Another GrEaT OnE Craig! I love it when contemplators get-ahead. You can sense the courage & torque it took to carve out his niche. Rather than just ‘parking’ the ideas, he manifested into life what he was imagining. National treasure is right. 👍
Norm to listen and hear your story is exciting and wild. Thank you again for making it n remembering where you came from and help the needy. For that and your integrity makes you successful in life I hope the young listening to your story will learn some lessons of life.👍🏻🖖☮️🎸👂❤️
I like these stories and Norm really.is the man in this world. I also would like to send a huge thumbs up to the interviewer. He's very good, sincere, and most of all, he listens. Job well done mate, from Australia
Brought in a pristine, closet - museum 1955 Fender Princeton back in the 90’s to Norm just to look at it. He immediately started to devalue and downgrade its value and offered me $300 for it. I’ll never forget it. He was really insulting. But that was his hustle. So he never was my internet hero. More likened to a used car salesman. Harsh but true
Hey....that's your story. He can't be likeable in every situation and be best friend to everyone. For what it's worth, I believe you. Why wouldn't I? Everyone will eventually show you their assh*le side. I know that when I was young, I had a particularly peculiar penchant at bringing out the assh*le in some of the nicest people. I'd call it a talent. I'm not as good with that anymore, but it's probably for the best. Anyway, I for one thank you for your perspective, and your courage to share your story. And hey, it was the 90's. it's been 30 plus years since. We all change and thank goodness for the human proclivity to want to do better as we age__usually. Huh? He definitely roots for a lot of the young guitarists that stop by to play. Take care, brother.
A business isn't a pawn shop. When you have to pay $30,000 a month rent to stay in business an owner has to make profit. Sell it yourself and stop whining.
@@johnsmith-bk4ps that’s what i heard indeed. He’s a very shrewd business man, nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn’t bring anything i would like to sell to that store 😅
@@johnsmith-bk4psI used to work for him many years ago and this is 100% true. The dude would straight up lie about prices or an “issue” with an instrument.
Thanks for posting this. I'm surprised it's only just shown up in my RUclips recommendations. It's a really insightful interview with someone who's done so much to influence the vintage guitar market we know today. Norm comes across as a really decent guy - straight and fair, whilst not shy to admit that it's a business. It's wonderful how much of his success is due to his wife's intuition and business sense. 😎
12:10 $800 in 1970 is equivalent to nearly $6k today. Obviously can't buy one of *those* Les Pauls for $6k today, but can sure buy a nice one. This was a fun interview, Norm is great.
I remember the George Harrison, red Les Paul. My keyboard player worked at Whalin’s Sound City and I happened to be there when George brought in the Les Pauls! George was so nice and so funny! Quiet Beatle my arse…LOL he basically never shut up…
A WONDERFUL INTERVIEW GUYS NORM IS A FRIEND TO ME OVER THE YEARS I’VE BOUGHT SO MANY VINTAGE GUITARS, BASSES & AMPS FROM NORMAN HARRIS I’VE PLAYED EVERYDAY SINCE 1960 LONG LIVE SOL BETNUM CARLOS GUITARLOS 90042 USA
Thanks for sharing! My sisters and I had bought a house in the early 1980’s just up the street from Norm’s when he was on the corner of Tampa and Vanowen. Wish I’d have stopped in and bought a guitar then. But it was a low profile store in a non-descript neighborhood of Reseda (the biggest name in shops was Turner’s Outdoorsman across the street). Then I moved into the canyon community of La Tuna and it turns out that my neighbor King Cotton not only knows Norm, but did a music review program with him on the radio! And Norm is known to the younger crowd as well; my sixteen year old niece came to visit from Portland Oregon, and on her to-do list was shop at Norm’s Rare Guitars
Thank you for this entertaining interview with a great and wise person. I wished Norm's shop was nearby but "socials" made it possible to getting to more familiair with him. It was a great start of my day, thank you so much, from Amsterdam Netherlands.
I was at a Guitar Show in NY and actually saw that Desert Sand Stratocaster with the Anodized Guard and a Solid Rosewood Neck that Norm had sold to a Collector around 2001/02... It was insane...
Thank you for interviewing Norm! What a true treat for anyone interested in music and especially guitars..Norm is so down to earth and humble..He is that very rare nugget he speaks of..Can’t wait to read his book and watch the Documentary..
Love the interview! I'm only 70 and started playing guitar in 1962 but remember when they were just called old guitars and could be bought cheaply but for some people like me it wasn't cheap enough. Once I got older with a job in 1972 I made up for lost time. I did it a little different. After I quit the road I started running a pawnshop in Garland, Tx. that specialized in making loans on "old guitars and amps" and there was many. We were the go to place in the DFW metroplex and musicians were always broke. Guys like George Gruhn made yearly visits to see us and of course the Japanese with their briefcases full of hundred dollar bills just like in the movies. Good old days!
When Norm talks about his friend Ed, I wonder if he’s talking about Ed of Ed‘s guitars. Ed had his store off of Bird Road in Miami, and he was legendary.
