Owner Plays to Guitar Collectors In Los Angeles Magazine’s list of the top 300 reasons not to leave the city following the ’94 earthquake, No. 31 was Norman’s Rare Guitars. This was old news for Norman Harris’ vintage guitar-obsessed clientele. Almost 30 years ago, in 1975, Harris fulfilled a dream held by many by turning his passion into his profession. His passion: music and rare guitars. His profession: owner of the first vintage guitar store on the West Coast, supplying new and used guitars to clients ranging from the biggest names in music history to the first-time buyer. Harris has been the inside dealer for musicians like the Beatles and the Eagles for many years, and has also been a huge lender of instruments to movies, TV shows, and music videos. Owning hundreds of collectable guitars from big musicians, Norman’s Rare Guitars is one of two main suppliers to the Hard Rock Cafes. His guitars range in cost from around $70-$80, all the way up to $100,000 for a single guitar. His son, Jordan, works with him at the business. “I’ve kind of been buying and selling guitars since I was 17. In 1966 or so I saw an ad (for a guitar) and bought one from the paper. It turned out that the one I bought was a collectible. My first plan was to be a musician but then I realized that it could be lucrative to buy and sell these instruments on the side. “My hobby has really mushroomed into a business. I had 30 or 40 guitars that I had bought, and then I came to L.A. with my band. Nobody was really into vintage stuff at that time, and when I got here, I realized that this was the mecca for guitars. I went from just buying and selling from my house, and then eventually opened the store in 1975. “There is a tremendous interest in guitars, which keeps my business running. The vintage guitars are made of very high quality wood, workmanship, etc. and these things have become extremely collectable. “Prices are based on prices from around the country, through other music stores that I’m in touch with, through different magazines like Guitar World, and through the Internet. Of course, prices are based on what it is, the year, the model, the condition, and most of all, the originality. A guitar that is totally modified is a fraction of the price of a guitar that is in its original condition. You want it to be totally as untouched as possible. “It (the business) has surpassed anything that I ever imagined. So many people in all walks of life are collecting these things now, actors to doctors to lawyers. It started out as an inside kind of thing, and now it has just exploded.” Marissa Greenberg
