Norman B20 12

I acquired this guitar from Dan Beckers's Guitar Repair and Sales in Louisville, Kentucky. He was performing some repairs to my 1974 Guild F412 and showed me the Norman product line he carried. I believe I paid about $650.00 out the door.

It is a good guitar. The sound is great for the price and it plays reasonably well.

It has a dull lacquer finish. I prefer a gloss. I don't know why dull finishes are applied to instruments. It is the same finish I have on my Martin DM. I allowed it to become over-moisturized and the portion of the neck resting on the body swelled. Plus, the action slipped to a non-playable height and I had to return the guitar to Dan Becker. He made a few measurements and decided that the bridge required shaving down to allow action adjustment while maintaining proper tension of the high E strings across the bridge. The work will be performed under warranty but I wonder why this would occur with a new guitar. He assured me that there was nothing remarkable about the neck swelling and that it was a frequent problem from over-moisturing. He said it would take probably all Summer for the wood to shrink back to its original dimension but it would have no affect on playability. Furthermore, he assured me that if the neck did not settle back by the end of Summer he would replace the guitar. That's fine but I have had several guitars over the years and this is the first problem of this nature I have encountered.

I am no guitar-head in this regard. I looked it over and it seems sturdy enough. I have been playing it steadily since buying it in March, 2003.

I know that a good 12 string is very expensive. The Norman is the exception. While it does have a rich sound and reasonable playability for a 12, the neck may be a little wide for some who do not have large hands. A Guild jumbo 12 has a fairly thin neck and great playability. But, the Guild is also 4 times the price of the Norman. I have to sum it up by stating that the price for the Norman makes it attractive.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

- In What Country was it made? (USA, Japan, Mexico, France...)
I believe Norman is Canadian...?

- How many frets, Pickup Type and Configuration?
I think this is 22 or so. The sensor is in the bridge i'd think, a piezo thingy probably.

- What are the setting controls (volume, tone, pickup selector position)?
You have Fishman preamp with 3 band EQ, presence, volume and a tuner. Easy to pull out for battery changing without any screw removal. Perfect.

- What type of neck?...
Regular nick, wider than an electric.

UTILIZATION

- Does the neck have a nice feel?
Not as easy to play as an expensive Taylor or Martin. Yes it is very hard to play a 12 string, but, well, it's playable...

- Easy access to the top notes (last frets)?
Not really, no, cos there is no cutaway.

- Is it's design ergonomic(in terms of the shape, weight...)?
Not much to say, it's a dreadnought, feels fine to me.

- Can one easily get a nice sound?...
Oh yeah!

SOUNDS

- Does it suit your style of music?
Yes (pop).

- With what amp(s) or effect(s) do you use it?
None.

The varnish on Norman guitars is very fine, and so the sound comes through the top and not just through the opening in it. The guitar BREATHES, and so it's not just the mids you hear, as might be the case with a thick lacquer. As with a Norman B-15, the body is fairly wide and the varnish is thin, so you get a well balanced sound with bass, mids & treble alike.

OVERALL OPINION

- For how long have you been using it?
A few months.

- What thing do you like most/least about it?
It sounds heavenly.
It has no fancy varnish or shiny things, none of that rubbish, just a modest looking guitar that aims at sounding good and does.
I think it could do with some neck markings to help remember where you are...

- Did you try many other models before getting this one?
Yes, quite a few. I was looking for a Norman but tried at least 5 or 6 other guitars...Seagull's, Yamaha's, Takamine's, etc. None came close in character to this. The Yamaha's weren't bad, the Takamine's were rubbish as usual, and the Seagull was ok. Tried some others too but this was the best for price/sound & i needed a preamp & tuner too.

- What is your opinion about the value for the price?
I paid 630 € with a free hard case & a set of strings plus a Fast Fret. Not exactly cheap but the preamp is Fishman and the guitar is good. I think it's about right.

- Knowing what you know now, would you make the same choice?...
Yes. This has a more balanced sound than most and sounds more natural too.

Canadian Manufacturing - acoustic - nice production, seems fine old beautiful colored

UTILIZATION

handle not just nice to make it sound good strikethrough

SOUNDS

Beautiful sound projection, we feel better reflects when you listen than when you play it.
for rhythmic folk music great sound

OVERALL OPINION

2 yes I had a twelve string electric long ago and tried other twelve-string, I chose this guitar from Steve in Montreal are about to have a choice. I do not regret this purchase and would like to kept and played long.
For my part, excellent value for money - nice guitar violin