Entertaining the Troops

[Aussie_Don]

That particular guitar is a Norman B-20 made in Lapatrie, Quebec by the good folks at Godin. I also have a Garrison G-50, a Yamaha FG-345II, a Gibson ES137 and an American Fender Strat.

Ah, OK. I'd say that it was one of a number of guitars around that owe a lot to
the design of the Martin dreadnoughts. There are a couple of makers here in
Oz that are building guitars of similar style. But I did notice that the body
did not seem to be rosewood.

I've a Martin HD-28, a 12D-28 and a Taylor Baritone. The baritone is the only
one with pick-ups, though. A few years back I saw and tried a Martin made
from Australian blackwood. I had a much different timbre than the usual
rosewood, warmer and without the "edge" that cuts through noise in a session.

When I was a late teen in the US, everyone wanted Martins to play folk
music. So when I had money in my later years, instead of a red sports car
I bought a pair of Martins. (I'd had a guitar in my youth, but it was what
Aussies call a "cheese cutter" with the action about 3/8" off the fretboard.)

Is yours maple? It looks as if it might be.

-Don