Norma Hollowbody ES-335 Copy

My Norma is a mid-late 60's Japanese-made, red, archtop semi-hollow body in an ES 335 shape. Its laminated, lighter weight and smaller in width than a 335. Pickguard and 2 single coil pickups are black. it has white (plastic?) binding on body and neck. The pickups are large for single coils and controlled by 2 on/off switches. Bridge is wood/chrome with rollers-originally had a cheapo vibrato bar that prior owner replaced with trapeze bridge. 22 frets on the rosewood fretboard. Norma logo is stencilled on with Norma letters over a music staff (cool). Tuners are open with nice plastic buttons.

Sounds great to my ears. Pickups are lower gain and take a lot to overdrive. They deliver a unique tone thats clear and jangly-at times like a Rickenbacker, at other times more like a P-90 with lots of definition and fullness. When overdriven they sound like Chuck Berry's guitar on Maybelline! I play through a Vox Valvetronics amp with reverb added-sounds great for rock, rockabilly, and jazz. This Norma is great at what it does.

I got it used but it sets up fine-everything works the way it's supposed to and the parts/guitar itself are good quality by 1960's standards. Some semi-holow guitars from that period have a banjo-type sound (Harmony Rocket, Dominos) when played acoustically-this one doesn't.

Haven't played it at a gig yet but I would. It stays in tune well and has already seen lots of action from the look of it and has held up well. Probably would carry a backup though.

N/A

I've been playing 35 years and own 20+ guitars including a Rick 330, '73 SG, and several custom made guitars. I had never played a Norma but was impressed by the general reviews I read. Initially bought it to possibly sell-I'm living in Germany and the vintage market is in full swing--prices have skyrocketed to ridiculous levels in GE, France and Netherlands! I plan to keep it though for now. This is a sweet well made guitar with a great vintage vibe-guitars just don't sound like this aymore...I doubt I could find another if it were stolen, but I'd hunt the thief down!

This was my very first guitar that I could call my own....I bought it used from a friend in 1978 for $25.00. It was thin and light and the neck was like a race track. It finally got trashed by a drunk at a party in 1987....but oh, what memories I still have of this sunburst beauty!
Body: Laminated plywood. Neck: maple 22 frets Pickups: 2 of the nastiest, snarling-on-the-edge-of-distortion bad bays you could want...
Bridge: trapese tremolo, almost Bigby in quality & apperance.
Tobacco/red sunburst, white pickguard.
Tuners: non-locking Ivory

Was a tremendous sounding guitar..played blues and crunch with equal ease. Feedback was almost uncontrollable with a tube amp, not so bad with a solid state... Very full sounding on either pickup.
Liked the sound a lot.

It was used...never setup by anyone after I owned it, but it never went out of tune no matter how it got abused...it had belt buckle scrapes on the back (It was a country band guitar) but the overall finish was new appearing.

Never let me down....played it hard until it got crunched.

Zipola

30 years of playing badly. Own a Hondo V and a Cort Les Paul. both vintage players

This guitar was made in Japan, so I am told in the late sixties. I originally thought that it would be a cheesey instrument, and at the pawnshop, it was! Amazing wonders what a proper setup can do!! It was made in the same Kay factory in which Sear Silvertone guitars were produced. Norma is the same brand as used by Son Seals on his Alligator records debut album. It has 22 or so frets, with a real thick top, that looks solid, with a nice veneer. It has one volume and one tone white plastic knobs with a three-way switch. It has two humongous single-coil chrome pickups (with white covers), bigger than anything I have seen (this side of P-90s). It has a maple body, with a maple center block. It has a bigsby tremolo. It is a red wine burst hollow body with two medium sized f-holes. It is probably over 3 inches thick. It came with grover-like tuners but they are the originals, and I am lucky because it stays in tune great for such an old guitar. It has a really nice neck, probably for jazz with little frets. It also has double white inlay surrounding most of it. The pickguard is also white. It is really a neat (unique) looking guitar, as I have not seen any redburst hollowbodies with white pickguards and pickups!! Overall, a splendid (read HIGH QUALITY) archtop!

