Matt sold the guitar to Norman Harris of Norman’s Rare Guitars fame in California and used the profit as a springboard to start dealing in vintage instruments. Unbeknown to him, he’d stumbled over a prototype that was worth a lot more than he paid for it. This 1960 Rickenbacker Capri came from Norman’s Rare Guitars and appeared in a George Harrison magazine shoot in the 1980s The journey began when Matt used some of the money he’d made waiting on tables to buy a vintage Jazzmaster that he’d seen advertised for sale locally.
Although he admits to not being particularly academic, there’s no doubting his entrepreneurial savvy. You’d be forgiven for thinking that an inheritance or lottery win can be the only explanation for someone so young being in possession of a treasure trove of gear, but Matt simply traded his way up.
Developing a business online first before investing in bricks and mortar has become a familiar story in recent years, but the most startling fact in all of this is that Matt is just 25 years of age. Lucas is the owner and curator – along with store manager Max Bruneau – of a collection that’s been amassed by buying and selling primarily in the digital domain, although the pair are currently on the lookout for a showroom in central Paris. Those of you who spend far too much time looking at other people’s guitars on the internet may already be following Matt’s Guitar Shop on Instagram, the account of self-confessed guitar-addict Matthieu Lucas. Star guitars A 1962 Stratocaster owned and played live by Bob Dylan in the 1990s (left) and a 1962 Stratocaster was played live and in the studio by Mark and David Knopfler, and bought by Matt from David himself It sits in its case in the back of the minivan next to the photography gear and we get the feeling that transporting irreplaceable, near-priceless pieces of rock history has become an everyday occurrence for our hosts. There’s a small detour en route to pick up a 1963 Stratocaster previously owned by Jimi Hendrix.
MAX NICHOLS USC GUITAR DRIVER
The UK and France may only be separated by a single one-hour timezone, but spending the best part of a day in an airport causes a palpable sense of disorientation, as does waking up before dawn to find the city lights still flickering through the drizzle running down our hotel window.Īfter falling victim to the Parisian traffic again and arriving late back from breakfast, we make our apologies to our driver and head south-west to the small town in the Yvelines département that is home to one of Europe’s most remarkable collections of musical instruments and rockstar memorabilia. The previous day had almost been a write-off – fog-induced flight cancellations in London and then an extended spell in rush-hour traffic on the southbound autoroute from Charles de Gaulle didn’t exactly provide a picture-postcard welcome to one of Europe’s most alluring cities. It begins in late November on a rainy morning in Paris.
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