Bown, Tippin, & Lowry guitars stolen in SF CA

[DHayes]

So very sad to say my home/studio was burglarized and three guitars stolen. Please keep an eye out for them. Missing are:

• 2000 Tippin OMT-C-DB #0300132 - built for "El McMeen Esq" with 4-inch crack on upper side
• 2008 Bown MacEbony & Spruce #226 Bown OM York
• 2022 Lowry (Braid) 00 style Cocobolo & AAA Adirondack Spruce # 52

[Br1ck]

Some junkie will be very disappointed. Not only will a fence not know what they are, they will carry more risk, unlike a D 18. This sucks big time.

[jaymarsch]

So sorry to hear this. Have you alerted guitar stores in the area? A friend of mine alerted guitar stores in several Bay Area counties when one of her high end guitars was stolen a while back and it did show up at one of those stores a few weeks later when the thieves wanted to get cash for it. It led to them being caught and the return of the guitar. Long shot maybe but couldn’t hurt. Good luck!
Best,
Jayne

[BlueBowman]

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It's such a revolting feeling when you're robbed of meaningful possessions. I've also had five guitars stolen from me in the past. Just a terrible feeling.

The guitars stolen from you are somewhat unique though, so perhaps they'll be easier to find once they show up in a pawn shop/music store? I wish you the best of luck with it and hope you reclaim them!

I had to collect homeowners insurance on mine, and I must say they compensated me really well for them. I despise thieves.

[Talk2Me]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Some junkie will be very disappointed. Not only will a fence not know what they are, they will carry more risk, unlike a D 18. This sucks big time.

Interesting you assume it's a "junkie". Personally I'd suspect people who visited the studio and/or somehow knew the contents. Yes, those are not common guitars and have more value. Maybe that's why they were taken. Maybe but I try not to jump to conclusions about the mind of a thief.

Good luck to the OP though. People who take from others are some of the lowliest ones around.

[Pickcity]

I hope they are caught and horse whipped. Or worse. Even more, I hope you get your guitars back.

Breaking into someone’s home and robbing them is a serious violation by my estimation. It is sickening.

When you are not at home, a couple of Mastiffs can quickly make a thief question their life’s choices. From firsthand experience, I can highly recommend Cane Corsos.

[Br1ck]

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but when a country decides addiction is a disease, property crime usually plummets. Would a common thief target such unique guitars, guitars rare enough to send red flags among the guitar buying community.

My grandmother was burgled once. She had $40 in her top drawer. She had three fire opals, and six $20 gold pieces too. They snatched the cash, left the rest. Junkie behavior at it's finest.It's no coincidence drugs are sold where stolen property is too.

[Talk2Me]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but when a country decides addiction is a disease, property crime usually plummets. Would a common thief target such unique guitars, guitars rare enough to send red flags among the guitar buying community.

My grandmother was burgled once. She had $40 in her top drawer. She had three fire opals, and six $20 gold pieces too. They snatched the cash, left the rest. Junkie behavior at it's finest. It's no coincidence drugs are sold where stolen property is too.

I have yet to see an area where drugs are NOT sold (and as far as I have seen the past 30 years or so drug abuse is considered a disease in the USA - a criminally prosecuted one but yes, a disease. ESPECIALLY in an area like SF). "High crime" area or not there's likely drugs to be had if one looks as "high crime" just tends to be the areas where police are actually making arrests which skews the statistics. [Attempting to avoid politics as 3rd rail on AGF I will say no more]

I think a "common thief" would carry whatever they could. The fact that they stole acoustic guitars at all (no mention by the OP if they also took cash, jewelry, TVs, etc) is a decent indication they were looking for valuable items they could sell. That would be true for any criminal, not just the drug abusers.

[lfoo6952]

In California the thief will find it difficult to sell the guitars to a music store or pawn shop. During one sale back about 5 years ago in Los Angeles, I had to wait 3 days before I was granted clearance by the store to sell my guitar after a background check with the police. Just last week when I sold a guitar to Guitar Center, they obtained all kinds of documentation from me including my driver’s license and thumb print.

[ZeroFretWear]

They're probably on their way to China or Belarus or some other rampantly corrupt country where basic international norms are not enforced.
You see this with other stolen items of high value but unique characteristics.
It would make no sense for the thieves to steal these guitars otherwise.
I speak from hearsay experience, as my brother-in-law is in law enforcement (though not in California thank goodness).

[RiffRalf]

Originally Posted by Pickcity

I hope they are caught and horse whipped. Or worse. Even more, I hope you get your guitars back.

Breaking into someone’s home and robbing them is a serious violation by my estimation. It is sickening.

When you are not at home, a couple of Mastiffs can quickly make a thief question their life’s choices. From firsthand experience, I can highly recommend Cane Corsos.

Meh our 7 lbs morkie chased an adult bear up a tree once .... (if only wifey had turned on her phone and video it instead of scream and run back into the house leaving doggie to its own resources we might now be youtube millionaires ...)

And what those cane corsos eat in a week you can afford to get burgled a couple of times a year at least

Only kidding mastiffs are great dogs.

but like any dog they do need a lot more attention than cats ...

Oh and commisz to the OP, hope the instruments are found in undamamaged condition ....

[rllink]

Originally Posted by Talk2Me

Interesting you assume it's a "junkie". Personally I'd suspect people who visited the studio and/or somehow knew the contents. Yes, those are not common guitars and have more value. Maybe that's why they were taken. Maybe but I try not to jump to conclusions about the mind of a thief.

Good luck to the OP though. People who take from others are some of the lowliest ones around.

Exactly. Whoever broke in knew they were there.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by lfoo6952

In California the thief will find it difficult to sell the guitars to a music store or pawn shop. During one sale back about 5 years ago in Los Angeles, I had to wait 3 days before I was granted clearance by the store to sell my guitar after a background check with the police. Just last week when I sold a guitar to Guitar Center, they obtained all kinds of documentation from me including my driver’s license and thumb print.

That is the way it is in much of the US now. I was in law enforcement of thirty years. When I was in investigations, I went out every Monday morning to the pawn shops and picked up paperwork for everything they took in for the prior week. They couldn't sell any of it for five days after. I spent all afternoon on Mondays running it all through the data bases for stolen property. I also walked around checking serial numbers on the stuff that they had sitting out that I had supposedly already checked, just to make sure they weren't trying to get around me. Same with any place that bought precious metals, coins, or jewelry. I got to check out a lot of guitars that way and get paid to do it. Those were the days.

I have to say that the places I worked with were very good about it. I had a couple pawn shops that if they thought something might be suspect, they would get ID, then call me up to check it out over the phone. There was a fund to pay victims of crime and the pawn shops got reimbursed for seized stolen property from that fund.

[Guitars44me]

Sending the OP good vibes for a recovery!!

All speculation on who or why is futile.

But we will carry on with it just the same….

Nice former gig rllink !

Play em if ya got em

Hope ya get em back!!!

Paul