They are known for being a full custom shop as well as their WMI-made production "Runs" created with community input - as well as the infamous wait time that currently comes with them.

Ormsby recently put a few spares from Run 1+2 previously retained for a "museum" of previous GTR runs up for sale on their community FB page with free shipping. It boiled down to either a Hype or a TX, and I harbor an irrational fear of headstocks with great chunks carved out of them, so TX it was.

Ormsby shipped the instrument immediately after I had paid in full and it was on my doorstep within 3 days via DHL. The guitar came in an injection-molded hardcase, not the best quality as the guitar will rattle a bit if shaken, but the interior doesn't smell like roadkill, so its an overall win. Out of the box, the action was pretty high, but after tweaking the truss rod, there were no problems.

This is my first multiscale instrument, though I've noodled around on other (right-handed) models around ATX. 5 minutes after plugging in, the angles didn't matter, and I found it to be quite comfortabe - especially when playing barre chords. The flat D/thin U shape of the neck is great - no complaints about it. One of the cool features about its playability is the extension of the fretboard to 29 frets on the treble side, giving the guitar a high A. I'm not sure if I'd personally employ it outside of the bedroom or goofy jams with my buddies, though it is rather pleasing to look at

The TX employs a H-S combination: a PVH A5 humbucker in the bridge and an Old School in the neck, both of which are much lower output than I'm currently used to, but they are absolutely fantastic. Both are very articulate and have a rich harmonic palette. The coil tapping that comes standard is a wonderful feature.

Overall I love this guitar. I bought it to replace my old workhorse (a Blackout loaded Mockingbird) and I couldn't be happier with the instrument. It fits my needs from jazz to death metal. I'm also waiting for a Goliath, as I'm in Run 4, and this TX definitely reinforces my confidence that I'll be receiving a fantastic Ormsby 7 string by the end of the year.

Specs:
Construction: Bolt-on
Body: Alder
Neck: Maple 3pc
Fretboard: Ebony
Inlays: MOP on front, Luminlay on side
Hardware: Hipshot Custom
Frets: Jumbo? SS
Nut: Bone
Neck: Old School Single Coil
Bridge: PVH Humbucker

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

It looks like a guitar designed by Salvador Dali. HNGD

 

[Sogradde]

Ormsby, Orange cab and lunchbox heads. You are a man of superior taste and I'd wager your mom is a fine lady.

 

[Dredg]

It looks like a guitar designed by Salvador Dali. HNGD

Yea, part of the reason why I got it. Its their "tele" model, and being in ATX, you need a Tele to survive.

Ormsby, Orange cab and lunchbox heads. You are a man of superior taste and I'd wager your mom is a fine lady.

Your praise is much too generous, and yes she's quite a fine lady whom I appreciate immensely.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Yea, part of the reason why I got it. Its their "tele" model, and being in ATX, you need a Tele to survive.

"Yer tele dun melted, y'know."

 

[A-Branger]

soemthing about lefty guitars look so weird and wrong to me hahha. Congrats on the new guitar, and lucky you as not sure when and if they would release more lefties on a tx again.

cant wait to get my hype .......stupid CITES *shakes fist into air*

 

[Dredg]

soemthing about lefty guitars look so weird and wrong to me hahha. Congrats on the new guitar, and lucky you as not sure when and if they would release more lefties on a tx again.

cant wait to get my hype .......stupid CITES *shakes fist into air*

I think Perry said that there was only 1 or 2 lefties who had preordered Goliaths pre-CITES, so I'm not holding my breath for any more lefties anytime soon. Definitely glad about my choice. Almost got a Hype, but the headstock is not my favorite, and the pickup config is exactly the same as Goliath.

 

[diagrammatiks]

that guitar is definitely the bees knees. i hope he does another run of them soon.