Norm is a very good man. Not many people in this world like him. Think about it ...if you have enough money to make you happy. Why not make some one else happy. God bless Norm and all his music friends.
I'm old enough to remember seeing Guitars and practice amps at Garage sales. Old gear just didn't have much respect or value in 1972. Everyone wanted to ditch their 60lb tube amps for lightweight solid state. Old guitars had warped necks and high action. Your local music store in 1972 didn't know how to reset a neck. It's a totally different world today. Vintage gear is sought after and valuable.
100% Agreed. As it turns out, my brother and I started buying guitars at garage sales and swap meets. We sold several to Norm's in his first shop in Reseda Ca. Also some amps. You're right about them too. Mesa Boogie Amps came out and old Fender Tweeds were inexpensive. A guy named Scott was Norm's shop manager at the time. Wish I held on to some of those. Bout my first car from those sales. Now I could have bought a house.
Few yrs ago, me and my new wife went to CA for a week. Visited NRG. Him & Mark were there. Both were super nice. We BS'd for awhile & he signed & gave me a book. Fun afternoon. Best wishes from Arkansas
I'm in England, I'm 63 and it's on my bucket list to visit, but just hope it's not an anti-climax as I've bought it up so much in my mind, but will list other things to do whilst I'm there.
I walked in with $25k on Me. Looking for a player’s grade ‘63,’64 Strat cuz I’m no collector. I poked around the amps, the new guitars, the hanging for the GP used guitars, smiled at the helpers, at Norm, walked out. I’m glad I did- I didn’t need to blow $25-$40K on my hobby, I, like so many of us, get sucked down the rabbit hole and sure, playing a great guitar is wondrous. Thanks, Norm!
great interview my friend now I'm going to listen to your Dave Amato interview these are great to listen on my bike ride in the morning in Sacramento it's too hot from the afternoon and the rest of these summer days anyway have a good day 😊
Don't hear many folks mention Little Beaver! Many of us followed the same trajectory until now when it comes to vintage guitars, back when they were "old".
Great conversation! To realise that this man’s little guitar shop at present day is probably the best known guitar shop decor in the whole world because of RUclips! You can even recognize certain guitars and the trusty Ampeg bass amp! Like it’s our local music shop! (I’ve never been to the USA!) Like the Cheers bar. 😄 Also great to see and hear that in real life, like on this pod, this man is even more Norm(al) than on his shop’s RUclips channel. Perhaps that is because being in these RUclips videos just might be less easy than it looks... I just ordered his book, really looking forward to reading it! 🖖
Norm is a legend. I can not point out anything negative about what he is or what he does. My ultimate respect to him. There is a fine line between taking advantage of a situation and having a vision that becomes reality. I don't necessarily agree with the insane cost of these instruments. As a builder, I have different perspectives on vintage guitars. But that's me. Norm, you have my ultimate respect.😎
Not bad for an organist. And this guy really reminds me of Don Walton, vintage guitar dealer in past times, in Jacksonville, Florida. Yeh. Drag yourself to work. Nineteen years here, in an 8'X8'X8' office box. What joy. My brother and I knew the beauty and importance of old guitars, even in the early 70s at his music store in Tallahassee. I bought a 9.5/10 1962 Melody Maker in 1970 for $50! And yeh. God will bless your efforts. And GO NOLES! And I own an ES-355 and it is one fine guitar! And those old Martins were set from the factory high at the bridge for hard picking for bluegrass leads. That is what allowed Taylor to get into the market. God has truly blessed you, Norm!
@@EveryoneLovesGuitar Always a pleasure, my friend. I am so happy that you progressed through your health issues ... Around that same time, I needed both hips to be replaced and spent a year in PT ... life's a joy, what! But Jesus loves us and is coming soon for his church. Be ye blessed!
I passed on a late '55 LP goldtop with tun-o-matic in very good condition back in 1996, it was hanging on the wall for £5000. Although it was a lot of money, it seemed like a good deal. I didn't have that kind of money at the time, could kick myself now, should have got a loan.
I did not know that Norm played with Jaco, really mind blowing! I wonder how Norm feels about Jaco’s self destruction in light of his work with the shelter.
Sadly, being in the music industry - especially back then... I'm sure Jaco is unfortunately one on a long list of people who have self-destructed. Be well Tris!
Norm is nothing short of a legend amongst us guitarists here in SoCal. If you're looking for something new to you (it might be a way-cool awesome used instrument) Norm's is the best spot in the greater L.A. area to shop. Cheers!! 🙂🙃🙂
I know there's no way they could possibly know how many stolen guitars they have bought but my 1984 Gibson Karina V was stolen by a pawn dealer from the pawn shop and sold to a man that flew from Texas to get it and then it wound up at Norm's rare guitars 10 years later and I see him selling it and there's nothing I can do about it except for show him the pictures and the paperwork and prove that this store robbed me
@@davidcollin1436 I've never been able to get in contact with somebody that would even put me directly in contact with one of these guys and I wouldn't want to involve the police if I could just track the guitar down see getting the police involved will just make the guitar disappear I want to track the guitar down
Thats what my older brother did, now he mows lawns, we both talk about if he had kept all those guitars! My pal up north never got rid of anything, he has 2 million in guitars, just his martins are around a million, les pauls etc etc. He has started selling them here and there to retire and travel !
so, he was lying to people that he was a collector, while buying guitars to flip them for profit. Lying not to turn them off, while knowing perfectly well he would be re-selling them.
