Normandy Guitars

You might think guitars are only made of wood, but Jim Normandy, of Normandy Guitars, is out to change your perception.

Over the past 15 years, he's developed a manufacturing process to build an all aluminum guitar body. And the results are an absolutely stunning product. In fact, they just won the 2008 Summer NAMM show "Best of Show" award.

In fact, here's the "Top Ten Reasons to Own a Normandy Guitar".

While using aluminum isn't an entirely new idea, a complete aluminum hollow body guitar is unique. Rickenbacher made cast aluminum lap steel guitars as early as 1931, and Kramer and Travis Bean produced guitars with aluminum necks back in the 70s/80s. But until now, no one has produced an all aluminum body except the Veleno (there are only just over 200 of these made). Normandy Guitars is the first company ever to offer a production archtop guitar.

The design is based on vintage jazz guitars like the Gibson L-5 or Gretsch G6120 Chet Atkins models. Included is a vintage-style Bigsby® Vibrato Tailpiece, a custom-made Warmoth maple neck and Gotoh tuners. They also make their own Alnico 5 humbucker pickups, overwound for higher output and better tone.

Jim Normandy Interview

Here's an awesome interview with Jim Normandy that explains a lot about the thought and design behind this axe:

Lots of great info in that video! Special thanks to Kink Radio for this one.

The guitars are built with an attention to quality you don't find at most of the big manufacturers. For example, all the components are hand-picked.

The painted models are "powder coated", which means the paint is electro-statically bonded to the metal. No peeling! Each guitar takes months to finish - there are actually some very cool photos that show the process of building these works of art.

While the style looks more bluesy or jazzy, you're not going to want to limit this axe to these genres. Plug it into a cranked Marshall or Mesa and be prepared for some sonic tones that will work in any rock tune. The quality of aircraft-grade aluminum used to build the bodies ensures you get the sustain and depth to your sound you strive for.

Head over to their home page to hear Normandy Guitars in action. There's a couple sound bytes - punk and blues to get a good idea of the tones achievable with this axe. You can also check out more of their vids here.

If you're ready to go now, you can get your very own Normandy Guitar starting for right around $2000. Either head over here to contact a dealer, or if you happen to be in Oregon, stop in to visit their authorized dealers and grab a Normandy Guitar. Show us you're a true metal fan!

If you are interested in becoming a dealer, Jim wants to hear from you! Click on the link above the flaming chrome guitar to the right of the authorized dealers to fill out the registration form. Get in now before another local boutique guitar shop decides they need to be the exclusive dealer in your area.

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