George Gruhn Speaks His Mind
Vložit
- čas přidán 13. 01. 2023
- George Gruhn is an iconic figure in the world of guitar retail - having helmed Gruhn Guitars in Nashville TN for over 50 years.
I had no intention of filming when I flew out to Nashville in November 2022. I was there on assignment for a magazine but I brought my cameras and a couple of tiny DPA lavalier mics just in case. While my stay in the Music City was only a few short days on this occasion I wanted to get as much done as possible and one speculative message later I was invited to spend an afternoon with George himself.
This conversation - hopefully the first of many - is the result.
Thank you to George and the amazing team at Gruhn Guitars for the hospitality, it was an excellent visit.
guitars.com/
Until next time, stay tuned
Michael
michaelwattsguitar.com/tip-ja...
Mr. Gruhn is an absolute gem. ❤️
Yes he is!
George needs to be in R&R and CM hall of fame
George has always been nice to me, and I'm nobody. Always ready to consider an instrument, and has handed me guitars to dream about. Hope to visit again, thanks George!
George is a national treasure. Great interview!
Thanks Billy! Glad you enjoyed it
I agree
... and a rational treasure as well.
That's what I was gonna say, ditto on that!
Hes an incredible wealth of knowledge, and as someone on the spectrum and with family also on the spectrum he does seem neuro-divergent and highly intelligent. Back 70 yrs ago calling someone neuro diverse was an insult, but now its just interesting how successful and brilliant someone like George Gruhn has become. Definitely a treasure trove of knowledge.
I visited Gruhns once and George invited me upstairs to where all the good stuff is. He took tghe time to come over and talk with me and put several pre war Martin guitars in my hands and let me play away. I remember there was a 1938 D18 which sounded like a chorus of angels. It lived up to the hype of what a prewar Martin is supposed to sound like. There were other ones which didn’t come close. I understood at that point they they are subject to as much variation in tone as new ones. But when you get a good one, oh baby! Great guy and could listen to him talk all day. Got the lizard tour as well!
Fantastic! You’re quite right about variables in guitars of all kinds and vintages - thank you for watching!
Fascinating man. Enjoying his thoughts on economics. He mentioned that he went to University of Chicago, a great economics school at the time. Wonder if he had classes where Milton Friedman was the instructor?
You don't interview George Gruhn as much as just turn on the recorder and let him talk. He has a stream of consciousness mind and a lot of stuff to talk about.
He was on fine form - thanks for watching Steve
I could listen to him all day.
Glad you enjoyed it!
On my bucket list: "to travel to Nashville and buy a D-28 from Gruhn's Guitars!" (from Canada) What a fabulous interview!
Thank you Don and I hope you get the chance to make that dream come true!
I am the proud owner of a 1998 Tacoma Roadking DM8C acoustic guitar with solid mahogany back, sides and neck with a sictka spruce top, Indian rosewood fretboard and pinless bridge... I purchased this guitar for $300 and required some repairs... The neck was like a banana and with time and patience over 6 months I gradually reverse the bow out of the neck, admittedly I have to use extra lite strings, however this is one of the best guitars I've ever played and the sound is as sweet as a nut... Well done on your design George 🎶🎶🎶🎶👍
"Treasure ".. is in every other comment ☺️.. Mr Gruhn certainly is.. Thank you for posting the interview.
You’re welcome Peter - glad you enjoyed it!
With the back-up alarms and all, I thoroughly enjoyed your interview of Mr. Gruhn with my morning coffee. I regret that I've not had the chance to meet him in person but your interview is a window to the man's personality. Thank you for sharing this.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching Wayne!
'Oh, about 20...' I rest my case. This man knows what a guitar sounds like.
Thank you mate. Really enjoyed this. George is great to listen to.
Thank you for sharing this, Michael. Visiting with George is always a fun and interesting experience.
You’re very welcome Chuck and I absolutely agree!
@@MichaelWatts Andy Reiss and I have both tried to get his L-10 prototype from George, but he won’t let go! It’s a great one.
George Gruhn is an important human being in terms of guitar history. It doesn't hurt that he's a lovely person.
So very true!
What a fascinating conversation, I hated to see it end.
