Originally posted by Joe Chiovari Lot of chatter going on about Norman guitars I see. People comparing them to Martins and such. Rule of thumb...if you like the sound and feel of the guitar, then that's the guitar for you. I have a Martin, Guild and Norman. The Martin is a DM of recent production. The Guild is an F-412 I have been playing for 30 years. Yea, I am an old coot. I am a fingerpicking fool (all 5 fingers). Flat picks I just never could get the hang of. Ended up in the sound hole many times. The Norman (B20/12) is a great playing and sounding guitar. I won't agree that it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Martin or the Guild in playability or sound. I do agree that it comes close and, for the money, I would send anyone off to try a Norman product before they consider the higher priced makes. The Norman 12 I bought has laminated cherry sides and back, solid spruce top, maple neck and rosewood bridge and fingerboard. Maple sides/back are the hardest woods used on guitars and produce the brightest resonance through the spruce top. That is how the Guild is made and, quite honestly, it drowns out the Norman. No matter, the Norman has it's own sound and that sound is good. Guild makes the best 12 string guitars, Martin makes the best 6 string guitars, and the rest are just that. Specifically speaking, the neck of the Norman is just a bit larger than the Guild F-412. I find the Norman a little weak in it's treble. It takes a little more effort to "throw" a bar chord and strike to sound off those higher notes. One has to compensate by holding back the base sound a bit. But, hey, no two guitars of different manufacture play them same anyway. I still agree that the Norman is a great guitar for the money and that's why I bought one. But, I have read alot on this forum about Norman ranking in the same league with Martin or other pricey guitars. Well, it may be a good guitar but it ain't there yet.
I hear what you're saying. I'll put my ST68 up against a low end Martin anyday!