Stolen Vintage Guitars

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Bennyboy-UKBennyboy-UK Frets: 1710
edited March 2021 in Guitar
Hi all,

One of my collector friends in the US raised this online as a pile of vintage guitars were stolen from a storage facility in San Jose.

Their concern was that these will be too hot for resale in the US and potentially would be sent over to Europe to dispose of:

Please check them out and share for a bit of awareness.

https://mailchi.mp/vintageguitar.com/stolen-guitar-alert-1024164?e=dc91d2fd50&fbclid=IwAR0wxfbmYOrL8DLw5n7lZn6ysWYPevgWNh0URKhIwa3vlnxggwjZ-6zU-mg

Cheers,
Ben.
I'm always looking for interesting USA Hamers for sale.

At the moment I'm looking for:
* Hamer Watson, SS2, Vintage S, T62.
* Music Man Luke 1, Luke II

Please drop me a message.
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Comments

  • MoominpapaMoominpapa Frets: 1649
    Wow - that's a ton of stuff to have lost. Guy must have been gutted.
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  • Jesus, save some offsets for the rest of us! He must be the reason I've never seen a custom colour blocks and binding maple Jag, let alone 2...

    Nontheless, must be terrible for the guy. Sounds like a very specifically targeted theft. Bank vault stylee.
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  • danishbacondanishbacon Frets: 2694
    Astonishing. That is some job.
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  • Winny_PoohWinny_Pooh Frets: 7734
    Sympathies, but collecting all that gear to keep it in storage is a mental illness of sorts.
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  • Bennyboy-UKBennyboy-UK Frets: 1710
    edited March 2021
    I kind of know what you mean, but wouldn't go so far as to suggest it’s a mental illness.
    I know a couple of people with north of 500 vintage guitars accumulated over the last 40 year and in storage in the US. It tends to be old Fender, Gibson, BC Rich, Hamer and Travis Bean stuff for electrics for one of the guys I deal with regularly. 

    It’s definitely collector over player mentality and that’s not hidden, in fact there are reputations out there for some of the guys. Spending the money in the 80s and 90s on this stuff has definitely yielded decent investment return for them. I guess it’s being in the right place at the right time right contacts and the right knowledge and of course the money to move on stuff that makes that work for them.

    it’s a different game I think.



    I'm always looking for interesting USA Hamers for sale.

    At the moment I'm looking for:
    * Hamer Watson, SS2, Vintage S, T62.
    * Music Man Luke 1, Luke II

    Please drop me a message.
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  • Bimey that’s one hell of a job! What a collection, a couple in their could even be one off’s (1961
    Les Paul junior in sunburst!?) I really hope they find them but I can’t help but fear they were either stolen to order or they will be sold to a collector who is very private. I hope that’s not the case though and they are recovered. 
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  • FelineGuitarsFelineGuitars Frets: 11497
    tFB Trader
    So sorry to hear of this stuff getting stolen . 

    I do think collecting all the cool guitars just to stick in a vault and not be played ever is wrong though.
    Guitars are great and beautiful but their true value is to play great music on.

    Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
    Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.

    Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.

      Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com.  Facebook too!

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  • impmannimpmann Frets: 12649
    So sorry to hear of this stuff getting stolen . 

    I do think collecting all the cool guitars just to stick in a vault and not be played ever is wrong though.
    Guitars are great and beautiful but their true value is to play great music on.
    This.

    Very sad for the guy though, as that’s a *lot* to lose.

    Has anyone visited Doncaster recently? 
    Never Ever Bloody Anything Ever.

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  • I kind of know what you mean, but wouldn't go so far as to suggest it’s a mental illness.
    I know a couple of people with north of 500 vintage guitars accumulated over the last 40 year and in storage in the US. It tends to be old Fender, Gibson, BC Rich, Hamer and Travis Bean stuff for electrics for one of the guys I deal with regularly. 

    It’s definitely collector over player mentality and that’s not hidden, in fact there are reputations out there for some of the guys. Spending the money in the 80s and 90s on this stuff has definitely yielded decent investment return for them. I guess it’s being in the right place at the right time right contacts and the right knowledge and of course the money to move on stuff that makes that work for them.

    it’s a different game I think.




    I´m certain money plays a big role. I mean, if some distant relative died and left me with some unexpected millions my collection would grow daily. After all, you can only spend it while you´re alive and I´m not into golf and 3 Michelin star dinners.
    Wer nicht für Freiheit sterben kann, der ist der Kette wert.
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  • That's awful.

    I wonder how many will be sold as they are and, in this market, how many will be chopped and sold as parts? 
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  • slackerslacker Frets: 2216
    How does one steal that many guitars and not get caught? Just asking.
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  • Sounds like the storage facility was unattended for a few months...
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  • usedtobeusedtobe Frets: 3841
    Wow! I’m stunned. Terrible for the guy! 
     so if you fancy a reissue of a guitar they never made in a colour they never used then it probably isn't too overpriced.

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  • martmart Frets: 5205
    slacker said:
    How does one steal that many guitars and not get caught? Asking for a friend.
    FTFY
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  • TDubsTDubs Frets: 706
    Sounds like the storage facility was unattended for a few months...
    Three months without checking in on them! Surely you’d have some form of security, cameras, alarm on a storage facility. Especially given the value of what’s inside. 

    Poor chap. I lost/had stolen a cheap tele once and that was bad enough.
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  • NeilNeil Frets: 3594
    So sorry to hear of this stuff getting stolen . 

    I do think collecting all the cool guitars just to stick in a vault and not be played ever is wrong though.
    Guitars are great and beautiful but their true value is to play great music on.
    But on the other hand most guitars are just mass produced products that are beautiful enough to warrant collecting just for the pleasure of ownership.

    Many have turned out to be fantastic investments over the years, so there is that to it.

    The unfortunate thing is when your investment is stolen. 

    I hope the victim was insured. 
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    impmann said:

    Has anyone visited Doncaster recently? 
    That was my first thought too... if there’s any suspicion they’ve come to Europe I’d start by checking the dealers who have a proven track record of handling stolen guitar collections.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    I find it hard to sympathise with collectors.
    They're greedy bastards who keep the nice stuff out of circulation and push up the prices of vintage gear.

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  • DanielsguitarsDanielsguitars Frets: 3261
    tFB Trader
    That amount of guitars is unbelievable, very sad though and I really hate thieves, I'd stick them in stocks in the street so people could flog em


    www.danielsguitars.co.uk
    (formerly customkits)
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  • GandalphGandalph Frets: 1568
    ICBM said:
    impmann said:

    Has anyone visited Doncaster recently? 
    That was my first thought too... if there’s any suspicion they’ve come to Europe I’d start by checking the dealers who have a proven track record of handling stolen guitar collections.
    I grew up in Donny and me and a mate went into music ground one day, think it was the dad who owned it at the time but I’m not sure. Just remember how in your face and antagonistic he was. We left pretty sharpish! 
    Luckily we had electro music a few streets away. Spent many an undisturbed afternoon in there and I still miss it since it closed a few years ago. 

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