Thanks for watching Dave! All good things must come to an end… but I may be back in Nashville soon
This was a great video. Thanks for taking the time to make it. I live about 6 hours from Nashville and am making it a point to visit the guitar shops there about every year or so. Love this store.
My pleasure Daniel - thanks for watching, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Great man. Thank you George
Thank you for watching!
I got the chance to play the Gruhn 0000-15m a few weeks back. One of the best sounding guitars in the line. At $1800 with a hardshell case. George knows what he’s doing.
Yes he does!
This is an incredible interview.
Mr. George Gruhn is a legend and thank you for doing this video for future reference.
You’re very welcome!
I appreciate George’s perspective on relicing. He’s spot on.
Glad you enjoyed it Lance!
What an absolutely knowledgeable and fascinating gentleman. Thanks for this 🙏🏼
You’re very welcome David - thanks for watching!
Really appreciate Mr Gruhn’s comments on Relic’d guitars are spot on.
George is a cool man!
Amazing! George is such an interesting and knowledgeable guy. Thanks for this great interview!
Thanks for watching Ryan!
Great interview: nicely photographed and a really interesting, flowing conversation with the man himself. Well done!
Thank you! I’m very glad you enjoyed it
Hey Michael, this was a great conversation and interesting experience to sit in on! Thanks for capturing and sharing
Thank you for watching Ryan!
Thanks so much Michael this was a very important interview.
You are very welcome Andrew!
Mr George Gruhn seems like a pretty wise fellow.
I concur
Thank You “Sir” George Gruhn, You have brought so much to so many of us who duly & truly appreciate your expertise in building & creating great Guitars, especially the way you order of those Martins! Hallelujah Thank You “Sir” George!
God Bless you George!
This is a real treat - thank you!
You’re very welcome!
Legendary Man. Thanks for Sharing George G with us
Thank you for watching Larry! Glad you enjoyed it!
Beautifull video! Thanks!
Thank you for watching!
What a treasure. Thanks so much for doing this and making it available for all of us to watch. I need to make a trip to Gruhn's one day.
My pleasure Anton!
Great interview I loved it thanks Michael
Thank you Bartholomew!
Fantastic, thanks for posting this.
You’re very welcome - glad you enjoyed it!
this is so good, thanks you!
Glad you like it!
awesome interview
Glad you enjoyed it Mike!
GREAT interview, thnx.
Glad you enjoyed it!
The tortoise in the intro really got me. Love that lol.
Shelley is a rockstar!
And interlude guitar sounds like an old D-35 ... what a beefy, beautiful sound!
Glad you like it but it’s actually a Kostal Modified Dreadnought in The Tree
@@MichaelWatts Thanks! Sounds like that was crafted with a D-35 in mind ... or ear ... ! In 1973-74, we had an old D-35 with gorgeous Brazilian rosewood that was the thickest, warmest sounding acoustic I ever heard. Used it in an MCI-equipped 16-track studio ...
I used to love his Rare Bird articles in Guitar Player. I grew up a few hours away from Nashville and going to his store before the one on Broadway was always a thrill. Once I went in and Grandpa Jones was in there just hanging around. A sweet old man and nice as could be.
Very cool!
Thank You very much!
You’re very welcome Lee!
Always up for a Turtle race! Great video Michael! Learned a bunch!
Ha brilliant! Glad you enjoyed it James!
So much knowledge here. Thanks for sharing. Greetz. Carsten ✌🏻
Thanks for watching!
Great interview Michael! Really enjoyed that interview
I’m glad to hear it Jens - thanks for watching!
Great "conversation" here. I especially love the relicing discussion. I agree with everything he says.
He is spot on regarding the relic market. George cracked me up describing some of the high dollar relics.
Excellent video Michael. I was in the store last month, but didn't get to meet George. He seems like the best interviewee in the world. Incredibly knowledgeable and you just have to mention one thing of interest and he'll expound for an hour. Cheers
Glad you enjoyed it David , thanks for watching!
George is great, absolutely no BS.
None whatsoever
Great chat! I’m a Tele-playing former herpetology student (who never quite recovered after the economic implosion of ’08) so I especially enjoyed this.