I have a different view of his business: it ain't a charity. He is the single biggest factor, next to hoarders, that put great older instruments so far out of reach of musicians it is insane.
@@dragonpundit.6443 you know, I look for the scam in everything what can I say? I’m from the north east that’s just the way we’re wired and normal. Got somebody’s great all guitars in the 70s and 80s but they weren’t worth anything. They were 25 years old then and manufacturing guitarist when I started playing in the 70s, which pretty poor The Japanese entered the market and blew away the American guitars. I’m granted to the late 70s when you could buy early 60s Les Paul at a pawnshop starting to play guitar in the late 70s and my father didn’t want to spend $150 on 1968 telecaster cause it was too much money to spend on the kid which is fair what $20,000 I’m a musician. I’m a working class guy. I can’t afford that that’s a car and those early 60s eyes balls are at 30 and $40,000. So the only people you’re attracting are doctors lawyers in Indian chiefs with these school instruments and those guys pretend to play blues blues, which are really bad at working musicians like you and I can have something old and cool unless it’s really beat up or modified heavily a working guitar with all working guitars but nowadays they’re making some great instruments and new ones that fuck him I’ll take the new instruments. You guys can keep the old ones, but normal is a typical baby boomer and he’s trying to sell everybody those guitars highly inflated or what their value should be nice or 50s to be worth at most five $6000 because you spent that kind of money to have Luther or Collins or somebody who is respected build you a guitar would be the greatest ever played so why would you buy a factory instrument made by a bunch of unskilled people for the price of what it would cost you to buy a house it doesn’t make sense to me all you are doing is making Norm rich in a market. He helped create..
Just curious… would I be correct in guessing that none of you who are knocking him have ever gotten an idea, run with it and been passionate and dedicated enough about it to do whatever it took to transform it into a business, even if that meant working 90-120 hours a week to run, develop and market it? This is part of what is meant by phrases like “The American Dream” and “The land of the free and the home of the brave”. Norm was a working musician who wasn’t earning enough to live well, had the inspiration, sheer guts and determination to make something out of nothing, took a simple idea and created a business from scratch and learning as he went, to support his family. I know about that and respect him as much as I do because I did the exact same thing, 40 years ago, when I was a professional drummer and drum instructor whose wife came down with a debilitating condition (MS). With all her medical expenses, the only way we were going to make it was if I came up with some other way to bring in money, so I built a business doing something I had never done before, teaching myself as I went, and I kept on doing that for 27 years, until the Great Recession wiped it out (at which point I went back to school, learned a new trade and launched a new business that I’m still running today). IMHO, necessity is the mother of invention, invention is the mother of determination, determination is the mother of endless hours of insanely hard work, insanely hard work is the mother of success and success is the mother of criticism from armchair quarterbacks who’ve never actually 11:27 put in the work to achieve results like those that they’re criticizing.
@@TheHelpCoach well, I like hoarding guitars just as much as the next person. He hoards on a large scale, which makes them harder to get, artificially inflating the price, so it costs me more to be a pig
I visit Rudy’s Music Shop in Scarsdale New York sometimes. They have vintage guitars for Sale. The prices are ridiculous and yet the guitars actually sell. Amazing! 🎸😎
@@ChromaticHarp Yes wealthy is a requirement to be there however, even the natives have a double take about the price of a near perfect 1953 Telecaster or a 1957 Stratocaster! It’s even expensive for them! 😎🎸
Im over here in rhe UK...I vaguely..😅 recal.. I saw Rorry Gallagher back in 71...incredible. Beatles in 64..Anyway, there is not much here in We didnt have back in those great days of Flower power. 😅 & rock n roll...BUT I hand it to you guys over in the USA.. We didnt have a Norm. .❤ .love this dude.
The absolute best business to be running., Norm gets to hang out with rock stars and guitar legends every day. Looking forward to the documentary when released next month. IMDB has it scheduled for July 28
26:44..It's not a matter of time guy. It's a matter of the opportunity. NY Times New York City Concentration of good stuff in New York City out of a high end newspaper. That's like a gold mine that would jump you right out of bed to get that paper.
It may or may not seem like Norm was being a bit dishonest, it seems a bit like that myself. One must remember that everyone else had the same opportunity to do what he did. That’s where it becomes a lot different than being dishonest. It becomes a fact that he saw what the majority of the rest of us did not. Still it is only the very few people like him who have made these guitars unobtainable by those of us who can play them well enough but aren’t rich so will never be able to buy one, even though we had the chance.
