Jim Normandy created Normandy Guitars after developing a lifelong passion for rock music and classic guitars. He studied industrial psychology and worked with a welder friend to design an aluminum archtop guitar using laser cutting. The guitars are manufactured using three industrial lasers to cut bodies from aluminum sheets. This process allows for affordable, high-quality guitars that sell between $2,000-$3,000 due to lower production costs compared to other custom guitar makers. Players praise the guitars for their sustain and tone.

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Laureen J. BeLLeviLLe
(and often the back) of the traditional archtop guitar is the cuts could be accomplished with a punch press, “But
either carved out of a block of solid wood, or heat-pressed there would be more finish work involved, including mill-
using laminations. The arching of the top is similar to the ing, which is time consuming and requires additional work
violin family, on which these guitars were originally based. holding fixtures.” TIG welding is used for the guitar assem-
Laser cut aLuminum guitars produce
“Our goal all along has been to be different but not too weird bly, and that’s what Zephyr considers the slow part of the
or ‘space age,’” explains Normandy, “…to offer the guitar product process.
cLassic rock ‘n’ roLL sound
world something new and modern but with classic sound: As explained by Normandy Guitars, early metal guitar
an affordable but ‘top of the line,’ high-end masterpiece.” manufacturers attempted to build their product out of
The Normandy guitar is made from 5052 aluminum, solid billeted aluminum, which must be custom made and
which the company says results in sustain qualities that are tends to be costly with limited availability. The Normandy
better and have been touted as far superior to the traditional guitars are manufactured in a production environment,
wooden-bodied guitars. “The purity and length of time a which makes the product more consistent, readily avail-
life-long love of rock ‘n’ roll and single, plucked note can ring out clean and true are far supe- able, and affordable. “We are able to make the body in a
rior,” says Normandy. “This is important to most guitar play- fraction of the time it takes other folks to create theirs. So
an appreciation for classic guitars ers, especially those who play lead guitar.” our price point is considerably less than what you’d pay
Normandy Guitars has enlisted the help of Zephyr Engi- for other guitars, somewhere between $2000 and $3000,”
guided Jim Normandy in the neering, a South Salem, OR, contract manufacturer, to says Normandy.
produce the guitars. Zephyr utilizes a machining cell that The guitars are available in nine colors and three dif-
pursuit of his dream. In his teen comprises three lasers—ranging in power from 3000 to ferent finishes: chrome, powder coat, and Candy Apple
4000 watts with a cutting capacity for up to 0.750in plate— Metal Flake finish. The chrome finish is triple elec-
years that dream was to take the stage like Jimmy Hendrix from which they report getting superb edge quality on troplated, a process during which the body is initially
mild/stainless steel and aluminum. The lasers also fea- buffed, electrically charged in a hot bath with Zincate,
or Jimmy Page. More recently, and perhaps more realisti- ture automatic load/unload systems and provide 24-hour then dipped in copper, covered with nickel, and com-
lights-out production. pleted with a flashy chrome finish.
cally, the dream was to create an aluminum archtop guitar. Using a TRUMPF 3030 3kW laser, Zephyr is able to cut The classic vintage feel of the guitar is a hit with its players.
12 guitar bodies from each 4 x 8 foot sheet of aluminum. “The guy who I played with in my first heavy metal band is
Normandy—a music lover who also has a passion for drawing, Although Zephyr operates a number of other machines, now playing for Black N Blue with a Normandy guitar, so in
painting, and sculpting—began the move from making music to including units for punching, forming, robotic and non- a way we are still creating music together,” says Normandy.
making musical instruments about 15 years ago. In addition to robotic welding, and CNC milling and turning, the laser And, he readily admits that he considers himself a lucky
playing bass in rock bands playing crowded concerts and putting has been determined to be the best method for working man: he has been able to combine his musical expertise with
out an album in the mid-1980s, Normandy studied at Portland State with compound curves. Design engineer Doug Jones admits his entrepreneurial spirit to realize his dream. ✺
University and earned a master’s degree in industrial psychology.
With the help of a welder friend, he crafted 15 prototypes to get
to what he believes is the perfect shape and sound for his aluminum
guitar. Because of various tonal qualities and different grades of alu-
minum, it took time to get the right tone and sound.
By design, the archtop enables sound to travel more smoothly
throughout the chamber of the instrument. “Sound waves are like
water,” explains Normandy. “If the angles inside are sharp and 90
degrees to each other, the sound waves bounce around and get
garbled. Having the arch allows for more ‘round’
waves that travel across the expanse of the sur-
face inside and spread across the sound bar
inside (under the bridge) in a smoother,
more fluid manner. This results in a richer
tone. Also, aesthetically, it lends to a more
organic appearance and feel.” The top or belly
6 Industrial Laser Solutions 7
DECEMBER 2008 Industrial Laser Solutions
DECEMBER 2008 www.industrial-lasers.com www.industrial-lasers.com