One of the first things I noticed upon my return to full-on guitar playing was that the necks on my guitars felt different, and were no longer as comfortable to play as they were before - my hands had changed, and I now needed a different style of neck to suit my ‘new feel’. This was at the top of my list when I sat down with Perry Ormsby to discuss the designs for my new signature series guitars. The GG6 was to be my main workhorse, and the instrument that would be representative of both me and the man who made it. To his (enormous) credit, Perry nailed both designs straight off, without even one prototype being constructed! Minor tweaks were all that was necessary for both guitars to be in perfect playing condition. My new workhorse, the GG6 has the looks, feel and performance of a true thoroughbred, and is a guitar I am proud to put my name on and play.

The GG6’s lines are stylish and classic, drawing on Perry’s love of Jacksons and my own favourite Ibanez RGs for inspiration to create a lightly contoured shape that is perfectly comfortable to wear, sitting or standing, slung low or high. The Alder body is topped with a beautiful Flame Maple veneer, as is the headstock, both finished in transparent bottle green. The satin-finish Maple neck and bound Ebony fretboard are as smooth as glass to play, with an action that is fast and light without being spongy, all the way to the 24th fret. The custom inlays at the 12th fret are Gold Mother-of-Pearl and Malachite, and the side position markers are oversized to compensate for the absence of fretboard inlays. The result is a beautiful expanse of bare Ebony that is still easy to navigate! Add to this picture a gold Floyd Rose locking Tremolo Bridge, Gotoh machine heads and hardware, and the visual package is simply stunning.
The Seymour Duncan JB (bridge) and ’59 (neck) pickups run through a 5-way switch, offering a pleasing variety of split-coil sounds from the two humbuckers. The tones range from squeaky clean to rich and smooth, all the time with great clarity and articulation. The volume and tone controls are located with the pickup selector conveniently close to the right hand’s playing position, making it easy to change pickups or roll off the volume while playing, even when the whammy bar is in use. As well as being stylish and classic, the GG6 is functional.

Whether chording or soloing, I find the GG6 a dream to play. The variable radius neck is perfectly suited to my hands and style, and the floating tremolo still retains enough snap in the strings to enable any technique from metal to country. This guitar, with its bolt-on construction has the sustain of a set-neck or neck-through, thanks mainly to the attention to detail in setting the neck to the body when the instrument was made. Perry takes great care in making sure that the neck/body fit is exact, ensuring maximum sustain and tone from his bolt-on guitars. It is this hand-made touch that gives the GG6 and its 7-string counterpart (the GG7) their amazing character and feel. From the very first note, my guitar felt ‘played in’, and has continued to improve as I gig and record with it. The GG6 is exactly what I need and want in a guitar, and is an inspiration to make music with. Perry Ormsby has exceeded my expectations and produced an instrument that is already a classic in my books!

Graham Greene