Customer Reviews

Normandy ATGWB-CH Archtop Guitar with Bigsby, Chrome

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I Own this Guitar! And I have to say.. this [...] is Baddass. I mean the chrome is just amazing. surprisingly light ,beautifully put together, the neck is killer and the kill switch is gnarly! Ive toured the country a bunch and wish I had this one for every show, its the ULTIMATE stage guitar! When I pull it out of the case people just freak I mean people just freak out! it looks so sweet! Players look at it with there mouth open, hold it, play it, and then say where t f**ck can I get one!? The sustain is foooorrrreeeeevvveeeerrrrrrrr! the tone is deep and cool, rich...not twangy or hollow like some metal guitars and with the Hum 57 pickups this things got balls 2 the wall. The cash is alot to lose these days but the Normandy is worth the doe. I cant say enough, this is a piece of Art and it plays like a dream, It will be one of your favorite guitars I have to tell you... its mine.. with out a doubt.

A proud owner of this Awesome Instrument,

Huck Johns
Capitol records "Huck"
and current frontman of
Black Robot
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I own a chrome Normandy with a Bigsby. I just got it and am completely floored. All my other guitars are quickly going to become lonely. The craftsmanship here is impeccable. The design was well thought out through-out and the result is a guitar that sounds amazing, like nothing else, and plays incredibly well. I love Bigsbys, and there are plenty of guitars out now with a Bigsby, and almost everyone of them pairs it with something like the typical Gibson tune-o-matic bridge. Gretsch offers a space-control or their own roller bridge. Normandy really thought about it and offered a roller bridge which is completely adjustable in every direction. My guitar arrived with a flawless setup and near perfect intonation. This is the best bridge for use with a Bigsby I've seen. I own two other guitars with Bigsbys (one with a space control and one with a tune-o-matic type) and this one stays in tune and intonates far better than both of those.

An obvious draw of this guitar is the unique Aluminum construction and chrome finish, and visually yes, it's awesome. I look cooler wearing this guitar than a dork like me has any right to expect. The real question is "great, how does that effect the sound?" The answer is, it's actually fantastic. My fear was that it would sound tinny, metalic, and have annoying high-pitched overtones that led to uncontrollable feedback. This is not at all the case. What you get out of the aluminum body is sustain for days. Normandy also gave it a graphite nut that gives that sustain even more lasting power. The pickups are really hot, but not with the character you get out of active pickups that I find fake and annoying sounding. These sound rich, midrangy, slightly unpredictable in the harmonics, and gainy. The guitar does not produce high-end feedback at high volumes despite being a hollow-body, but I have no problem getting the richer feedback I want out of it when I really lean in.

The price is high, but not compared to Many Gibson's or Gretsch's which I think this hanily beats in tone quality and playability. Did I mention how awesome this looks? Seriously, even at the high price point, I think it's a good deal. I can't ever imagine selling this guitar, and I can't imagine playing any of my other guitars live except in case of a tuning or broken string emergency. Les Pual--forget it, Duo Jet, not even close. Both great guitars, but they ain't quite this one.

I wasn't sure what to expect from such a pretty guitar, but I certainly wasn't thinking it would sound as good as it looked. This thing is not JUST pretty. It is a rock machine. I played it every night on tour through the UK and Europe and it will appear on a DVD that is included with my band's upcoming album, as well.
Straight out of the case, this guitar played incredibly. I received it at a venue and played it that night after playing it only at sound check. It felt immediately at home in my hands and had an incredible mid-range punch that I was pleasantly surprised by. It weighs around the same as a Les Paul Custom, too, which I was happy to learn. I was expecting it to be much heavier because of the materials. It remains one of the most comfortable guitars I own to play.
Jim at Normandy guitars puts a lot of love and hard work in to these guitars and it really shows. They are stunningly good-looking, play and sound great, and people are constantly asking me about it. Find one. Play it. Get one. Love it. I did.

