GUEST BLOGGER: Andrew - Jackson Guitar Story

Written by: Andrew K.
Edited by: Cam

This was my custom painted, one-of-a-kind Jackson Randy Rhoads guitar made for me in 1984, when I was 16 years old living in Dallas, Texas. I chose this model due to my admiration of Randy’s playing and the great discount I received while working in a local music store. Even with my discount, it still cost around $1,100 dollars at that time. That’s a lot of money for a kid making about 4 bucks an hour. And yes, I know… nice tux.

I loved the guitar and used it while playing in a few local bands. In the above picture, I am with the group JAM, during the summer of 1989 (this explains the Batman shirt). This would be one of the last times I would play my guitar.

Sadly, a few days later, it was stolen from me.

Fast forward over 13 years to November of 2002 when I was living in California. I was browsing eBay for Jackson Rhoads guitars when I came across this one for auction located in Vancouver, Washington. While this guitar was not to my liking, I did notice that there were five others like it only slightly visible, hanging in the upper-right corner. The last one in line appeared to be white with a red stripe. I quickly found an old picture of my stolen guitar and the stripe appeared to be the same, but I couldn’t see enough of the body to be 100% positive that that was it. After calming down, I emailed the seller knowing only his eBay username. I said that while I didn't particularly care for the one he had for sale, I couldn't help but notice the others hanging in the background. I asked him if they were for sale, too. He replied that they were not, as they were all early-1980s Charvel/Jackson Custom Shop models and were his prized possessions. He then proceeded to tell me about his collection, The Van Halen one, the red zebra, etc., etc. He shared very detailed information on some of them, but not much on the white and red one.

I let a few days pass. Then, I had an idea of how I could possibly get a revealing picture of the whole guitar in his room without being overly obvious about my purpose. I sent him a .jpg image of my brother’s guitar (above), which was also made in the Custom Shop around the same time as mine. (Note: The Charvel/Jackson Custom Shop would paint any design you sent them on any guitar you ordered, as long as you sent them lots of $$$. Hence, you wouldn't see an identical one hanging on the wall at Guitar Center.)

The seller checked out my brother’s guitar and offered to buy it. I told him that perhaps my brother would sell it, so I should get his name and phone number. I also mentioned that I would like to see some of his other guitars, if he had some more photos. Amazingly, when he responded, he sent me the picture of his collection that I needed.

And there it was, in all its '80s glory, smack in the middle of the room! My guitar. I was fired up, but unsure of how to proceed since I only had his email, first name, and phone number.

The next day, I decided to check his feedback history on eBay and found a user who left negative feedback concerning another transaction. I emailed this person and told them that I had evidence of a stolen instrument that was currently hanging in the seller’s room. I asked if they would help me by sending me the suspect’s full name and street address. I was confident that he might due to their recent bad transaction. Moments later, they called me, and after hearing my story, gave me all the information I needed!

So, I now had his full name, address, phone number, and e-mail, along with a photo of his house with my stolen guitar in it. I also had the police report I filed in 1989, the receipt from 1984, along with the original order form and artwork. With all of this, I called the Vancouver Police with my story, faxed all the information, and sent pictures via e-mail not knowing what, if anything, would be done.

Later that same evening, I received a call from Officer King of the Vancouver Police Department. After answering a few more specific questions about the instrument, he tells me that he has my guitar sitting in his office! Apparently our conversation and the faxed documentation were enough for them to knock on this guy’s front door at 10 p.m. and inform him that one of his guitars was possibly stolen property. A shock to the seller, I’m sure.

The guitar was placed in the evidence department. As luck would have it, a friend of mine had parents who lived in Vancouver and were planning to drive down to California the following weekend. I arranged with the police for them to pick it up for me.

The seller did e-mail me shortly after scheduling all this. To his credit, he was mostly understanding and claims he would have helped me had he known it was stolen. I told him that I couldn't afford to take that chance since he could possibly be a jerk and ignore my questions, and hide or sell the guitar in the meantime. He claims to have bought it in early 2002 off of eBay from a man in Texas. He said the man in Texas acquired it at a flea market several years prior, which was not far from the area where it was stolen.

So, after 13 years, a few more pounds, and a lot less hair, thanks to modern technology, the Internet, and eBay, I was able to find my stolen guitar and get it back!

The precious… in 2003.
(Now just gotta grow the hair back.)