Norman B15

Plain Jane. As basic as a ping-pong ball. No frills. But if you are somebody who loves mother nature and the smell of wood... who needs a woman. The aroma of woods from distant lands can make you cry. And to know that God has created wood not only for firewood or tables but this lovely guitar. If not of the wood, I would have given a 5 but the different woods used made me put in a 9. When you say feature it must be its contents and form too.

It is still new and unflowered yet. But I have heard other seasons ones and you know what it sounds next to perfect.

No flaws.

Yet to get it knocked or dented. So, no opinions yet.

yet to visit or call one yet. Sadly, no web site.

For its woods, chromed tuners and the sound its old cousins made, overall it is a very desirable item. Sure to colour your moods.

Not really many extra features but is really one heck of a nice guitar. Very well built in Canada. Sort of a cousin I guess to Seagull.

One of the best sounding guitars I own.

Bought used and whoever I got it form knew what he was doing or had it done by someone that did. Finish is not high gloss but I like it anyway. I've heard that you should not use polish on this guitar.

Haven't had very long but it seems to be very, very well built!

Haven't called them and from what I've heard I doubt if I ever will.

Been playing at playing over 40 years. I own 1 Martin, 3 Epiphones, 1 Sigma a Takamine and this Norman. I think I'd put the Norman between the Martin and my Epiphone Casino.

serial #3694, guitar is made in canada, solid birch with mahogany neck. 21 frets,natural finish solid top.D shaped neck,standard Box guitar body,Pegged bridge,Sperzel non locking tuners (I believe), the fret board has thin frets with rosewood. This guitar was made with the utmost professionalism. I can tune this guitar, leave it sit for 3 months, and it will still be in tune. It is the most remarkable sounding guitar I have ever heard. If you have a chance to purchase one of these guitars, do it. Great for anyone who plays.

I play a little classical and country. The Norman can fit into this mold and play other styles as well, while sounding and playing wonderfully. I use a standard martin acoustic pickup with fender amp. I can play any type of acoustic song from any artist and it is like the artists that I mimick are in the room. I am sure it is the guitar, The sound isn't the same out of my Fender acoustic. This B15 gives a very Full concert type sound. The variety of sounds is limitless on this guitar, it is only hindered by the players style. The only dislikes is I wish I had this guitar when I first started playing many years ago. i purchased this guitar 4 years ago. loved it ever since!

action is great, handmade quality and professionalism. No defects were noted when I picked it out of the pawn shop. I have added 2 small tiny dent marks other than that flawless. no cracks anywhere knock on wood :).

I have played live, it does wonderful. people ask what kind is your guitar, Fender?. I laugh all the time. This guitar is very durable. I have had 5 electrics and two other acoustics. this one stays with me. and yes this is my play all guitar.

I have never dealt with support. Never had too. I have to admit, when I purchased the guitar, I thought it looks nice and plays OK. so I bought it for 75.00 american in the pawn shop. I did not know who the maker was, all I knew it was handmade in canada. This is where my parents are from. The quality looked good. so I purchased it, Took it home and I have been carrying the guitar around the US ever since.

Anytime a product can be purchased, without any complaints from a customer for so long. that product has my vote, because the people made the Norman guitar did their homework and are very talented.

18 years I have been playing. I have a american fender. I sold my Fender Acoustic. Why did this guitar end up in a pawn shop? is my question. I would purchase this guitar over and over. I love the coler, I hate the fact I don't have more time to play it. I like the fret board easy to finger. I wouldn't compare to others, maybe higher end epiphone. I would choose my Norman though. I needed another guitar and Pawn Shops is where I shop. I wish it had the original guitar case, then again the case might be original? I encourage any new or acomplished player to at least try this guitar. I am sure you will enjoy playing it as much as I do. I would pay up to 800 dollars for this guitar, but they are a bargain at the prices they are now.

Picked this up new in 1991, it was my first guitar so I hold it near and dear to my heart. Not too many features to speak of, the previous reviewers have pretty much summed it up.

I bought a Dean Markley pick-up which I plug in to a small no-name amp. Does the trick although Amp settings have to be adjusted to lower the bass.

The sound is immensely beautiful. It's only been ten years, but I am starting to hear the tone develop a nice rich body now when I play. I usually play lead on this guitar, with a whole range of styles but mostly jazz, funk and just free jamming.

Maintenance-wise, the only things I've done to it is lower the action a little bit so that I keep in tune at higher frets, other than that a little cleaning and new strings every month keeps it sounding great.

The only reason for not giving a 10 is that I recently played on a B-20, and with the matte finish and maybe the different woods I noticed a better sustain than my guitar.