Wow - I pretty much made this video for you then!
@@MichaelWatts Truth! - thanks, you did!
George is one of the reasons Guitar Player Magazine was indispensable years ago. I'll chose the '70s G.P over the internet - or the new G.P. any day.
Absolutely Dean! Thanks for watching!
Grazie per questa straordinaria intervista. Mr. GG è una Leggenda Vivente.
You are very welcome!
Fantastic monologue.!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
What a fantastic video! Great interview: I learned a lot. ( lucky me, I’ve got a 1934 Gibson L 00 in great nick!😎)
You are a lucky man! Thank you for watching
I got to try a 1934 L-5 once. I'm only a fair-to-middling player, but Charlie Christian just *poured* out of my fingers.
I was also fortunate to spend a big chunk of an afternoon with George. I had written a note to Vintage Guitar magazine abut the Gibson suit against PRS, that editor Ward Meeker liked. He forwarded it to George Gurhn, and within the hour I heard back from George. We exchanged a few notes and that was the extent of it. When I was in Nashville, for a work-related conference in 2009, I strolled down Broadway to the previous location of Gruhn's at Broadway and 4th (at the other end of the parking lot from the Ryman). I introduced myself to George and took him to lunch. But not before spending a mouth-watering period in the upstairs room for "preferred customers", waiting for George to finish some business on the phone. I was introduced to "Boyd" (the African Grey) and saw the menagerie. I learned about the pair of civets George and his wife had at home at the time. But it was the million-dollar wall that made my jaw drop. A wall dripping with pre-1960 Fenders of all types, and McCarty-era solid-body Gibsons. In the middle of the room was an aisle of Strombergs, D'Angelicos, and the like. In the back of the room, against the wall was a rather innocuous-looking Magnatone amplifier. I went over to take a peek, and saw it had a $175,000 price tag. It also had a home-made Dymo label on the control panel that said "Buddy Holly". A little bit of history, right there.
We had a lovely chat over lunch. George schooled me on tenor guitars, expressed some dismay at what had happened to Martin during the '90s, emphasized the importance of design, and was eager for me to try one of the Gruhn guitars he had designed, when we got back to the store. There was an empty space, however, where the instrument should have been. He asked one of the staff where the guitar was. Apparently, while we were off to lunch, James Hetfield from Metallica (who had played Nashville the previous night) had come in and bought it.
Quite the afternoon, as I'm sure your own visit was.
Wow Mark! There is a lot about my visit that mirrors your description - I’m pretty sure that close proximity to Buddy Holly’s magnatone amp would have changed me as a man somehow. What an incredible thing to see!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and I too would be keen to read your thoughts on the G vs PRS debacle - would you send me a note through my website?
What a fantastic story. I could read a book of folks experiences with Gruhn.
@@MichaelWatts Not much to say. My view was that both Fender and Gibson had neglected the Asian budget manufacturers for years, and failed to defend their trademark body shapes. Their corporate response seemed to be "If you can't beat'em, join'em", promoting budget lines, rather than staunchly defending their quality brand, the way that companies like Rickenbacker have. That, in turn, eroded their brand, blurring it, rather than differentiating them from the rest of the industry. In desperation, following some expansions of Gibson that had many scratching their heads, their legal department attempted to 'fix' the mess their marketing department had created. I thought the judge in the 'single-cut' case was right to throw it out. I guess George concurred.
This was a great interview and the snakes were the icing on the cake.
Thanks Doug!
True to life historian ... very easy to soak up the stories
Thanks for watching Kevin!
Legend guitar man! GG rocks on.
Glad you enjoyed it!
When I was 15,....I was about to turn 16 in one week. My mom came to me after school and asked me,...."what would you like for your birthday??". I said,..."I want to go to the 3 story guitar store in Nashville called Gruhn's". She looked at me like I was insane as she sondered away.
So,....to my amazement,....I woke up that Saturday to my mother excitingly pulling the covers off me yelling "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!". I raised up and said,...."can I just sleep in?",.....to which she replied "sure. But I thought you wanted to go to Nashville." Of course I was stoked. At 46 years old,....I still remember it like it was yesterday. All the PRS's, Les Paul's, and Fender's. But what really made it memorable,....was sitting on that old bench on the second floor plucking away on an old J-45 ,...only to turn and see Emily Lou Harris. She was so kind to me. By far my most memorable birthday. Thanks mom and dad.