Mike Squires
Duff McKagan's Loaded
Seattle, WA

I had the opportunity to play a Normandy guitar at a friend's house and was just blown away. I wasn't really sure what an all-metal body archtop would look and sound like, and I was surprised at every turn. The design and workmanship were stunning, and it's really a player's guitar, made by someone who knows and loves fine guitars. I don't think I've played a guitar that beats it for sustain, which I attribute to the arch-top metal body. I found it incredibly cool looking, it's the kind of guitar that on stage would add a lot of visual not to mention aural excitement. I think mainly it's being marketed as a rock guitar, and I'm more of a blues player, but I thought it was totally killer for blues (would be interesting to hear a jazz player on it, think it would work great for that too.) I was also surprised about the price, it is really about the same as a decent mass-produced electric. Seems like a great value.

I purchased the Normandy Chrome w/Bigsby guitar about 7 months ago from Amazon. I have been a Gibson Les Paul player for about 20 years or so when it comes to Electric. I do not normally write reviews on here, but I have to say that I had always wanted Gibson LP with Bigsby (re-issue - I certainly could not afford the real deal...) and I sort of took a gamble on this but was extremely surprised and happy with this guitar. It feels like a LP, still a little heavy, but I am used to that :) The action is just perfect for those accustomed to LP style. The Bigsby set-up is amazing. I am typically a chronic string breaker as I do tend to beat the cr@p out of my guitars when the need arises in a musical sense. I just realized, after probably 250 hrs or so of playing it, I have yet to break a string, and this is with heavy Bigsby and all your normal bends. I have the factory strings still on the guitar! That is insane! I obviously should change them to my standard 'Blue Steel', but it just hasn't come across my mind. That in itself is amazing. The rollers on the bridge are amazingly effective at not creating a pinch point, the usual break spot on the bridge. Besides that, the pick-up's are fantastic, and being a semi hollow body archtop, you can play with feedback to an extent that I never thought possible. It is a fingerprint magnet finish (obviously - chrome), but all in all the sweet tone, endless sustain and nice crunch and 'Neil Young' style beat the heck out of the guitar via Bigsby thing, makes this a excellent choice for those inclined to that style of playing. She is also very sweet sounding on the clean side and really just a joy to play. I hope this review helps if you are thinking about buying one of these. My Les Paul, although just a Standard from around '88, has been relegated to the position of back-up axe at this point. I simply do not wish to play anything but this amazing guitar.

I have one of the original Chrome Normandy Guitars, serial # 53. In fact the guitar I own is the very one that was used for the photographs on their web site and the one here on Amazon. What an amazing guitar! The feel and tone are the best of any electric I have ever played and the chrome finish is incredible. Everyone who sees it is awed. As with all of the other reviews, this is one incredible guitar!

But, the problem with chrome is when there is a problem with it, there is not much you can do about it. My guitar developed a bubble/blister on the back the size of a fifty cent piece. I have no idea how long this has been going on as I just noticed it while cleaning it. Imagine my shock and dismay. No big deal, I thought to myself, Jim Normandy will know what to do. So, when I contacted Jim at Normandy guitars he stated that there was nothing that he could do for me as the warrenty only covers the electronics and the hardware, not the finish!

What?!? The warranty states all defects in materials!!!! The finish is not covered as part of the materials???

This is a VERY expensive guitar, but if the chrome continues to lift off the back what the hell am going to do? If it was painted, no problem, just sand it down and repaint. But, with the chrome what are you going to do? Strip the whole thing?

Anyway, I love the look and feel and tone of the guitar, but I would be very leery about paying this much money for a chromed guitar again as now my guitar is not worth anywhere near what I paid for it. While this does not affect the tone or playability of the guitar, would you buy something that the finish is blistering off of?

I am going to sell it for whatever I can get out of it, big loss for me, and get a Les Paul or some thing else made of wood that can be repaired fairly easily...

Andrew