Now the guitar has been purchased 345 different times but I can still prove that it belongs to me and never should have been sold what should I do about it
Ive seen some vintage dealers take parts from the era to make a vintage guitar who had missing parts an “all original”guitar. These old generation dealers are not to be trusted. But maybe thats just “business”.
Pin Comment: Thank you for listening! Check out the rest of our interviews on RUclips here: elg.fun/yt 🎶 💥 🎸
One of the best, intelligent, insightful interviews with Norm.... Ever!!!! Well done!!
Glad you enjoyed the interview Robert, and thanks for listening 💥 🎶 🎸 !
Another GrEaT OnE Craig! I love it when contemplators get-ahead. You can sense the courage & torque it took to carve out his niche. Rather than just ‘parking’ the ideas, he manifested into life what he was imagining. National treasure is right. 👍
Well said Billy!
Norm is a rare treasure himself. Thanks for this interview.
Glad you enjoyed the interview jeff, and thanks for listening 💥 🎶 🎸 !
what about my stolen guitar
Great interview, puts Norm's life in perspective. He made it without leaving collateral damage behind him, your at peace with life.
You never sold him a guitar
I am his collateral Damage. He knew I wouldnt sell my Les Paul but he bought it from a neighborhood thief after begging me to sell it the day before
Guy is a wealth of knowledge and his humble, congenial personality; truly an American treasure.
He buys known stolen guitars
@@richiebricker For the longest time, he hardly ever put anything on police hold.
Norm's story would make a great movie. He is so dedicated. I think a lot of people would be inspired by how he got started.
Thanks for listening
Norm to listen and hear your story is exciting and wild. Thank you again for making it n remembering where you came from and help the needy. For that and your integrity makes you successful in life I hope the young listening to your story will learn some lessons of life.👍🏻🖖☮️🎸👂❤️
Glad you enjoyed the interview localguy8, and thanks for listening 💥 🎶 🎸 !
But what if he buys stolen guitars
I like these stories and Norm really.is the man in this world. I also would like to send a huge thumbs up to the interviewer. He's very good, sincere, and most of all, he listens. Job well done mate, from Australia
Thanks for your kind words LekkerDops and glad you enjoyed this 👍🏻🎸♫
What if he sells stolen guitars? Like mine
Somehow I missed this episode! Great interview as always!🎸❤🎸❤
Thanks for your kind words Gregory and glad you enjoyed this 👍🏻🎸♫
Norm is above top shelf and a true gentleman.
Ha ha. he still hasnt tried to get my les paul back to me
Brought in a pristine, closet - museum 1955 Fender Princeton back in the 90’s to Norm just to look at it. He immediately started to devalue and downgrade its value and offered me $300 for it. I’ll never forget it. He was really insulting. But that was his hustle. So he never was my internet hero. More likened to a used car salesman. Harsh but true
Same here, a mint 65 gibson electric. He wouldnt budge above 350. I needed gas money to get home.the sky,s grow dark when he,s buying
Nowadays you're better off selling on FB marketplace than going to one of these jokers.
Hey....that's your story. He can't be likeable in every situation and be best friend to everyone. For what it's worth, I believe you. Why wouldn't I? Everyone will eventually show you their assh*le side. I know that when I was young, I had a particularly peculiar penchant at bringing out the assh*le in some of the nicest people. I'd call it a talent. I'm not as good with that anymore, but it's probably for the best. Anyway, I for one thank you for your perspective, and your courage to share your story. And hey, it was the 90's. it's been 30 plus years since. We all change and thank goodness for the human proclivity to want to do better as we age__usually. Huh? He definitely roots for a lot of the young guitarists that stop by to play. Take care, brother.
A business isn't a pawn shop. When you have to pay $30,000 a month rent to stay in business an owner has to make profit. Sell it yourself and stop whining.
@@curtisogle4333 Goerge Gruhn in Nashville treated me the same way. Offered me $25 for a pristine 100 yr old mandolin
I have met Norm on a few occasions, and he is the nicest guy you can meet. He treats everybody with respect and his staff is awesome as well.
What if he buys stolen guitars?
i listened to this interview again and was thinking the world would be better with more people like Norm great guy
Meeting Norm is on my bucket list..... He seems like the most humble nice guy you could ever meet.
Youl get over that once you try to sell him a guitar
@@johnsmith-bk4ps that’s what i heard indeed. He’s a very shrewd business man, nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn’t bring anything i would like to sell to that store 😅
@@johnsmith-bk4psI used to work for him many years ago and this is 100% true. The dude would straight up lie about prices or an “issue” with an instrument.
Thanks for posting this. I'm surprised it's only just shown up in my RUclips recommendations. It's a really insightful interview with someone who's done so much to influence the vintage guitar market we know today. Norm comes across as a really decent guy - straight and fair, whilst not shy to admit that it's a business. It's wonderful how much of his success is due to his wife's intuition and business sense. 😎
Glad you enjoyed the interview @rowbags3017, and thanks for listening 💥 🎶 🎸 !
