Product: Norman B20 Prefix Pro
Price Paid: 540 (Canadian)
Submitted
06/12/2000
at
05:31pm
by
Jesse Wong
Email: jswong2<at>julian dot uwo dot ca
Features
:
8
Just bought this guitar today. Simple dreadnought design, nothing fancy at all. Mahogany sides, satin finish, solid-top. It's a gorgeous baby though. This one has the more advanced prefix pro pickup, with brillance, treble, middle, bass, phase, volume and notch controls (Fishman). The battery is easy to change, the unit rotates and the battery is easy to access. The tuning gears I hear are pretty crappy, they go out of tune easily. Probably the only real downside of the guitar. Other than that, it's a nice Canadian guitar with good wood, for good price.
Sound
:
10
This guitar sounds simply amazing. The sound is mature and well rounded, as if it has been played for over 5 years. It's mighty loud, great bass and doesn't sound twangy at all. I use this guitar with a Peavey KB/A 15, a tiny 15 watter and it sounds absolutely amazing! This guitar will sound good on any amp you try it on. It has the most crisp and cleanest sound you can get without dishing forth a fortune. I tried the basic pickup version of this guitar and didn't sound half as good. If you're looking for the best sound, this guitar's got it.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
6
The pickup system was harshly installed, I checked inside and it looked as if someone just drilled it in. The guitar seems fine, maybe one tiny screwup is that the tuning dots on the side neck are slightly painted over.
Reliability/Durability
:
8
This guitar has a satin finish, no heavy varnish. I guess that's the price to pay for such good quality sound. It's very suspectible to dings and dents here and there, and you have to watch the humidity levels like mad. Basically, treat this as if it were your wife. I'd definitely use it without a backup. The electronics last about 160 hours straight. Good.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I've got a 2 year sweet warranty on this baby. But I've never dealt with Norman. I hear they're really reliable, their parent company is Lasido, a Quebec based company. So if anything goes wrong, they're just across the border.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for about 4 years now, I had a satin Vantage which I dropped when it was 8 months old. Can you believe it? I was playing on the pavement and the button popped out when I was using a strap. I found out about the Norman because 2 people at my church have the same model guitar, just without the pickup and basic eq. It's a great guitar, nothing fancy, solid sound, solid make, solid company, solid price. If I had it stolen, I'd steal another one back. Hah! I'd recommend this with my life.
