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A good luthier in Los Angles?

JohnnyAquanet

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Dec 15, 2004
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Can any one tell me who to take me vintage guitars to? I was think the guy at Norms Rare Guitars in Tarzana but I really don't know anything about him.

Any suggestions ?
 

lanman

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Mar 17, 2005
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Good Luck Johnny. The ONLY good thing about having to have paired down my collection was not having to deal with the torture dealt out by the flakes I ended up with over the years. I hope that someone answers your inquiry with some confidence as I would like to know as well.

Norm is an Ass. Not sure who his luthier is, but you know the old "birds of a feather" saying. Post who else you might be considering and I'll be sure to share any experience that I might have had or heard about. The BEST luthier by far in my travels is Jim Foote at Music Works in Torrance (he has a couple of my guitars now) but he is disorganized and you have to be prepared to wait forever to get your gear back. I dropped of my '63 SG and my Marshall Head in November of 2010 and I am just now being told that I will have them in short order. Unfortunately, he is the only one that I trust and I just deal with it. For Acoustics, I would ship to Kerry Char in Oregon as there is none better and he runs a great shop.
 

JohnnyAquanet

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Dec 15, 2004
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Thanks for the reply, I don't know any one as I just moved here. I thought the guy at Norms should be good as he works with so much vintage gear. But I'm open to suggestion so please let me know!
 
Last edited:

lanman

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I think a lot of my frustration was I was into a lot of restorations that required a hig degree of expertise. As far as the guy at Norms, as long as it's nothing too advanced, you might just want to start there and give him a twirl if no one else comes up with a better suggestion. Good Luck Johnny!
 

mingus

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Apr 3, 2006
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If you are willing to drive an hour or so south, Scott Lentz's shop is located in the northern San Diego County city of San Marcos. He and his son Scott know what they're doing and have plenty of high-end vintage guitar experience.
 

4string

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+1 on Lentz. John Carruthers in Venice or True Tone in Santa Monica are also good.
 

plexi69

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Sep 21, 2005
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I have been to Kerry Char's shop in Portland and would not hesitate sending anything to him as he is experienced in all types and age's of instruments. His shop was like a museum with all the different instruments there for work. On the other hand I have never heard anything good about Norms Guitars. I will also say NEVER take your stuff to World of Strings in Long Beach. I took a vintage Gibson acoustic in for work and had it returned with bad workmanship and several of the original parts gone and replaced with modern plastic pieces. If I hadn't noticed them at the time, the shop wouldn't have mentioned it. World of Strings is sleazier then the neighborhood it is located in!
 

dylanR

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Jan 21, 2011
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Can any one tell me who to take me vintage guitars to? I was think the guy at Norms Rare Guitars in Tarzana but I really don't know anything about him.

Any suggestions ?

Norm is an Ass. Not sure who his luthier is, but you know the old "birds of a feather" saying.

+1

I take my gear to Eric's Guitar in Van Nuys, Eric and Brent are not only great luthiers but really nice people too

http://www.ericsguitarshop.com/
(818)780-7191

I highly HIGHLY recommend him, he also gets you your gear back in a very timely fashion.
 

rcguy

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Jan 4, 2006
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There is a gentleman located in the Camarillo Airport complex, about 45 minutes north of L.A. He has done some good work for me in the past. Cant think of his name but you should be able to google him.
 

aknow11

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Sep 22, 2009
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Paul Flynn at Trutone music, Santa Monica, on SM Blvd at about 7th St.
Over in Venice, John Carruthers is great, but only if he does the set up himself, and that's rare. He's wonderful, some of his employees, take your chances.
Norms Rare Guitars in Tarzana, not!!!!
 

GuitArtMan

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Jan 30, 2004
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Paul Flynn at Trutone music, Santa Monica, on SM Blvd at about 7th St.
Over in Venice, John Carruthers is great, but only if he does the set up himself, and that's rare. He's wonderful, some of his employees, take your chances.
Norms Rare Guitars in Tarzana, not!!!!
John is great, but good luck getting him to work on your guitar. And you'll need lots of luck if one of his students works on your guitar.
 

Tele52

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May 25, 2009
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+1

I take my gear to Eric's Guitar in Van Nuys, Eric and Brent are not only great luthiers but really nice people too

http://www.ericsguitarshop.com/
(818)780-7191

I highly HIGHLY recommend him, he also gets you your gear back in a very timely fashion.
+1 on Eric's, Eric is one of the top guys in the entire country. Honest, friendly.
www.ericsguitarshop.com , just check out his client list. He's been doing my guitars for 15 years, none finer.
 

RNELEE

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May 16, 2004
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645
In Orange County..TR Guitars. Tom Reiser is Gibson authorized (among others) and has done good work for me over the years. A one man shop, no student help. That being said I don't know how he is with vintage repair as my guitars are 11 years old and newer. I believe that he would tell you if your request for repair is up his alley or not.
 

straightblues

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Mar 17, 2004
Messages
954
What work are you having done? Let use know and we can turn you on to the right person. These two folks, do my guitar work, along with Roman Rist. I have lots of guitars and have been through lots of techs.

I have used Eric's several times and been very happy with their work. Professional and on time. Good people!

For fretwork, go see Mike Tuttle/Best Frets. Mike builds guitars and also does the best fret and setup work. Again, very professional and on time. http://www.bestfrets.com/
 
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