Norman B15-12

I got this back in 2001 from a local dealer; he had a personal relationship with the founder of Norman from the NAMM show. I bought this guitar new. I was amazed at the sound and quality of Norman guitars. They have a nice Gibson sound, not a martin sound.

This twelve string guitar is full body dreadnaught with a spruce top and I'm not sure what wood the back and sides are. This wood is really nice stuff from canada that's commisioned by the govt. for only furniture and musical instruments. They don't cut these trees , they a naturally selected. So , this is really nice old wood ..with healthy grain which are perfect for music instruments. I've got on-board Fishman piezo pickup from the factory, it's really nice sounds nice and even and replicates the sound of guitar really well; it's also perfect for gigs becuase you don't have to mic this 12 string. Nice finish alcohol based laquer, similiar to nitrocellouse, and really makes the guitar sound great, almost better sounding than nitrocellouse. these guitars are bright. the frets are well done, there wasn't the correct amount of markers on the side of the neck, which was a drawback ; but the guy I purchased it from made it right with out charge. You see , Norman really doesn't have much or any distribution in USA, they're mostly in england and northern europe. Decent cut nut, tuners are decent quality, the guitar is nice and stable. This guitar has a double truss rod system , that my tech says is very stable. Not many companies offer a double truss rod system in 12 strings, so this is nice! This guitar sounds as good as a guild, but for alot less in money!

Sounds nice and balanced. Very open sound similar to Gibson or Guilds. Intonation is good and stays in tune very well. Nice and bright with lots of resonance and decay. I think the alchol base laquer makes this guitar sound great , as well as the woods. I wouldn't own a different twelve string!

Great action..its' 12 string so you've got to have some hand stregth to handle this instrument. If you're a greeniee player, don't think you can walk up to 12 and make it sound for a long time. Alchol base laquer and good woods really make this a nice piece. I've got a muted finish , not the high gloss which I think sounds even more bright and forward.

Made well, no rough cuts or glue inside, stays in tune well; never had a problem! all the bridges, saddles, nuts , pickguards are fine and well made, good tuners; played many gigs with this guitar. Singing and played "space oddity" is always fun and sounds correct.

since Norman doesn't distribute in the USA, it would probably be tough to contact them up in rural canada. I heard everyone in the little town up there speaks french, so that would be hurdle. I'm sure if you wrote them they would probably deal with you. The person I purchased the guitar from warranties the product, but nothing ever gone wrong so I don't need anything. I think the warranty was for 2 years.

Great stuff, I've purchasd many other Normans ans well as Lapasido collection model nylon string. the best acoustics on the market for the price, they sound like a guitars that cost 2000.00 dollars. good construction and materials, great woods!

Bought new in 2001, not sure of the year of mfg. I beleive a laminated top of cherry. Full size dreadnought acoustic. This guitar has a lacquer finish which gives this guitar a very clean understated class to its appearance. Tuners are closed but I don't have any info on their manufacturer. This model does not appear on the web site(search LaSiDo), but the B15(6) is very similar. 7 is the rating as it has all that a guitar is required to have feature wise (nothing extra), plus a quality finish that I like.

I play Christian praise and worship music, Chrisian rock, Folk-rock, Country-rock. Favorite artist: 3rd Day, Caemon's Call, Eagles, Jackson Browne, Dylan, and Neil Young. I think this guitar has a very good sound to it. One that comes from a fine quality instrument, not plasticy or dull like some of the cheaper lines of guitar.
I have a Dean Markley Pro Mag pickup that I use when playing a church. I have had good comments from players about the sound this guitar makes. (usually when they play it)

I don't know if the store did the set up or if it came this way, but it is very easy to play. I am amazed at the workmanship and quality of this guitar. One of the things I especially liked about this guitar, is that it does seem very well made. The binding fit up very nice and the neck feels comfortable. The "rosette" around the sound hole is painted on, which I think is the only negative thing I find about this guitar. Although it is well done. (nice and sharp in line quality)

I am not sure what live playing is, I have used it in worship, sitting around the house, even camping, no problems. I have flown across country several times with it and I haven't seen any problems. I do carry it on board, as I don't care for the security (or lack of) in the baggage area's of the airports. I think adding a strap button on the lower neck would have been a great feature, as I don't like the tying the strap on up by the nut. I think it would hold up very well a the main gigging instument without a backup.

Dealers are not a plentiful as I would hope. (HINT TO MUSIC STORES: I would think that reasonable priced, well made, very good sounding instrument would be a great item to list for sale) Never had a reason to call or need support.

I bought this guitar on a whim. It looked so great on the rack. My choice between this 12 string or a 6 string (same price). My son in law and I went to Bang Music just to look. I couldn't let this one go by me. I had a older Harmony 6 string that I tinkered with at home, but not on a reqular basis for 3 yrs. I have had a Hondo(OK but had sold it years ago), Sigma-Martin (nice, but stolen)and the Harmony, no comparisons, the Norman sings out, easy to play. I would definitely buy again, even paying list price. Since buying this guitar, I have tried a Taylor, Martin and Yamaha 12 sting guitars, I came away trying to be objective, yet could not find any reason to change instuments and part with alot more money. This one is a keeper. My other guitar is an Ibanez Artstar 80.
I now want to replace the Harmony with a 6 string Norman, but I would not hesitate to go for the Simon & Patrick, or Art & Lutherie guitars made by the same mfg group. The finish, sound and price are what continue to attract me to this guitar. I am not skilled or young enough to need to buy the best (what ever that is), nor is it something that I would ever make any income. So, I am quite satified with this low-end priced, high-end quality crafted instrument.