12:10 $800 in 1970 is equivalent to nearly $6k today. Obviously can't buy one of *those* Les Pauls for $6k today, but can sure buy a nice one. This was a fun interview, Norm is great.
Thank you for listening Art of Shred! 🎉🔥😇
I remember the George Harrison, red Les Paul. My keyboard player worked at Whalin’s Sound City and I happened to be there when George brought in the Les Pauls! George was so nice and so funny! Quiet Beatle my arse…LOL he basically never shut up…
hahaha great story!
Very nice interview of Norman Harris. Very cool person. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for listening Lee!
if everyone was a little bit like you Norn the world would be a much better place ,love to you
A WONDERFUL INTERVIEW GUYS
NORM IS A FRIEND TO ME
OVER THE YEARS I’VE BOUGHT SO MANY VINTAGE GUITARS, BASSES & AMPS FROM NORMAN HARRIS
I’VE PLAYED EVERYDAY SINCE 1960
LONG LIVE SOL BETNUM
CARLOS GUITARLOS 90042 USA
Glad you enjoyed the interview @GuitarlosCarlos, and thanks for listening 💥 🎶 🎸 !
He's a thief to me after he bought my less paul from a thief, and he knew it was mine
One of the best interviews I’ve ever heard. A lot of wisdom and Inspiring.Great personal story. Thank you and Norm.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for listening 🔥
Thanks for sharing!
My sisters and I had bought a house in the early 1980’s just up the street from Norm’s when he was on the corner of Tampa and Vanowen. Wish I’d have stopped in and bought a guitar then. But it was a low profile store in a non-descript neighborhood of Reseda (the biggest name in shops was Turner’s Outdoorsman across the street).
Then I moved into the canyon community of La Tuna and it turns out that my neighbor King Cotton not only knows Norm, but did a music review program with him on the radio!
And Norm is known to the younger crowd as well; my sixteen year old niece came to visit from Portland Oregon, and on her to-do list was shop at Norm’s Rare Guitars
That is cool @DanielinLaTuna! Thanks for sharing! 💥🎶🔥
Very cool interview!! So many good stories
Norm is such a lovely gentleman. I could listen to him forever.
Thank you for this entertaining interview with a great and wise person. I wished Norm's shop was nearby but "socials" made it possible to getting to more familiair with him. It was a great start of my day, thank you so much, from Amsterdam Netherlands.
Norm is a good dude. Glad I got to meet him. Love from Australia 🇦🇺
Thank you for listening @123uzuz! 🎉🔥😇
I was at a Guitar Show in NY and actually saw that Desert Sand Stratocaster with the Anodized Guard and a Solid Rosewood Neck that Norm had sold to a Collector around 2001/02... It was insane...
Thank you for interviewing Norm! What a true treat for anyone interested in music and especially guitars..Norm is so down to earth and humble..He is that very rare nugget he speaks of..Can’t wait to read his book and watch the Documentary..
Glad you enjoyed it & thanks for listening!
His store is must-visit if you're ever within, say, 500 miles of LA.
Norm does business. I brought in a few guitars for appraisal; he gets right to it. The store is every bit as cool as the YT vids.
It's amazing what a little bit of brains and a lot of hard work will do. God Bless Norm Harris and God Bless America.
Thank you for listening 🔥
@@kenbash2951 and a million dollars to start up
Love the interview! I'm only 70 and started playing guitar in 1962 but remember when they were just called old guitars and could be bought cheaply but for some people like me it wasn't cheap enough. Once I got older with a job in 1972 I made up for lost time. I did it a little different. After I quit the road I started running a pawnshop in Garland, Tx. that specialized in making loans on "old guitars and amps" and there was many. We were the go to place in the DFW metroplex and musicians were always broke. Guys like George Gruhn made yearly visits to see us and of course the Japanese with their briefcases full of hundred dollar bills just like in the movies. Good old days!
Great story, thanks for sharing and for listening!
When Norm talks about his friend Ed, I wonder if he’s talking about Ed of Ed‘s guitars. Ed had his store off of Bird Road in Miami, and he was legendary.
'Chance favors the prepared'
*You're awesome, Norm. What a great interview
Thank you for listening Phil ! 🎉🔥😇
Norm is a very good man. Not many people in this world like him. Think about it ...if you have enough money to make you happy. Why not make some one else happy. God bless Norm and all his music friends.
I'm old enough to remember seeing Guitars and practice amps at Garage sales. Old gear just didn't have much respect or value in 1972. Everyone wanted to ditch their 60lb tube amps for lightweight solid state. Old guitars had warped necks and high action. Your local music store in 1972 didn't know how to reset a neck. It's a totally different world today. Vintage gear is sought after and valuable.