 

[A-Branger]

I think Perry said that there was only 1 or 2 lefties who had preordered Goliaths pre-CITES, so I'm not holding my breath for any more lefties anytime soon. Definitely glad about my choice. Almost got a Hype, but the headstock is not my favorite, and the pickup config is exactly the same as Goliath.

yeah I follow the group closely so Im aware of the lack of lefties orders. And yeah good choice to mix it up. I got my hype order because Hype. But def want next one to be different, I wanted a Tx but the Sx Shark is pretty tempting. Didnt liked much that shape, but the specs are too good to pass. Good thing Im broke now so it gives me time to think about options and see what the next runs become, like I really like the Futura, and it might be a next run (or not), and as much the Shark is pretty I might like a Futura better and prob miss that boat by jumping into the other first. Basically if I had money I would have jumped in previous runs already and miss out on better (for me) color options

even the black&white goliath is slowly calling me..... so good thing Im broke as its hard to fight the GAS

that guitar is definitely the bees knees. i hope he does another run of them soon.

Run 5 has a bunch of Tx coming in different colors. There should be some spares or at least trough some dealers. Not too long to go, but still a bit of waiting time

 

[KnightBrolaire]

nice, I also can't wait for my goliath. I'm hoping it'll be of comparable quality to my vaders and boden.

 

[Dredg]

yeah I follow the group closely so Im aware of the lack of lefties orders. And yeah good choice to mix it up. I got my hype order because Hype. But def want next one to be different, I wanted a Tx but the Sx Shark is pretty tempting. Didnt liked much that shape, but the specs are too good to pass. Good thing Im broke now so it gives me time to think about options and see what the next runs become, like I really like the Futura, and it might be a next run (or not), and as much the Shark is pretty I might like a Futura better and prob miss that boat by jumping into the other first. Basically if I had money I would have jumped in previous runs already and miss out on better (for me) color options

even the black&white goliath is slowly calling me..... so good thing Im broke as its hard to fight the GAS

I was really bummed that the Shark didn't have a lefty option, though I get why. The Futura looks pretty sick! Can't wait to see that come off the assembly line.

 

[Dredg]

nice, I also can't wait for my goliath. I'm hoping it'll be of comparable quality to my vaders and boden.

Yea definitely do a comparison of the three when run 4 drops

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Yea definitely do a comparison of the three when run 4 drops

oh I will.

 

[Dredg]

So its been a month, time for an update.

First, the pros:

1. The pickups are, to my ear, fantastic. They are articulate and clear. Harmonics are much easier to coax out and I find them to be quite versatile for all genres. A lot of people don't like 'em, and that's fair: there are no drop-in replacements outside of custom shops, so unless you want to perform a DIY baseplate swap, you're sort of stuck with what they offer you.

2. The neck is very comfortable to my hand, very well designed and a joy to play.

3. The body is comfortable to hold both sitting and standing and the balance is immaculate: I don't have to push the neck up or pull it down while playing.

4. The multiscale is fantastic. At this point I've completely normalized to the "spread" as they term it, and actually prefer it over single scale guitars. As advertised, some shapes were tougher to adapt, but at this point it is negligible. Barre chords are a dream to play now.

5. The hipshot hardware is great! The bridge is super comfortable, and palm muting is much more organic for me now. I've always had problems with light muting on TOM and floyds, so A++ for hipshot stuff. The locking tuners are a nice luxury touch.

6. Still a head turner whenever I go gear shopping.

And now the cons:

1. The nut is improperly cut. The telltale tuning pings of strings getting snagged was pretty disheartening, especially since I dropped a gauge from 10's to 9's. Furthermore, the nut was lopsided, as the treble side was sunk into the slot way further than it should. Whatever - I raised the nut and moved on with life.

2. Minor tuning instability - especially with the G string. I'm chalking it up to the nut however, as the G string pings constantly. Will update once the nut is addressed.

3. The frets need to be dressed. This to me is the biggest issue with the guitar, and definitely the most frustrating. Ormsby states on the GTR run page: We set these guitars up with ultra low action. 1.3mm treble, and 1.6mm bass side. These are our MINIMUM standards. Yea that's not happening anytime soon with the current state of the frets. Nearly half of them are too high to achieve that sort of action. The guitar didn't arrive with that action, will not achieve that action in its current state, and certainly was not set up at HQ with that action.

