fxdx99 Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/25/nyregion/a-fancy-guitar-to-sell-but-hard-to-play-in-handcuffs.html?_r=0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 It's great to hear that this story had a positive ending... Alex Skolnick, the guitarist for the thrash metal band Testament, with the prototype of his signature guitar from Heritage Guitars, which was once stolen from him, at his home in Park Slope, Brooklyn, on Friday. Mr. Skolnick was able to retrieve at least five stolen guitars with the help of the employees of Sam Ash music store. .... The staff at Sam Ash knows a lot about guitars. So when that same seller entered in late November with an electric guitar, Mr. Kolmin did a double take. He was sure he had seen it before. Like many guitar enthusiasts, Mr. Kolmin visits the “gear pages” of musicians — links that display an artist’s favorite guitars. The seller was carrying a Heritage guitar — specifically, a Heritage Signature Skolnick, part of a limited series designed by a specific artist, Alex Skolnick. It was a unique instrument, and it made Mr. Kolmin suspicious because he followed Mr. Skolnick and recognized it from his gear page. Then he flipped it over and saw the serial number, Z20001, and his suspicions were all but confirmed. He asked something like, “Where did you get this again?” and the seller gave the same answer about his father, he recalled. The end digits, 001, indicated the guitar was a series prototype, not one sold by the company. It would have belonged to the artist, Mr. Skolnick........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 Good for Alex. I wonder if he has the same emotional connection to his signature ESP guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElNumero Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 I hope the thief is serving time in jail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 Makes you wonder where he got all the previous guitars. I would hope they are currently investigating those, as it sounds like other people with stuff at that storage facility may be short a few guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectrum13 Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 So if the employee was not a Alex Skolnick fan, would not have caught on this was a stolen guitar. No one checks a registry for hot guitars at retail store just at pawn brokers. That true Larry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 So if the employee was not a Alex Skolnick fan, would not have caught on this was a stolen guitar. No one checks a registry for hot guitars at retail store just at pawn brokers. That true Larry? It's been many years since I worked in guitar retail, and my experience predates the internet, so, I'm not an expert on current practice. However, my sense is that there is really very little control, and that buying a used instrument (a used anything?) is always in some ways a risky proposition, whether at a shop, or a pawn broker, or online, or on craigslist. . How many guitars in circulation have at some point been stolen, or sold by a family member/boy-girlfriend without the permission of the owner during a breakup? How many transactions involving used guitars take place with full documentation back to the original sale? How many guitar owners record serial numbers, take photos, maintain purchase information, have prepared their collections to be sold by their family (or to document theft)? Lawyers on the board could comment much more fully than I, but I think the responsibility of store owners is to follow common practice in the industry, and that's not very strictly defined. And, I can speak from experience that it is very hard to say no when a really great guitar is sitting in front of you at a great price. One of the things I most admire about Blaine Hampton, my friend in my hometown (Greenville, NC) who still runs a brick-and-morter shop (Greenville Guitars), is that I have seen him on more than one occassion (1) pay someone more than they asked for a guitar, because it was worth more, (2) refuse to purchase an instrument because the situation was suspicious. I'm not sure how many dealers/purchasers are as principled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 I'm not a lawyer...but many states have laws requiring pawn shops and other retailers that buy used goods to hold off re-selling goods for a set period of time. Check your respective state or Google "pawn shop hold periods" or "police hold" and other pawn shop statutes or case law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 The problem in that case was that Alex Skolnick was not even aware it had been stolen at the time. Someone was obviously going into his storage locker, so I would expect to see some press soon regarding that particular storage location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 This is obviously not the first time something like this happened. Some of you might remember the vintage National amp that I brought to PSP a few years back. I had it restored by Terry Dobbs of Columbus, IN. He specializes in the old Valco amps. When I dropped my amp off at his house, we sat around talking for a bit, as I looked over a collection of old amps, tubes, testers and such. Silvertones, Ohau's etc, were in various states of disassembly. At one point, he mentioned having gone through one of Stevie Ray Vaughan's Vibroverb amps. Turns out it had been stolen from a storage facility along with guitars, pedals and other personal items. You can read the story on his webpage ValcoAmp.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwinking Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 When I lived in Austin I bought a used Baldwin solid state amp.....you know, those blue amps with the multi colored switches? This was in the late eighties when I bought it. One of Willie Nelson's guys informed me that as those amps were never popular and didn't sell well, this amp was one of Willie's. Apparently in the 70s Baldwin had given Willie a truck load of them and they all got stolen. So any Baldwin amp in central Texas was probably one of those. He didn't want it returned and just thought it was kind of funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pressure Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I played thru a Baldwin combo at a "Battle of the Bands" on the mezzanine at the Carson Pierre Scott department store in the mid 60s. It was the flagship store on State Street, right in the middle of downtown Chicago. The amp was supplied by Carsons, their idea of a backline. We lost, in fact we were kicked out of the completion when the judges heard the lyrics to the song we played. The song was "Lets Spend the Night Together" by a new band called "The Rolling Stones". Good times. My opinion then was that it was the worst amp I had ever played thru (I pushed every button it had and got a lot of nuthin). Fortunately it still is the worst amp I have ever played thru.Sorry to hear you bought that amp Mr. Winking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I remember those Baldwin amps. One of the local bands here had members who worked at the Baldwins store, so they had three Exterminators for their backline. I don't remember much about the sound. It was loud, which was about all anyone cared about in those days. The last one I saw was at Z's music in Charleston IL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwinking Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I would agree with you on that Baldwin except for one thing....It was the best amp for a gut string with a pick up that I have ever played, which is probably why Willie likes them. It was total trash for an electric guitar but my Takamine gut string with it was magic. It was cool looking too! http://i42.tinypic.com/vib9v.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 As a kid, I remember seeing those amps in local music stores. I thought they were SO pretty, I never considered buying one...had to get a Fender, a 'real' musician's amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I played thru a Baldwin combo at a "Battle of the Bands" on the mezzanine at the Carson Pierre Scott department store in the mid 60s. It was the flagship store on State Street, right in the middle of downtown Chicago. The amp was supplied by Carsons, their idea of a backline. We lost, in fact we were kicked out of the completion when the judges heard the lyrics to the song we played. The song was "Lets Spend the Night Together" by a new band called "The Rolling Stones". Good times. My opinion then was that it was the worst amp I had ever played thru (I pushed every button it had and got a lot of nuthin). Fortunately it still is the worst amp I have ever played thru. Sorry to hear you bought that amp Mr. Winking. ha, that is a great story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhoadsScholar Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Love to see when this happens. I once helped someone recover a stolen instrument just by chance. Additionally, I once purchased a hot instrument that guitar center asked me to return for a court case. It is good to know this kind of stuff is being tracked. Not necesserily for me, but for my sons when I am gone (I don't want to sell anything, I just need one more guitar and I am set). Love to see the system work out for someone (even if he went to ESP) as he still plays his 575 with his trio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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