NORMAN “B” SERIES ‘ST’

[Cablebill]

Cablebill

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Posted December 19

Hi folks;

just wanted to share my latest treasure with y’all. Acquired a ‘82 Norman “B” series, s/n 29109, model ST 40 HGS.  DEMO.

I was able to contact someone at Godin who said Demo means exactly that, sometimes the sales guys needed a sample in order to sell more to store owners, or often were on display at shows (like NAMM).  I  think the ST designation is for ‘studio’, but I am open to being corrected, and he said the HGS indicated high gloss. I used the serial # to date the guitar which appears to be about 1982. 
it’s in v/g shape for a 38 y.o. cedar top and mahogany sides/back. Bone saddle and nut. Bolt-on neck with Allen key set screws and looks like plastic tortoiseshell binding. Complete with OHSC which needed a little TLC duct tape for the bottom.

Appears to need just a little cleaning up on the fingerboard to remove grunge and dirt, and a little sanding and polishing of frets to remove small indents on first 3. 
just wondered if anyone could enlighten me as to a ballpark price point? Or is there anyone who wants to become the new owner before it undergoes the cosmetic changes?

am willing to consider fair offers (key word: consider + fair)🙂

will start re-humidifying today. Not sure how to submit photos, but will ASAP.

Merry Christmas , BILL.

[Misha]

Congratulations! These guitars are made in my country and in my province! Enjoy it!! They are good guitars!

[Cablebill]

Hi folks, just wanted to let you know that I am located in the far north-east corner of BC., Fort St. John.

it’s actually my first Canadian made guitar. (my bad!), so while it requires a certain amount of restoration, most is cosmetic and strings. I’ll keep ya in the loop as I progress. I’m excited to hear how it sounds with new strings (the old ones looked and sounded original🙃), but played lots as there is a bit of fret wear on the first 3 frets. 

[DeepEnd]

Congratulations and Happy New Guitar Day.  A friend and former worship bandmate owns a Norman B20. I've played it and it's a sweet guitar. It looks like 80's Normans go for $450US and up, sometimes 'way up. https://reverb.com/marketplace?make=norman&product_type=acoustic-guitars&decades=198 What yours might fetch is unknown. Personally, I don't know or care what any of my guitars are worth since I have no plans to sell them.

[Cablebill]

Hey DeepEnd, thanx for the reply and reference to Reverb...those guitars look amazingly pristine, complete with cases.

I do small repairs for one of the church-based thrift stores in our community and until recently haven’t received any guitar of note, so my repairs are mostly functional. Now I have a ‘82 Norman and an ‘86-ish Hagstrom...so I will proceed with caution and do my best to preserve the patina and improve the playability. They’ve come into the store in rough shape, so will enjoy the challenge. I have enough unplayed guitars to last me, so maybe don’t need another but will wait until I’m finished sprucing it up. It could replace my worship-team guitar, a Tak dreadnought, if the sound is right. But I do love the Tak.

[DeepEnd]

Takamine makes a very nice guitar for playing amplified. My friend's Norman has a Baggs M1 pickup installed and it sounds pretty good but you may not gain anything unless you prefer the overall feel of the Norman. His B20 has a very thin neck and he likes it that way. Best of luck with the project.

[garthman]

13 hours ago, Cablebill said:

Hi folks;

just wanted to share my latest treasure with y’all. Acquired a ‘82 Norman “B” series, s/n 29109, model ST 40 HGS.  DEMO.

 

Hi Bill.

Congratulations.