I'm not going to file a warranty claim over the guitar because I don't want to have to pay $300 for a round trip DHL shipment to Australia (...that and raising the nut probably voided their obtuse warranty). I live in Austin, TX which has plenty of legendary techs that can correct the above flaws for around the same price.

I'm annoyed that I got a bit of a lemon, but these are correctable problems... I know some people will say that EVERY guitar should have a nut job and a fret dress after you buy it, and some people expect flawless perfection the moment it ships. I am disappointed that Ormsby let this thing ship, but its still the best guitar I own in terms of comfort, tone, and raw playability. I'm still very excited about receiving my Goliath, and would still recommend the brand to others.

 

[M3CHK1LLA]

very nice....congrats

 

[diagrammatiks]

the baseplate swap is very easy to do though.
sucks about the action. how high is it?

 

[Slaeyer]

And now the cons:

1. The nut is improperly cut. The telltale tuning pings of strings getting snagged was pretty disheartening, especially since I dropped a gauge from 10's to 9's. Furthermore, the nut was lopsided, as the treble side was sunk into the slot way further than it should. Whatever - I raised the nut and moved on with life.

2. Minor tuning instability - especially with the G string. I'm chalking it up to the nut however, as the G string pings constantly. Will update once the nut is addressed.

3. The frets need to be dressed. This to me is the biggest issue with the guitar, and definitely the most frustrating. Ormsby states on the GTR run page: We set these guitars up with ultra low action. 1.3mm treble, and 1.6mm bass side. These are our MINIMUM standards. Yea that's not happening anytime soon with the current state of the frets. Nearly half of them are too high to achieve that sort of action. The guitar didn't arrive with that action, will not achieve that action in its current state, and certainly was not set up at HQ with that action.

I'm not going to file a warranty claim over the guitar because I don't want to have to pay $300 for a round trip DHL shipment to Australia (...that and raising the nut probably voided their obtuse warranty). I live in Austin, TX which has plenty of legendary techs that can correct the above flaws for around the same price.

I'm annoyed that I got a bit of a lemon, but these are correctable problems... I know some people will say that EVERY guitar should have a nut job and a fret dress after you buy it, and some people expect flawless perfection the moment it ships. I am disappointed that Ormsby let this thing ship, but its still the best guitar I own in terms of comfort, tone, and raw playability. I'm still very excited about receiving my Goliath, and would still recommend the brand to others.

I also got some issues with the Hype 7 I received last year. The nut had been replaced pretty sloppy, routings were sloopy, the bridge pickup was feedbacking pretty bad, and it had small finish issues.
All of that and Ormsby's way of saying everything is alright with the guitar (and not paying for wax-potting the pickups even though he said he would) made me sell her pretty fast.

 

[Dredg]

the baseplate swap is very easy to do though.
sucks about the action. how high is it?

This is as low as it goes at 12th before it started buzzing, and that's after the nut adjustment.

 

[Dredg]

I also got some issues with the Hype 7 I received last year. The nut had been replaced pretty sloppy, routings were sloopy, the bridge pickup was feedbacking pretty bad, and it had small finish issues.
All of that and Ormsby's way of saying everything is alright with the guitar (and not paying for wax-potting the pickups even though he said he would) made me sell her pretty fast.

Other than the sloppy routings, I'm not sure that such issues would turn me off of a guitar... pickups can be replaced, nuts probably should be replaced, and to me, imperfections give a guitar character. After working at GC and having to kill and dumpster a few perfectly fine instruments for stupid reasons like finish scratches or broken electronics (that were fixable), its hard for me to condemn an instrument to resale for what amounts to trivial flaws. I'm also left-handed, which makes finding quality guitars outside of the traditional companies quite challenging.

This Ormsby is still my favorite (and best playing) guitar, and everything else about it is genuinely flawless. If these were not correctable issues, I'd definitely be complaining up and down all official public channels until they were fixed. If my Goliath comes severely flawed, I will be complaining as loud as I can.

 

[diagrammatiks]

ya i mean sloppy routing is whatever.
you can pot pickups for 2 dollars and i've never kept a pair of stocks that weren't in something I custom ordered.

i'll see how my goliath is.