100% Agreed. As it turns out, my brother and I started buying guitars at garage sales and swap meets. We sold several to Norm's in his first shop in Reseda Ca. Also some amps. You're right about them too. Mesa Boogie Amps came out and old Fender Tweeds were inexpensive. A guy named Scott was Norm's shop manager at the time. Wish I held on to some of those. Bout my first car from those sales. Now I could have bought a house.
Great interview! Enjoyable start to finish. Thank you !
Glad you enjoyed the interview @Humbucker1103, and thanks for listening 💥 🎶 🎸 !
One of the best interviews I have listened to. Norm is pretty awesome. J.Au-en
Thanks for listening Susan!
Great interview!!! Thank you!
Thank you for listening Skillet's Guitar Shack ! Mark Millsap! 🎉🔥😇
@@EveryoneLovesGuitar what a great podcast you are doing! I learn something everytime I listen.
@@skilletsguitarshackmarkmil8978 Thanks man that's very kind of you and I DO appreciate you listening :-)
Wondering if Norm had something to do with the Chiquita guitar Michael J Fox uses in the opening of Back to the Future?
I loved Bobby’s singing. I saw him at Paul Mason Mountain Winery in Saratoga about 30 or so years ago. He was amazing. Great venue!
Thank you for listening @Jamzocd! 🎉🔥😇
Few yrs ago, me and my new wife went to CA for a week. Visited NRG. Him & Mark were there. Both were super nice. We BS'd for awhile & he signed & gave me a book. Fun afternoon. Best wishes from Arkansas
Cool @billyclub9863 Glad you liked this and thanks for listening! 👂 🎶 🎸
I'm in England, I'm 63 and it's on my bucket list to visit, but just hope it's not an anti-climax as I've bought it up so much in my mind, but will list other things to do whilst I'm there.
Fantastic interview as always .....Norm is THE MAN !!! 😎🎸👍
Glad you enjoyed the interview Todd, and thanks for listening 💥 🎶 🎸 !
I walked in with $25k on
Me. Looking for a player’s grade ‘63,’64 Strat cuz I’m no collector. I poked around the amps, the new guitars, the hanging for the GP used guitars, smiled at the helpers, at Norm, walked out. I’m glad I did- I didn’t need to blow $25-$40K on my hobby, I, like so many of us, get sucked down the rabbit hole and sure, playing a great guitar is wondrous. Thanks, Norm!
@@WickBeavers should have bought one
Fun episode Craig! Cool to learn more about Norm. His wife had some clever ideas!
Yes, I agree ! 💥 🎶 🎸 !
great interview my friend now I'm going to listen to your Dave Amato interview these are great to listen on my bike ride in the morning in Sacramento it's too hot from the afternoon and the rest of these summer days anyway have a good day 😊
Amato is a wonderful guy, still talk with him to this day! Thank you for listening Ray 🔥
Great interview. “What do you like most about yourself?” What a question! Brilliant!! 👏
Thanks for your kind words @joves3407 and glad you enjoyed this 👍🏻🎸♫
I've seen a ton of Norm videos. This is a fantastic interview.
Thanks for your kind words Christopherguzzi and glad you enjoyed this 👍🏻🎸♫
I remember in the late 80’
No one I knew had any knowledge of fixing or setting up a guitar and I lived in Chicago, a broken headstock was done for
Really great interview. Never met Norm but I would like to. Great stories.
Thank you for listening @paulanderson6511! 🎉🔥😇
great video really interesting video . bravo
Thank you very much!
Don't hear many folks mention Little Beaver! Many of us followed the same trajectory until now when it comes to vintage guitars, back when they were "old".
Great interview!
Thank you for listening @jeetkevdo! 🎉🔥😇
Great conversation!
To realise that this man’s little guitar shop at present day is probably the best known guitar shop decor in the whole world because of RUclips!
You can even recognize certain guitars and the trusty Ampeg bass amp! Like it’s our local music shop! (I’ve never been to the USA!)
Like the Cheers bar. 😄
Also great to see and hear that in real life, like on this pod, this man is even more Norm(al) than on his shop’s RUclips channel. Perhaps that is because being in these RUclips videos just might be less easy than it looks...
I just ordered his book, really looking forward to reading it!
🖖
Thanks a bunch for listening!
Great interview!
Norm is a legend. I can not point out anything negative about what he is or what he does. My ultimate respect to him. There is a fine line between taking advantage of a situation and having a vision that becomes reality. I don't necessarily agree with the insane cost of these instruments. As a builder, I have different perspectives on vintage guitars. But that's me.
Norm, you have my ultimate respect.😎
Thank you for listening @larguitar! 🎉🔥😇
Interesting stories , Norm is a winner ..
Thank you for listening @tomcatt9875! 🎉🔥😇
Awesome interview! Great Stories as well 👍🏽🎸👍🏽🎸
Glad you enjoyed the interview @geraldtaylor1968, and thanks for listening 💥 🎶 🎸 !
Norm is a legend! Great interview Craig!