Very cool
I could die feeling like I seen everything short of heaven if only I could visit George and gruhns. . Guess I just love guitars , always wanted to go there and buy me a vintage insturment
Well that’s certainly one approach but there’d still be so much to see in the world!
On and on and on and on..............
Pretty cool interview! Cool snakes too
Thanks Josh
Absolutely fascinating stuff about the music I adore. The quintessential electric sound with the Telecaster would have to be Buck Owens at Carnegie Hall imo.
That’s certainly a strong vote! Mine would be Roy Buchanan on Messiah but at the same time there is literally nothing the Tele can’t do
Oh good call. This interview is pure Gold. I love how he lasers in on the truth of everything by common sense and logic. Genuinely funny man as well.
Great video and you did a super interview job. I've seen some abysmal interviews.
Glad you enjoyed it! thank you for watching Ron!
I love his Python ❤
Ground zero for vintage stories. George: often imitated, never equaled.
Absolutely!
George Gruhn is definitely from my alien planet.
How does one get on the wait list for the Gruhn acoustic guitar? Great interview. I visited the store once and one of the clerks had George sign my copy of his book.
Not something I can help with I’m afraid but the team at Gruhn will doubtless get the job done with consummate aplomb.
If you have a longer version of this interview... like 2 or 3 hours... please post it. I could listen to you and George for hours.
There may be some offcuts...
Please!
When did full contact bridges begin to be applied to arch-tops instead of the fiddle type.?
Where did that come from?
I'm all in. The trouble is no one is giving me a 1920's L5.
Yeah I know the feeling!
Always trying to sell the Gruhn label guitar. It’s never going to catch on throw in the towel!
Does George strike you as someone who quits an idea?
I see George I listen. Got to shake his hand at a guitar show many moons ago. I said I was a metal guy ( it was obvious I was) and what guitar was the best. He pointed into the room and said all of the ones in that room that seem pointy will be a fine choice. I took his advice.
Pointy guitars will often lead you to the most precious of metal.
Indeed they do. I knew what he meant was in jest. I took his advice all the same and have always had at least 2 pointy guitars at the ready should sparks need to fly.
Michael, George is great guy and he really cares about the guitars he has. I bought a nice 2002 D-18 GE from him, and it needed to spend an extra week in the setup room. As they were getting it ready for me they discovered that someone had dropped it on it's end in the showroom, cracked the back in two places along the end block, put it back on the wall, and didn't tell any of the staff what they had done. The repair team cleated the two breaks for me, and now the guitar is a gem. I'll never sell that guitar, I'm sure that someone in my Family will get it after I'm gone. Great interview video!
Great story Eric - thank you for watching and enjoy that guitar!
Stream of consciousness...very interesting!
Glad you enjoyed it Chris - thanks for watching!
Those vintage instruments keep going around in circles. Nobody owns anything forever. The circle started quite some time ago before my time.
Mr. Gruhn can’t talk for 45 seconds without imparting some interesting fact that is entirely new to me and I’ve been around a while. Beyond interesting, he’s a National Treasure. And the snakes are icing on the cake.
Couldn’t agree more!
When the baby boomer generation of musicians pass on, I wonder if the vintage instruments will hold their value.. There are such good instruments being produced today. I would love to hear George's point of view on this.
Actually George has given this a huge amount of thought and we had an excellent discussion over dinner. I didn’t film or record that. That was just for me.
@@MichaelWatts Well, could you give us a basic breakdown on what he thinks about this?
Ah he’s just a realist. There’s still some left👍
6:58 A new Gruhn model acoustic under $2000.
I couldn't find this on their website. Anyone know anything about it?
Credit to Dick Dale for driving Leo to make louder and louder amps!
Mr. Gruhn’s “signature line” regarding how good a guitar sounds was liberated from Chet Atkins.
The story goes Chet was loosening up backstage before a show and some guy, maybe a reporter, kept going on and on about how good his guitar sounded.