As stated earlier: "Amazing wonders what a proper setup can do!!" I like to play rock (early Rush), but lately have gotten a bug for jazz. This guitar suits it perfectly. I can also blues with this thing. I play through a Crate TX-30 or sometimes a Pignose 7-100. This guitar is so warm sounding, but it has a nasty bite too!! It does great rockabilly slap and is wonderful for jazz chording in either the neck or bridge pickup. The bridge pickup is a twangy pickup that can really put out some nice Brian Setzer lead style. It is not going to have a HUGE amount of sustain, but good twang, one just has to learn how to play faster (or better yet, let the note breathe!!). When I switch to the neck it is very warm, the sound is almost lush. It does great for jazz and some rhythm, but can overpower the bass player because the neck pickup has so much output, especially bass output and the low E-string will get it ringing if your playing style is not somewhat tightly controlled. I wish the bridge would have more output, but I can raise its height if I really wanted it that badly. Even with the center block, it sounds great unplugged. Although I prefer humbuckers, this guitar's ringing sounds is TOO nice. Can work in high gain situations (Early Rush), but keep your distance from the amp (we're talking single coils, here)Probably a 9.5 or 10 for sound quality.

I am really suprized at how good this guitar looks and is finished. It has a redburst lacquer finish that is not cracking, not EVEN a tiny bit. The overall looks great. This guitar was adjusted from the pawnshop from where I bought it. And now it stays in tune and has great intonation. I put 12's on it and it works great. The neck is kinda thick and binding and fretboard are in great shape. Love that 'aged' er...vintage look from the bindings. No reissue guitar wcan simulate a TRUE vintage guitar's appearance. I can see no gaps between the neck and body, it is that perfect. This guitar has been around for years (circa 1969). The chrome on the pickups are a little weathered, nothing a little chrome polish cannot fix, though. The switch is quieter now, no rewiring was necessary, I only cleaned it! Overall it is great, and in great shape. I also have a Brian Moore i2p, a custom handmade (in the USofA) Hill HS-2, BC Rich Custom Shop Eagle and BCR Koa Eagle Bass. Norma is probably the most unique guitar in my collection.

This is a real archtop, so the bridge is held in place by the strings, and light gage strings don't pull like the cables they used in '65. Finish is hard and durable and new in 1972.
Strap buttons are the original plastic ones, and they are rock solid.
I would always have a back up guitar handy on a job. This guitar will definitely withstand live playing. It stays in tune and I never break strings. The hardware is still in good working order, so I figure that I have 10 more years before giving it to my musical niece. For a hollowbody, this is a super-solid guitar.

THe guitar is over thirty years old! Is Kay still in business? Or Norma? I mean the REAL companies, not just someone who's trying to cash in on the name! Did I mention it's really an old guitar?

I have been playing for three years now. Before buying a lesser known name (read Not Fender or Gibson), do some homework. The folks at Subway Guitars are great. Their website has all the information that you need (except sound samples) to make an educated decision. URL is www.fatdawg.com I also have a Brian Moore i2p, a custom handmade (in the USofA) Hill HS-2, BC Rich Custom Shop Eagle and BCR Koa Eagle Bass. My amps are: Electar Tube 10, Crate TV-6210 (incredible 2*10 with 60 tube watts), Crate TX-30, and a Pignose 7-100. Norma is probably the most unique guitar in my collection (appearance and sound-wise). I love it's tonal range. They say if the guitar sounds good unplugged... If I wanted to change anything, I would raise the bridge pickup. And that's it, my ONE issue with Norma.
You can easily spend $2000 on Gibson ES-335s, but I won't! This thing sounds better for my style. Plus, if I need to cut back the single coils' buzz, I can play it through my Digitech RP-300.