Norman Illegal N-10

This is a single pickup (humbucker with coil-tap for single-coil mode) guitar built either in '83 or '72 in Canada. I have seen many Norman acoustic guitars but never an electric model; in fact, I have never even HEARD of Norman building electrics, so I am very sure this one is extremely rare. For a picture, you can visit my duo's website at: http://lutzkibbutz.stonepile.ca/ . I first saw it in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada before Christmas in '97. The store owner said he got it new in '84 but it was misplaced in the back of the store for 13 years (!) until he found it and put it on display. I immediately told him I would buy it. I thought it would be a great gift for my wife for Christmas but, as it turns out, she has never played it as she doesn't have the urge to learn guitar. The tags were still on the guitar, but no year of manufacture or model number is evident. I sent a picture of it to a Canadian rare guitar dealer but he had never seen one or heard of one. I sent a jpeg and email (in both English and French) to the factory in Quebec where Normans were made and, after a number of months, Janet Godin sent a reply. The factory now supplies parts for Godin guitars and builds Seagull, Simon & Patrick, and Art & Lutherie guitars. She says nobody there knows much about this beast but from talking to persons who were around in the Quebec guitar scene of the early 70s (when Norman guitars were purchased by the current owner), the guitar was called an Illegal and probably had a model number of N-10. She indicates a few of these may have been around and sold off when the company changed hands in 1972 but unfortunately none were kept for the museum. My wife is pondering whether to offer this rarity to Godin for the museum in return for, say, a new Godin with a Roland pickup. This guitar is in very good condition other than a minor scratch or two, reflecting its unplayed status. I will try to dissuade her because of an amazing guitar-hero's tone this Norman produces, which I will elaborate on in the "Sound" section.

The body is a 5-piece design of alternating maple and mahogany wood, reminiscent of a BC Rich Mockingbird I had in the eighties. The shape is an original design and is quite tasteful and understated. The 22-fret neck is made of rosewood with dot position markers. Its scale length is the same as a Gibson Les Paul. Again, the single humbucker has a coil-tap switch. The other controls are for volume and tone. The bridge is a small but solid string-thru-body design. The pickup is made by Gotoh and I suspect the tuning machines are as well. The finish is a satin-type laquer application and augments the natural wood colours well.

I play this once in awhile through either my Marshall JCM800 or Line6 AX2 and it sounds very warm. Stangely, there is not nearly as much difference between the single-coil and humbucking modes as is usually apparent on other guitars with a coil-tap. This is good, I think, because usually the two tones are way too far apart (my Fury Fireball 6-string is another exception to the rule). As a result, the Norman is eminently playable in either mode, and I can get great country tones out of it. The piece-de-resistance though, is the magically accurate Brian May sound I discovered by accident. I was playing it and tried a Vox sound on the Line6 and WHAM! There it was...the super-elusive, impossible to find warm, fat, quetly aggressive "Tie Your Mother Down" sound of Queen's world-class guitarist! I was happier than a pig in slop and don't know if this sound comes from the pickup or guitar or both, but it is absolutely accurate and very sweet!!! I can also get some other good, classic tones out of it; one that comes to mind is Badfinger's "Baby Blue". Suffice it to say, though, the sound is the best feature of this plank!

Ms. Godin indicated that the these rarities were very well built and I believe her. The neck and the headstock are separate pieces of wood but this does not seem to have an adverse affect on the axe's overall sustain. The bolt-on neck joins the body with a tight fit but not too much so, which would cause the body to develop hairline cracks. Everything about the Illegal N-10 is utilitarian and solid. The only difficulty I have is that several of the frets on the high-E string side of the net were filed too much at the edges, and the 1st string sometimes wants to slide off the edge of the fretboard.

I have never used this 6-string for gigging because the material we play covers so many different genres that a 3-pickup guitar is the best choice (and even that one was rewired by myself the day I received it). Also, it is my wife's, and if I used it regularly she would think I just bought it for her so that I could use it! However, this thing is very, very solid and would hold up for many, many years of playing live.

Excellent (thanks Janet Godin!)...enough said.

I have had almost every quality electric guitar built and there are a few I wish I would have held onto but this one will not get out of the house as I like its sound and the idea that it is ultra, ultra rare, even though that in itself doesn't make it a collector's item. It really is too bad they didn't build more of these for the rest of the world to enjoy; I suppose it would be nice if it had 2 pickups but as such I have not heard of any other having only one so that makes it a little more special?! I cannot believe I got it this cheap, either.