Chet puts his Country Gentleman in a guitar stand and asked the guy “How good does it sound now?” The point he was making is so much of the sound is in the hands of the player.
A $20,000 vintage guitar isn’t going to make you sound like your hero.
If I buy a new guitar, I want it to look like a new guitar!
I know what you mean Jim
Agreed on relics! Earn your wear. It’s like buying jeans with holes already in them… Got to make your own stories.
Exactly! But no harm in having a couple of dings pre-loaded so you don't agonise over the first one!
Rather anything than a shiny new looking guitar. Guitars aren't meant to be shiny.
Things in the guitar world have gone so astray that people are worshiping junk guitars. It’s interesting to hear his take on the early days of electric instruments. Even the early acoustic guitars. It’s tough to imagine a day where a les Paul can be produced at a cost of about $50, while paying yourself & employees enough to house & feed themselves. An encapsulation of our modern financial problems, right there!
The world has changed considerably!
LoL hysterical
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Amen to buying good affordable guitars & seeing what happens. I bought a 2022 Telecaster from Fender's "Original 50s" line a few weeks ago, am very pleased with it, and barring serious damage I expect to be playing it several decades from now. Whether it "accrues value" I can't say, and I almost hope it won't, just so that the young musicians in the 2050's won't be locked out of the "2010's vintage" market (and from a player's perspective I don't think there's ever been a better time than now, except probably the late 1950's, to buy a new electric guitar).
Congratulations on your new Tele! That’s always a special day
@@MichaelWatts It certainly is. Thank you for talking to George & uploading it, this is a great interview
The Ophite 🐍 The Giver Of Knowledge & Understanding...
0:18 In walks John Fahey
Gotta love those snake interludes…
I do!
I sure did!
I am 100% in agreement with George concerning the so called relics. It just defies all good common sense to take a new instrument and disfigure it for the sake of giving it a nostalgic appearance effectively turning it into an actual fake.
George is a vault of priceless information and wisdom and each nugget is served with a healthy dose of common sense.
It's like music to my ears to listen to him speak.
I build my own and since I build a few a year I can buy the finest wood, at the correct weight, and the finest hardware and gorgeous nitro finishes for under a grand.
If you want a good sounding arch top guitar, get an Eastman. It might not smell as good as a Gibson, but it will sound and play way beyond your expectations. If you win the lottery, get an old L5, I'm sure they are amazing. Great video!
Thank you for watching!
Vintage Danelectros are one of the last true good bang for the buck guitars. They were cheaply made but well made and are about as fun as anything else.
Dang, I have the same investment strategy as George, for the same exact reasons. I got a bunch of money when I sold my house at peak bubble. I’m going to rent for a few years until the market gets back together, but in the meantime I bought some nice guitars. I can play them, and I do. He’s right though, the rate of inflation makes sitting on money worse than useless. You actually lose money saving it. I’m losing it a much slower rate now, and hell, most likely make money in the future. There are used fender custom shops going for only 500 bucks less than new. I have a master built strat with a solid rosewood neck. One off. I have a custom shop 335 too, that one isn’t as unique, but it’s still really nice.
Dude, inflation is great for debt such as mortgages. If you borrowed x dollars over a term of y years, yearly inflation shrinks the value of the x dollars you owe, vs. the dollars you earn.
That's his opinion.
After listtening to this, I'm going to start calling it the Fender Abuse Shop! Totally agree about inflation, but disagree regarding Bitcoin... for me it's ahead of inflation by about 30,000% and is the only reason I have a few nice guitars.
I admire his knowledge of the instruments, Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker and such..but I would never have the was a fan boy of reptiles...interesting...
George is a noted herpetologist and was the first to apply a scientist’s mindset to the taxonomy of guitars. He is an extraordinary person.
He was studying Zoology and Animal behavior (and selling guitars on the side) when Hank Williams, Jr visited his apartment to buy a Martin. Hank said "I'll stake you in business" and that is how it all began.
COD? 3%? Then the IRS takes FIFTY% of that,............,woohoo..............................n im TAXED on THAT everywhere else.......woohoo.cant wait.....................
Better buy some mandolins and diversify!