Brent Norton calling it quits

mpoppitt · #1 07-11-2006, 04:08 PM

http://www.nortoncustoms.com/news.htm

It's a shame, I love my Norton shen.

Good luck Brent...

**Freddels** · #2 07-11-2006, 04:35 PM

That's a bit of sad news. Too bad you can't keep it part time. I know what it's like to be self employed and it ain't easy.

Best of luck.

arnoldschnitzer · #3 07-11-2006, 05:39 PM

Sad but true, it's a difficult business with oodles of competition. Brent is one of the good guys. Let's all give him encouragement in finding honest, decent-paying, meaningful work. Good luck, Brent--hope to see you around.

flint · #4 07-11-2006, 06:01 PM

I have to say I'm totally bummed. I was hoping that my next bass might come from Brent. I've been really impressed with all the work that I've seen coming out of his workshop. It really is tough to make a go of doing something you love.

I guess all those customs are going to become collectors items now even more than they were already.

jonly · #5 07-11-2006, 06:09 PM

Best of luck to him. his work was inspiring.

Jake deVilliers · #6 07-11-2006, 06:16 PM

That is really bad news.

Brent is one of the few guys who are thinking in ways that will move the instrument forward, sonically and image-wise.

We'll miss you.

Jake

Pete skjold · #7 07-11-2006, 06:29 PM

Hate to see that kind of talent go by the way side . God Bless Brother .

Pete

uptonbass · #8 07-11-2006, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chortle_nut

I have to say I'm totally bummed. I was hoping that my next bass might come from Brent. I've been really impressed with all the work that I've seen coming out of his workshop. I own a small business on the side, and I empathize. It really is tough to make a go of doing something you love.

I guess all those customs are going to become collectors items now even more than they were already.

You can still have the Rooster bass, call Brent NOW!

Ken McKay · #9 07-11-2006, 09:55 PM

Brent, if you are out there I am sure you will be successful in whatever you choose to do next. The bass world has lost a good business for sure.

hdiddy · #10 07-12-2006, 12:14 AM

What a shame... what a damn shame. Hard to believe.

Oh well. Better get my endpin before it's too late.

Best of luck to you and your family, Brent. You work is always inspiring.

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #11 07-12-2006, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnoldschnitzer

Sad but true, it's a difficult business with oodles of competition. Brent is one of the good guys. Let's all give him encouragement in finding honest, decent-paying, meaningful work. Good luck, Brent--hope to see you around.

Amen.

Paul Warburton · #12 07-12-2006, 07:04 AM

This is most depressing. I'm always sad when I see an individual business go down the tubes, but someone like Brent who kind of changed my purist attitude toward non-traditional old, carved Italian, German etc. imported DB's
Brent, you have my support if you ever decide to jump in the ring at a later date and I hope this doesn't mean that you won't be posting here any more, because that would be an added loss!

Jeff Bollbach · #13 07-12-2006, 08:36 AM

Brent is definately one of the nice guys and you know what they say about nice guys. It's mostly true.

anonymous0726 · #14 07-12-2006, 08:51 AM

I would suggest that now is the worst time for you to quit. What you're looking at is the true base line that you have to cross daily and that you finally really see it. It's the businessman that figures out how to make this line way below what he actualizes a successful businessman.

There are a bunch of us here that do that same thing playing. Some (many, most) of us have to make accommodations to keep our boats afloat (club dates, web sites). Whatever it takes, I guess.

Don't quit now or you're just a statistic. Time to get creative and figure out how to make it really work. If your work really is head and shoulders above the 'undercutters' (a wonderful Bushian moniker

) it's just a matter of adjusting your own supply/demand/item cost.

What your declaration strikes me as is more a suicide threat from the emotionally distraught. These things should be taken seriously, as the 'threatener' sometimes will try the action if someone doesn't step in and kick his ass a bit. So, here's my kick: Take a breath, maybe a short vacation, and figure out how to make this work. Maybe you have to customize more than just double basses. Maybe you have to come up with stock custom models at a cheaper price and make the original by-hand-one-offs pay worth your time. Also -- raising your prices for specialty pieces can also raise their value int he buyer's eyes. The artist in you is unhappy and hungry and doesn't want to listen to the businessman. I suspect you already know the answer but are unable to accept what it would take to make things fly.

Dunno -- just seems like a common story. Rise to the occasion.

**Freddels** · #15 07-12-2006, 09:36 AM

I've been thinking along the same lines as Ray. How about venturing into the EB side too. Perhaps, become a distributor for a couple of EB manufacturers AND you have the ability to custom hotrod jobs on those. I would think there would be a market for that too. That way you can service both the EB and DB market.

Jazzman · #16 07-12-2006, 10:59 AM

I am sorry to hear this. But I will give my thoughts considering others are. You started out doing this on the side, why not do that again? If it doesn't work as a full-time gig, do it on the side in your spare time. You would still be putting out great basses. It would drive up the demand, and in turn, drive up prices.

Just my two cents.

mchildree · #17 07-12-2006, 11:27 AM

Good luck with whereever you land, Brent. I really dug what you were doing.

CamMcIntyre · #18 07-12-2006, 02:28 PM

Good luck to Brent.

Goin along with what Ray and Freddels have said-someone that does hot rod work on EB and DB might be cool, but-i don't have a clue from the business side.

PaulCannon · #19 07-12-2006, 02:38 PM

I don't think Brent is "threatening" anything. This all sounds very final. I doubt that he thinks he can boost sales by claiming to be going out of business, and I'm sure he's struggled with this decision for many months.

However, I don't see why he wouldn't be able to take an occassional commission for a higher price. Perhaps the full business model wasn't meant to work, but keeping a workshop on the side might still be feasible. But what do I know? I'm just a kid.

Uncletoad · #20 07-12-2006, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Parker

What your declaration strikes me as is more a suicide threat from the emotionally distraught. These things should be taken seriously, as the 'threatener' sometimes will try the action if someone doesn't step in and kick his ass a bit. So, here's my kick: Take a breath, maybe a short vacation, and figure out how to make this work. Maybe you have to customize more than just double basses. Maybe you have to come up with stock custom models at a cheaper price and make the original by-hand-one-offs pay worth your time. Also -- raising your prices for specialty pieces can also raise their value int he buyer's eyes. The artist in you is unhappy and hungry and doesn't want to listen to the businessman. I suspect you already know the answer but are unable to accept what it would take to make things fly.

Dunno -- just seems like a common story. Rise to the occasion.

Thanks for writing that. I was thinking along similar lines but didn't have the nads to put it out there.

Opening the doors was the toughest part for me. The growing pains are awfull, I've stood next to insolvency so many times I lost count. My best ideas were born from the threat of starvation. I've rewritten my business plan 6 times in the last 10 years, each time as a response to being on the ropes. In every case the changes I made streamlined the "product", cut out the fat and made the business more efficient. I had to learn what to stop doing, what to start doing and how to charge for it.

Its true that the smart business person knows when to bail out so I shouldn't presume to know what the score is in this case either. Running a little shop is not the most fun way to make a living. I only do it because I can't imagine doing anything else.

Brent, if you are even remotely ambivalent about moving on call me and I'd be happy to share anything I have learned in my travels. If you are just "done" (and I know how that feels), all the best. Find happiness with the new family. In the end that's the most rewarding thing of all.