A collector in Italy was robbed of a bunch of vintage Strats, LPs…a few owned by artists. Funny, the majority of the Strats showed up but in re configured condition; neck from one on the body of another etc. all for sale at Music Ground. Many think the thieves were commissioned by the owner of Music Ground to begin with.
Fucking pos thieves
Tis true my friend!!! Nothing worse than thieving scum!! If commissioned by the owner, he shall rot in the fiery pits of hell eternally!!
Imagine spending many years, or even a lifetime putting together a guitar and amp collection that is so extensive, so epic, and so bad ass that it floors people just to glimpse it. And then have thieving scum steal it. A musician stealing from a musician. What could be lower than this!!!?! If the owner instructed the thieves to do this, there should be no end to his torment, his mind shall never be unburdened again, he should be reminded many times a day of his crimes, all while he is serving life for crimes against a guitarist.
And that poor guy who advertises a large reward on San Francisco Craigslist. The collection that was stolen from him is NOTHING SHORT OF STAGGERING!! My god…… so many rare vintage guitars. The collection that was stolen must have been worth millions. Over 200 rare vintage guitars, a lot of really old strats in rare colors. Vintage Gibsons!
I remember hearing him talking about a shop owner he does business with call him and say, “hey, I think I just bought one of your 1960 Gibson es335’s, there is a receipt in the case from when you bought it and I know you never sell guitars, you just buy them for your collection.”
Oh man. Imagine getting that call. That was the first call he got about the theft. I think he was in Mexico on vacation. He told the shop owner he definitely did not sell it. Told his friend to go check his storage space immediately and over 200 rare and vintage guitars were ALL GONE. Many rare and vintage amps were also gone. DEVASTATING.
I think he might have got around 12 or 15 back? They discovered some were sold internationally and quickly vanished. The thieves or their unsuspecting buyers sold guitars up and down the west coast and I believe those were some of the guitars he got back. The guy had been collecting for 30 or 40 years. He collected them for his sheer love of guitars. He never sold any. He got divorced, and gave his wife anything she wanted in order to keep his guitar collection.
If it were up to me, the thieves would be punished so severely, that other thieves that heard of the cruel and unusual punishment would think twice about stealing again, and if they did, and I was in charge they would also become the recipients of the brutal punishment. Think of how bummed you would be to lose those guitars to a god damned thief!!! I would say losing a cherished guitar collection, though not on par with having a child taken, is close in a sentimental way. Over many years you have got to know and love each guitar, know it’s quirks and it’s ins and outs just like a human. They could be reminders of an epic show played in Duluth, or meeting the love of your life in Pismo Beach after a show, or the night you lost a childhood friend, or even the day all those years ago you became self aware. They also serve as keys to memories and major life events. It’s absolutely devastating to be stolen from on a massive scale like that, but the guitars make it so much worse.
Just tragic.
