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STOLEN MM Stingray 5 Indiana

foulmouthbass

foulmouthbass

Jul 27, 2012
18
44
Bloomington, IN
#1
Stolen from my home in Indianapolis.
2009 or 2010 Musicman Stingray 5 HH
-sunburst body
-rosewood neck
-torsoiseshell pickguard

On July 2, someone broke in my home and took all my guitars. (Home security systems don't really mean much when the police take hours to arrive!)

The guitar I am really wanting to get back is the musicman bass that used to belong to my friend who died in the tornadoes in southern Indiana on March 2nd. His lead singer and neighbor discovered the bass in the field (along with his body) after the storm and his widow was wonderful enough to let me use it in remembrance of Ronnie.


What separates this bass from the others is that I had to replace two of the tuning keys with the ones that were bent form the tornado. They still have the MM stamp, I just replaced the actual key. They are about 1/2" longer than the rest. It also may have some mud buried in the pickguard screws and battery case.

The one suspect I had turned out to have nothing to do with it and now I have nowhere else to go. The Indy police dept is up to their eyeballs with there own internal stuff and could not give two sh*ts about my plight.

Also stolen was an '82 black USA tele autographed by Steve Wariner and a rough sunburst 2002 sunburst USA strat with texas specials.

I just want the bass back.

If anyone in the midwest frequents the pawn shops and guitar stores in the midwest, please keep this bass in the back of your mind as your looking. Email me if you see it.

Ronnie was a great guy and this guitar is worth much more to me than its blue book value.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Thanks
Joe
[email protected]
 
#11
So, right off the bat, let me disclose that I recovered the bass several months after it was stolen not 8 years later. I completely forgot about this post until I came looking for answers about my SVT7. Unfortunately, that scrubs most of the provenance from the story but old Ronnie would have loved it anyway, so feel free to read on in memory of departed good dude.

Years ago. I got a call from a band in my area needed a guitarist at the last minute. I meet with the guys and theyre good dudes. As I got to know the guys it turns out the bassist used to work with my sisters husband at a local factory.

"Your sister is married to him? He was the laziest gob of monkey c*m I've ever met." Ronnie and I became instant lifelong buddies.

Years went by and we played every Eagles, Moose, VFW. tonky tonk, beer joint in the Ohio Valley until Ronnie was taken tragically in a storm in March, 2012. The tornado had smashed his trailer and strewn him and all he owned through the field behind his house. Among the stuff in that field was his beloved Musicman bass.

After the funeral, his widow asked if I could salvage his gear and sell what I could. I sold what worked but bought the bass for myself. It was pretty scuffed and muddy and the case was long gone but it worked after I cleaned it up. So, I played it alot.

A few months later, I come jome to find my front foor kicked in. Yeah, Ronnies bass, all my gear, electronics and jewelry are gone. I make the police report, they just issue me a number and wish me luck with the insurance company. So, I set out looking for his bass. I post here, craigslist and on fb. I visit every pawn shop. I leave a message with Guitar Center. I look for months. Nothing.

One day, I get an anonymous email from craigslist telling me Ronnies bass is at GC. I leave work, run in, and there it is. I talk to one of the sales guy, explained the story. Tornados, dead guy, break-in, monkry c*m... I must have sounded completely unhinged in my excitement. However, he explains their stolen goods policy and that just because I had a police case number they cant do much without me having a receipt or photo or recorded serial number. Understood. Dont care. I put it on layaway.

As days go by, I am trying to think of ways to prove it was Ronnies/my bass. As I'm putting a 9volt in my smoke detector it dawns on me that I kept forgetting to clean the battery compartment on the bass. It was muddy but functional. So, I call GC back and ask them to check for mud in the battery compartment. "Ok. We're busy. I'll call you back."

A few days later, IMPD calls me and tells me to recover my property related to my case number. I race downtown not knowing which guitar was recovered but there it was. Ronnie's bass with the muddy battery compartment. I'm not sure what happened with GC and the IMPD and I didnt really ask.

So, dead or alive, Ronnie made sure I remain the caretaker of his bass. Its been back home for a while and now resides comfortably in my basement practice room.
 

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#16
I absolutely enjoyed the story! SO good to hear you got the bass back and that it’s finally back with the right person.

And why did my buddy @LadyLoveStingRay5 think I’d enjoy it so much? Because she knows how much I love my own honeyburst SR5HH.

C6F3F117-0F71-4967-A3F5-36DAC4D87502.jpeg


But, as special as mine is to me, I’d say yours is far more special. Hopefully it remains with you from now on!
 
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