Ortega TourPlayer

[lkingston]

I was looking for a gigging crossover guitar that plays well, sounds good, is good for standing playing, and is reasonably priced enough that I won’t worry too much about babying it.

I play a Yamaha NTX-5 at home, but I really hate taking it out of the house, especially to bar and outdoor gigs. Because of this, I’ve been using a Yamaha Silent Guitar SLG200N, and that has been absolutely fine (though maybe a bit gimmicky).

I found an Ortega TourPlayer in matte black for a really good price and pulled the trigger. I have only played it briefly at the guitar shop in order to make sure it was working properly. I haven’t played it in depth yet. I got a good enough deal on it that if I don’t like it, I will likely get my money back if I resell it.

Does anyone use this model?

[hesson11]

I haven't seen or played one, but that video makes it sound quite nice. Not what Segovia would have chosen, but very pleasing!

[lkingston]

It seems to be very nice. Definitely a crossover neck and feel. The neck is wider than a steel string (but not as wide as a classical) with a slight radius. There are fret markers like a steel string.

Control-wise it has volume, three band EQ, and a built in tuner which mutes the output.

One thing that is unusual is that it has a rechargeable battery and a USB-C charging port. There is a battery meter as well.

Sound wise, it sounds like a decent standard under-saddle piezo. I used to avoid those types of pickups, but now with Tondexters and other IR devices, I find they work better than more complicated pickups.

It plays well, sounds good, and the thin look and matte black works well on stage.

[lkingston]

Well, I returned it. There was a noticeable amount of distortion, plus the low E string was soft and unresponsive to any sort of dynamic playing. Too bad because it was pretty.