Not bad for an organist. And this guy really reminds me of Don Walton, vintage guitar dealer in past times, in Jacksonville, Florida. Yeh. Drag yourself to work. Nineteen years here, in an 8'X8'X8' office box. What joy. My brother and I knew the beauty and importance of old guitars, even in the early 70s at his music store in Tallahassee. I bought a 9.5/10 1962 Melody Maker in 1970 for $50! And yeh. God will bless your efforts. And GO NOLES! And I own an ES-355 and it is one fine guitar! And those old Martins were set from the factory high at the bridge for hard picking for bluegrass leads. That is what allowed Taylor to get into the market.
God has truly blessed you, Norm!
Thank you for listening 🔥
@@EveryoneLovesGuitar Always a pleasure, my friend. I am so happy that you progressed through your health issues ... Around that same time, I needed both hips to be replaced and spent a year in PT ... life's a joy, what! But Jesus loves us and is coming soon for his church. Be ye blessed!
I passed on a late '55 LP goldtop with tun-o-matic in very good condition back in 1996, it was hanging on the wall for £5000. Although it was a lot of money, it seemed like a good deal. I didn't have that kind of money at the time, could kick myself now, should have got a loan.
This guy had his hand in pumping up the cost,
What a legend
I did not know that Norm played with Jaco, really mind blowing! I wonder how Norm feels about Jaco’s self destruction in light of his work with the shelter.
Sadly, being in the music industry - especially back then... I'm sure Jaco is unfortunately one on a long list of people who have self-destructed. Be well Tris!
Norm is nothing short of a legend amongst us guitarists here in SoCal. If you're looking for something new to you (it might be a way-cool awesome used instrument) Norm's is the best spot in the greater L.A. area to shop. Cheers!! 🙂🙃🙂
Thank you for listening 🔥
Great show!!! Thank you!!!!
Thank you for listening Jim ! 🎉🔥😇
Great to see norm he looks great .top interview cheers my friend 👍👌
Thanks 👍 Glad you enjoyed it & thanks for listening!
Great interview! You should literally keep interviewing people
lol we have 920+ interviews on the Channel haha... happy holidays!
@@EveryoneLovesGuitar lol I just woke up. Merry 🤶 Christmas
I know there's no way they could possibly know how many stolen guitars they have bought but my 1984 Gibson Karina V was stolen by a pawn dealer from the pawn shop and sold to a man that flew from Texas to get it and then it wound up at Norm's rare guitars 10 years later and I see him selling it and there's nothing I can do about it except for show him the pictures and the paperwork and prove that this store robbed me
@@brandnewyou5254 What did he say? Half a story there.
Show the proof to the police, not to Norm.
@@davidcollin1436 I've never been able to get in contact with somebody that would even put me directly in contact with one of these guys and I wouldn't want to involve the police if I could just track the guitar down see getting the police involved will just make the guitar disappear I want to track the guitar down
I have been riveted listening to this story
Thank you for listening!
Curious if Norm has/had any guitars from Townshend or Blackmore?
Nice Guy Young Norm! x
I have the impression that he loves people even more than guitars
Norms dad knew how tough life could be. Hence, he worked hard.
Great show!
Thank you for listening!
I wish I had Norm's insight, back then. If only I had kept all the guitars,
I traded or sold to get the next one...
Thank you for listening @stevekirby1202! 🎉🔥😇
Thats what my older brother did, now he mows lawns, we both talk about if he had kept all those guitars! My pal up north never got rid of anything, he has 2 million in guitars, just his martins are around a million, les pauls etc etc. He has started selling them here and there to retire and travel !
so, he was lying to people that he was a collector, while buying guitars to flip them for profit. Lying not to turn them off, while knowing perfectly well he would be re-selling them.
Norm has lied about the value of guitars to potential sellers amongst other things.
I have a different view of his business: it ain't a charity. He is the single biggest factor, next to hoarders, that put great older instruments so far out of reach of musicians it is insane.
It's a damn shame.
@@dragonpundit.6443 you know, I look for the scam in everything what can I say? I’m from the north east that’s just the way we’re wired and normal. Got somebody’s great all guitars in the 70s and 80s but they weren’t worth anything. They were 25 years old then and manufacturing guitarist when I started playing in the 70s, which pretty poor The Japanese entered the market and blew away the American guitars. I’m granted to the late 70s when you could buy early 60s Les Paul at a pawnshop starting to play guitar in the late 70s and my father didn’t want to spend $150 on 1968 telecaster cause it was too much money to spend on the kid which is fair what $20,000 I’m a musician. I’m a working class guy. I can’t afford that that’s a car and those early 60s eyes balls are at 30 and $40,000. So the only people you’re attracting are doctors lawyers in Indian chiefs with these school instruments and those guys pretend to play blues blues, which are really bad at working musicians like you and I can have something old and cool unless it’s really beat up or modified heavily a working guitar with all working guitars but nowadays they’re making some great instruments and new ones that fuck him I’ll take the new instruments. You guys can keep the old ones, but normal is a typical baby boomer and he’s trying to sell everybody those guitars highly inflated or what their value should be nice or 50s to be worth at most five $6000 because you spent that kind of money to have Luther or Collins or somebody who is respected build you a guitar would be the greatest ever played so why would you buy a factory instrument made by a bunch of unskilled people for the price of what it would cost you to buy a house it doesn’t make sense to me all you are doing is making Norm rich in a market. He helped create..
