THE ORMSBY BUILD COURSE

You've been dreaming of this, haven't you? Building your very own custom guitar, hand shaping the neck, routing the pickups and neck joint, learning about all the tiny details that come together as an instrument we fall in love with. Well, dream no longer! 

Held over six days, you'll build a solid body electric guitar from scratch. You'll do all the cutting, routing, shaping and gluing, wire the electronics, and complete the fretwork and setup. 

Sound daunting? Sure, it would be on your own... but you aren't. You'll work directly with Perry Ormsby and his team, in a small group to build your new 'number one'. Everything has been laid out in an easy-to-follow formula, breaking down all the difficult tasks into smaller manageable chunks, to ensure your success. That's not to say you'll have an easy time. You'll be dusty, dirty, and tired at the end of each day, but you'll not want to stop. It's addictive, fun, and very productive. 

The courses start on Mondays, and go through until Saturday afternoon. Ready? 

Course Dates

BROWN SOUND COURSE - APRIL 20 - 25, 2026 ($3,900AUD) - 1 SPOT LEFT

STANDARD BUILD COURSE - MAY 17 - 23, 2026 ($3,350AUD) - 2 SPOTS LEFT

PRICING FROM $3350

$750AUD DEPOSIT TO HOLD YOUR PLACE

Brown Sound Guitar Build Course 2026

Learn to build your own custom guitar

Date 20 - 25th April, 2026
Time 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM AWST
Location Ormsby Factory - Perth, Western Australia
Duration 5 Days

Join us for an intensive hands-on guitar building course where you'll learn the art of crafting custom guitars from start to finish.

Price $3,900 AUD
Secure with a $750 deposit

Brown Sound Build options

View the options you have to customse your guitar below during your build course.
Body shape (RIGHT HAND ONLY)

Body shape (RIGHT HAND ONLY)

Choose your preferred body style

Strat Shape
Strat Shape
Included
Barettastyle
Barettastyle
Body Wood

Body Wood

Choose your main body wood

Alder
Alder
Included
Mahogany
Mahogany
Included
Swamp Ash
Swamp Ash
+$80.00
Neck Wood

Neck Wood

Birds Eye Maple

Fretboard

Fretboard

Birds Eye Maple Fretboard

Inlay Dots

Inlay Dots

Plastic Inlay Dots
Side Dots

Side Dots

Black Plastic Side Dots

Strings & Scale Length

Strings & Scale Length

6 String & Scale Length 25.5” only

Hardware

Hardware

Included: Vintage tremolo, Non Fine Tuner Floyd, Floyd Rose Special Tuners: Non Locking tuners - Hardware – Colour: Included: Chrome, Black Optional:

Vintage tremolo, Non Fine Tuner Floyd or Floyd Rose Special
Vintage tremolo, Non Fine Tuner Floyd or Floyd Rose Special
Included
Tuners: Non Locking tuners
Tuners: Non Locking tuners
Included
Hardware – Colour: Included: Chrome, Black
Hardware – Colour: Included: Chrome, Black
Included
Floyd Rose Original
Floyd Rose Original
+ $175.00
Hardware Colour: Gold
+$125.00
Pick Ups

Pick Ups

Included: 1x Humbucker or Humbucker/Single Coil layout

Electronics

Electronics

Included: Rearloaded (no pickguard), Front loaded (pickguard)
Paint

Paint

Included: Franky, 5150, 1984, Bumblebee, or your own tribute to these themes

Guitar Case

Guitar Case

Included: None

Premium gigbag
+ $100
Hardcase
+$250

Frequently Asked Build Course Questions

Find answers to common questions

Nothing! Bring yourself, and a desire to build! 

All timbers for the body and neck, hardware, pickups, plastics, electronics. Access to machinery, jigs, templates, and tools.

There are no pre-made bodies or necks in the Standard or S+T Courses... you will build, machine, carve, sand, and shape your own body and neck from scratch under guidance and tuition.

Stripey Course, we supply you with a premade neck.

Basically, a "bolt on neck" style instrument. There are six main guitar designs to choose from: Strat, Soloist, Tele, SC (Single Cutaway), DC (Double Cutaway), Hype and the SX style shape.

The neck will be a single piece neck, with either a laid back (angled), or recessed (Fender style) headstock.

We will be in touch with anyone who pays a booking deposit to discuss their ideas and specs prior to them coming in.

You'll be given a list of models/specs/choices to select from so we can guarantee we have the materials available and can achieve everyone's build in the course time frame.

Unfortunately we cannot offer custom build ideas you've designed as we simply cannot prepare for that in advance.

No! We have designed the course so you do not need to know anything about woodworking. Your safety equipment is provided, as are all machines, power tools, and hand tools.

Our team will provide you with a nitro satin lacquer finish. This provides a very protective semigloss/satin finish. You may choose to do some work at home to lacquer your guitar. We can direct you to suppliers that sell fantastic, inexpensive, DIY lacquer kits.

HOWEVER, if we feel everyone has progressed enough by mid course, we reserve the right to offer a free upgrade to lacquer. In 2019, every single person ended up being upgraded to lacquer finishes.

Absolutely not. You will start with a block of wood for the body, and a block of wood for the neck. You'll shape everything from there. Furthermore, this isn't a "watch a guy cut your stuff on a CNC' style course either, like offered elsewhere. You'll do everything.

Yes. All hardware supplied is the same high quality we use on our own custom made instruments. The pickups supplied are our own handwound pickups. Gotoh, Grover, Floyd Rose, etc etc.

No problem. Whilst the aim of this course is to get you started in guitar making, some aspects can be a little daunting for a first timer. If we see you getting into trouble, or not confident about one aspect, we can assist you.

We understand some parts of guitar making are scary, eg: using a bandsaw, or shaping the neck. You'll be encouraged to do it yourself, whilst luthier Perry Ormsby looks over your shoulder and guides you in the right direction. If you still don't feel confident, Perry and his team can complete that section for you as you watch.

You'll find that with the right guidance, anything is achievable