I purchased the Norman B-15 at a music shop, and was able to play it right away (i.e. no action problems)
No flaws other than a nick or two that I added to it. You do have to be careful though, since it's not a heavy finish it's not particularly scratch-resistant.

This guitar has been through everything: At-Home playing, live gigs, jamming, it sat in the trunk of my car for a whole summer while I drove around, and the weather conditions (even in Texas!) never got to it. The tuning knobs are solid, some day I may replace the plastic string holders but they serve their purpose for now. Good strong strap holders, no bridge problems.

Heck, not a SINGLE problem in 10 years.

Never needed it.

I love playing acoustic, and only now am considering getting my feet wet in the electric world. Simply put, with this guitar and the occasional use of my pickup, I don't feel a need to play electric becuase I can get all the sound I want out of the B-15.

I don't think Norman guitars are still being manufactured, more than likely the Seagull models are what's left by these guys (which are great acoustics too!). But I'd say unequivocally that the B-15, for the money, is a top-notch guitar

Hand made in Lapatrie Quebec Canada. I don't even know the woods that compose this baby. all i know it that it look pretty basic

Never heard an accoustic guitar sound that good. The sound is rich profond and so loud. I can make a snare vibrate 15 feet away. I like it a lot..no one is tkaing that baby away from me

i can even play solos on this one..for 1 to 20th fret

i bought is used so i don't know..the bridge started lifting but i went to a "luthier" or guitar repairman in french. He fixed it and there'is no difference

Buy NOrman guitars for accoustics or Seagulls (made at the same shops) they sopudn great AT ANY PRICE!!! you won't regret them... god i love this little town in quebec! haha

The guitar, I can presume must have been made in 1998/9 as thus is the date that features on the factory reciept. It was made as all Norman and Simon&Patrick guitars are in Quebec Canada. Incidently, Norman is the father of Simon and Patrick!
This guitar, the most basic of the Norman range, is made with a rosewood fretboard and a cherry maple body. The cherry smell from the wood is vivid and the unfinished look of the body and top adds to it's back-to-nature feel. The grain on the wood is prominent and looks like a freshly cut log. The wood is treated with a special alcohol based solution and should never be polished. This solution helps the wood breath and age. Suprisingly the smell of the guitar has not at all faded since purchase. The colour of the guitar does have certain tinges of pink running through it but this contrasts well with the darker, more formal fretboard.
The fret board is silky-smooth and has 22 frets, but the only annoying thing about this guitar is that it begs for 10th fret plus acoustic solos that just arent possible without the cut-away. For me anyway! The fretboard copes well with a clamp-type capo but not an elastic wrap-round one.
As far as features go, this guitar does fall short. I would rate it more on it's intended purpose, and here we have a well-built and finished instrument that does it's job really well.
Some decorative Mother of Pearl inlays would have been nice for the frets and logo, but the back-to-basic aura of this guitar works fantastically.

The sound from the guitar when finger-picking, is subtly haunting and deep, not to mention, as full as Santa's sack on Christmas eve. Chords played higher up the fretboard are crisp and clear and contrast well to the open positions. With a capo the guitar's sound can take on a whole new tone which is occasionally refreshing. It copes well with de-tuning aswell.
If there are any fans of the deep acoustic sounds of Gomez this guitar will not fail to recreate the sounds found in Tijuana Lady and even the goofy beginning of Whippin Piccadily.
Although the guitar has no pickup or pre-amp, when played with the correct type of plectrum, the noise it can make is loud enough to annoy even the most passive of your neighbours!

I have never experienced any fret buzz or muting at the nut or bridge and this stands as a testament to Norman's build quality and factory set-up.
All the joins in the guitar are smooth and the finish matches the guitar's character perfectly.
There are no niggly shakes or unwanted noises from the nut either.

Time will tell as with all guitars, but for now, this guitar will be used and abused relentlesly. Cheap enough to suit my student pocket yet proffesional quality that surpases many top brands.
Everything about the guitar seems to have been built with time in mind and all parts are therer to last the distance even on tour. It has had a fair few knocks and drops but it just bounces back with no reduction in sound or build quality.
I look forward to playing this same guitar all my life and there are no signs of the quality of sound or build deteriorating.

Fortunately I have never had to contact Norman for anything, but if I did have tyo there was a factory phone number and email address on the leaflet that came with the guitar.
The music store gave me a 1 year warranty, but this varies from place to place.

I think the review speaks for itself. I believe that you cannot buy another dreadnought acoustic with as good spec, sound and build quality, for as cheap.
Forget about the brand names and let this independently built guitar turn you into a conniseur of all things acoustic.
A pickup option would have been much more comfortable an option than letting some guitar shop 'dude' wrestle with a 10mm drill bit and and a g-clamp naround your prive possession.