Yes, he has a negative influence, he's doing it purely to make bank
Just curious… would I be correct in guessing that none of you who are knocking him have ever gotten an idea, run with it and been passionate and dedicated enough about it to do whatever it took to transform it into a business, even if that meant working 90-120 hours a week to run, develop and market it? This is part of what is meant by phrases like “The American Dream” and “The land of the free and the home of the brave”. Norm was a working musician who wasn’t earning enough to live well, had the inspiration, sheer guts and determination to make something out of nothing, took a simple idea and created a business from scratch and learning as he went, to support his family. I know about that and respect him as much as I do because I did the exact same thing, 40 years ago, when I was a professional drummer and drum instructor whose wife came down with a debilitating condition (MS). With all her medical expenses, the only way we were going to make it was if I came up with some other way to bring in money, so I built a business doing something I had never done before, teaching myself as I went, and I kept on doing that for 27 years, until the Great Recession wiped it out (at which point I went back to school, learned a new trade and launched a new business that I’m still running today).
IMHO, necessity is the mother of invention, invention is the mother of determination, determination is the mother of endless hours of insanely hard work, insanely hard work is the mother of success and success is the mother of criticism from armchair quarterbacks who’ve never actually 11:27 put in the work to achieve results like those that they’re criticizing.
@@TheHelpCoach well, I like hoarding guitars just as much as the next person. He hoards on a large scale, which makes them harder to get, artificially inflating the price, so it costs me more to be a pig
I visit Rudy’s Music Shop in Scarsdale New York sometimes.
They have vintage guitars for Sale. The prices are ridiculous and yet the guitars actually sell. Amazing! 🎸😎
Yes, off the charts pricey!
Scarsdale is one of the wealthiest communities in the USA
@@ChromaticHarp
Yes wealthy is a requirement to be there however, even the natives have a double take about the price of a near perfect 1953 Telecaster or a 1957 Stratocaster! It’s even expensive for them! 😎🎸
@@JohnGriffith-w2w Well, it IS Scarsdale!
@@JohnGriffith-w2w by that you might say those guitars are super mega expensive!!!
Im over here in rhe UK...I vaguely..😅 recal.. I saw Rorry Gallagher back in 71...incredible. Beatles in 64..Anyway, there is not much here in We didnt have back in those great days of Flower power. 😅 & rock n roll...BUT
I hand it to you guys over in the USA.. We didnt have a Norm. .❤ .love this dude.
A treasure
Thanks @nicklyde4361, Rock on! 🎸🙌🏻🔥🎶
Great interview
Thank you for listening 🔥
Loved and Subscribed
Thank you for listening 🔥!
My ears won't hold that kind of ear bud either.😊
I could listen Norm forever......great stories and a great guy! Thank you.
Thanks for listening & Glad you enjoyed this!
The OG
What is the name of his book and the publisher name ?
The absolute best business to be running., Norm gets to hang out with rock stars and guitar legends every day. Looking forward to the documentary when released next month. IMDB has it scheduled for July 28
Oh, cool! He was all excited about it when we spoke, that's going to be interesting to watch... thanks again for listening Jessee!
26:44..It's not a matter of time guy. It's a matter of the opportunity. NY Times New York City Concentration of good stuff in New York City out of a high end newspaper.
That's like a gold mine that would jump you right out of bed to get that paper.
“Final straw”?
What happened to the hayride guitar
Where's Chumley?
😂
It may or may not seem like Norm was being a bit dishonest, it seems a bit like that myself. One must remember that everyone else had the same opportunity to do what he did. That’s where it becomes a lot different than being dishonest. It becomes a fact that he saw what the majority of the rest of us did not. Still it is only the very few people like him who have made these guitars unobtainable by those of us who can play them well enough but aren’t rich so will never be able to buy one, even though we had the chance.
Thank you for listening 🔥 🎶 🎸
Now the guitar has been purchased 345 different times but I can still prove that it belongs to me and never should have been sold what should I do about it
Hire a lawyer instead of wasting time on RUclips
I would have kept the Leo build
COOL 😎 VERY VERY 😎 COOL
Glad you enjoyed the interview @chuckwolfboyer7830, and thanks for listening 💥 🎶 🎸 !
Ive seen some vintage dealers take parts from the era to make a vintage guitar who had missing parts an “all original”guitar. These old generation dealers are not to be trusted. But maybe thats just “business”.
Wait a minute, Norm was in a band with Bobby Caldwell?!?! I'm gonna go to bed now...
Amazing execution of this interview!
Thanks for listening Ashley MPG, Rock on! 🎸🙌🏻🔥🎶
The movie thing .Buddy Holly story