I went in to buy my very first instrument, a ukulele. The staff were all super nice and…read moreencouraging, not intimidating. One of the staff Nick congratulated me on purchasing my first ukulele, which meant a lot! The staff that rang me up also kindly offered to tune my ukulele, and informed me about discounts. Would love to work here!

My experience was in reverse. Returning the item was more pleasant than purchasing the item. We…read morewent there to buy a speaker for our son. Buying it was a bit stressful, the answer to our questions were hard to come by and we had to carry this big speaker to the car. That said the experience wasn't bad, but, I believe for someone like me who doesn't have knowledge of speakers, a little more education would have been helpful. I am sure this an ideal place for musicians who know what they want. Unfortunately, I bought the wrong speaker. When I returned it, the staff member was pleasant and didn't make a fuss about it.

Great inventory and prices! Very professional and efficient…read morein all ways! I purchased a beautiful 2011 Martinwhich is in (as new) condition and it was half the price of most i saw on line.

I'm pretty sure it's closed, and has been for MANY months. I have no idea if it was good or not.read more

I took my guitar in for a little tuneup on my fret board. He was very nice as professional. Had it…read moredone the same day. Only a couple of hours. Came back exactly how I wanted it. You can tell they take pride in their work. Definitely coming back for any future guitar needs

Spoke with the owner George very accommodating and professionally friendly looking forward to doing…read morebusiness with this gentleman

Excellent customer service, fair pricing for fixing a string on my guitar, and a well maintained…read moreshop and storefront. They have a plethora of guitar services available. I went in there on Saturday around 12:30pm and was able to get out of there in less than 15 minutes. I will definitely come here again for guitar needs!

Another great experience. Faster than expected turnaround for a fair price. Also a great shop to…read morevisit and check out what they are working on.

Walked into Norms the other day and a salesman by the name of Joe came and immediately greeted me…read more Super nice and very informative. Gave me a breakdown of the layout and what they had in stock and also helped set me up to try out some guitars I'm interested in. I'm big on customer service so Joe nailed it. I'll definitely be coming back to purchase my next guitar here.

1 1/2 minute read: On 05/06/2026, Greg Sinclair and I,…read morearrived at NORMANS RARE GUITARS as previously planned by Greg. 1 1/2 minute read Today (05/05/26), ahead of the invitation extended (to me) by esteemed colleague- Greg Sinclair, Administrator of a FACEBOOK renowned Surf Group "TUBES", today I went on a scouting mission. Relying on GOOGLE'S Siri, I arrived around 09:15 hrs m, to find business hours had been slightly rearranged at Norman's Rare Guitar Shop. Not being one to waste time, in the same little strip mall (TOPEKA VENTURA PLAZA) I saw a coffee shop (PEET'S) and decided to treat myself to some (coffee), and I did. I went in, got hot black coffee & a Blueberry Muffin. Before realizing it, it was 11 am. So I mozied'on'over to NORMAN's. The video I took, as I approached the guitar shop main door, will tell you more than words could ever say. Once I was in the guitar shop, I felt a nostalgic Deja-Vu pinching me. The same atmosphere, feel, sounds surrounded me like when I used to go to Sam Ash and other, now gone, guitar & Pawn shops. Be that as it may, I hope my photography will satisfy your curiosity of this scouting mission I went on today and as always ... ... thank you for stopping by! 05/06/26 ... UPDATE As promised, Greg Sinclair drove from Redondo Beach (I think) up to my place in North Hollywood, and picked me up. AS YOU RECALL. Greg has been inviting me to accompany him to go to NORMAN'S RARE GUITAR SHOP. We first had lunch on Venture Blvd at BLU JAM. It was very trendy for me, at least. Then we got to the guitar shop and Greg introduced me to Michael, whom you will see a short clip playing one of their guitars. Greg and I had a very satisfying visit at NORMAN'S, as we strolled around inside. We also met another guitarist who works there-Joey, I believe and if I'm wrong, I will correct my error. They have live music on certain days and as soon as I can get their schedule, I'll share it! All in all, THANK YOU, GREG, for your considerate invitation, picking me up at home, treating me to a fabulous lunch at BLU JAM restaurant, a fun time at NORMAN'S RARE GUITARS, and best of all ... your companionship. Update, 05/17/2026: Click link https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02sSQznzKewuHeGR2yfjHRxaA7qc6x88RgkhxcGj3FtyF6DHE6u1HKH878WtavKUvUl&id=1222849448&mibextid=wwXIfr

What a nice guy!…read more Helped me fix my guitar strap right away, talked about cassettes and records and CDs. Couldn't recommend going here enough. Thanks buddy!

If you're a guitar player in the Los Angeles area I would highly recommend doing yourself a favor…read moreand getting your guitars set up by Norik ASAP! He is the best of the best and that's why the best choose him over and over again. Take your favorite guitar that you think feels absolutely incredible and I guarantee after Norik gets his hands on it, it will be like dropping off a Porsche and leaving in a Ferrari. Aside from his impeccable attention to detail, beyond fair rates and the peace of mind knowing that your gear is in great hands he is just flat out a real one and a rare one. Also, stick around for a story or two. He's hilarious, intelligent and will leave you feeling inspired! Thanks again Norik! I'll catch you soon. -BP

Baxter Northup is located on the bustling Ventura Blvd, but unless you're looking for it, it's…read morereally easy to miss! For starters, the windows and posters have seen their days that one might think that it is out of business, but it is in fact not and quite the opposite - tons of space inside! They have a variety of instruments and supplies, including a cleaning swab which I was looking for. And the plus is that they also offer music lessons in private rooms - even same day! I had an initial same-day oboe lesson with Phil, and we had great conversation. However, I have to admit that I didn't learn too much, and that we spent most of the time talking. The person working at the front was pretty chill, but paying for lessons wasn't very clear from the beginning - recommend being more specific with those. Their website is via Tumblr (?) which is a surprise. Lessons were $40 / session, and they recommend one session per week (but how long is a session?). Overall, I wish that there was more clarity on this side from time to payment the moment that we signed up. Parking was fairly easy to find on the street or in the lot in the back. However, do note that parking on the street is via metered parking and not free most hours. Return? Potentially for some music books!

This is my go to place for Instrument fixing and tuning. There is a wonderful gentleman who is very…read morenice and knowledgeable who helps us. It usually fast :)

I'm a pretty average guitar player. 13 years ago, I treated myself to a Martin HD28 guitar. I was…read morehoping it would make me a better player, but in reality it just allowed me to be just as average, but sounding much better. It's a great sounding guitar. I played the factory settings for all these years and thought everything was great. Then, I took it to Eric's for a setup. WOW. The guitar plays so much better all up and down the neck, is correctly intonated and even to my "average-guitar-player" ears, sounds even better. Eric treated me like a king. He's obviously someone who loves what he does and values all clients, whether they are pros are someone like me who just dabbles. GREAT job, thanks, Eric!

I've been playing guitar for almost 52 years I've played professionally in the 80's Hard Rock band…read morepanther and I've never been to a guitar shop like Eric's I was just looking for a shop that could change out my Floyd Rose and what I found was my go to shop for life great service super cool people and most importantly my guitars have NEVER PLAYED BETTER I would and do highly recommend Eric and Billy for any guitar player. Looking for professionalism in a day where it's hard to find thanks Billy thanks Erick. My guitars are absolutely shredding.