LeftyBassist.com

Hey all,

Don't know how many of you may have seen this from me on TalkBass, but I still haven't tracked this down, and only just stumbled onto this forum right now...

"Hey friends,

My Fodera Emperor 5 bolt-on was stolen out of my car late last night. I'm hoping that it's a rare enough bass (lefty, Fodera) that it'll turn up pretty quick. Any and all help to be on the lookout would be absolutely helpful.

Thanks,

Matt

Here's a couple of pictures...."

Oh man, I wouldn't like to be in your shoes

Can you provide some more info?
- where and when was it stolen?
- what is the serial number of the bass? It's not entirely unique, a while back a link was posted elsewhere on this forum of a store that had one in stock that looks very much identical and a while ago one was also for sale on leftybass.com, located in Italy, so any additional means to identify the bass as yours when anyone here comes across it would be appreciated;
- how can you be contacted the most quickly if this turns up?

I'm sure anyone here would be willing to keep an eye out. It always sucks when you lose a much cherished instrument that's been out on the road with you and has a story of its own to tell.

Seconded. FWIW I live in the UK and am an active member of the Basschat forum. Will keep my eyes peeled, but it would help to have a few more details.

Basschat has a 'stolen basses' thread, and if nobody minds I'd like to post a link to this thread from there. Thought I'd ask before doing it though.

It was stolen at night on May 11th. Out of my car here outside my apartment in Nashville.

-The bass on planet bass is similar (I got excited for a second when I first saw it on their site). The dead giveaways are the ash body on it (mine is mahogany), and the fret markers on the neck (mine has no fret markers).

-The bass on sale on lefty bass is in fact my bass. That listing is how I first acquired it. i believe it currently resides on page 18 of the secondhand listings. I purchased it in April 2007 from there (definitely worth mentioning that it was like pulling teeth to arrange the bank transfer to him haha).

The full listing of specs is:

Emperor Bolt-On 5-String
34" scale with extended low B
mahogany body
flamed koa top
kingwood fingerboard
AERO dual coil pick ups with wooden cover
wooden rear panel
SN: E52643BL

Purchased by Matt O'Donnell in late March 2007, shipped on April 6, 2007 and received on April 13, 2007.

Purchased from Francesco Gabbanini: gabbass@tele2.it


My best contact info is:
matt.odonnell@me.com
570-982-6113

Thanks!

MAtt

Holy cow, best of luck in recovering it. A bass like that is hard to keep hidden, with any luck it'll turn up eventually. Does Nashville have a decent system in place at the pawn shops for tracking stolen gear? Here in AZ a store has to hold on to it for 10 days before reselling in case something does turn out to be stolen goods.

From what I hear, they're indeed supposed to have a good system. But I honestly haven't lived here or had to deal with pawn shops long enough to know whether or not that's actually true.

Aw, man. Sorry to hear that. I went through the same crap, although with a $500-MIJ Jazz, an SWR head, and a bag of pedals and cables. Left them in the car for 5 minutes on my way to a gig, and they vandalized a few cars on the block exactly at that moment.

That was 10 years ago. I'm sure it's still sitting at some pawnshop. . .

I'm sure the thief was also disappointed to find your bass is a lefty bass. But definitely spend your time looking in pawnshops. The thief won't put this on eBay if he's half smart. Maybe Craiglist.

Don't forget to file a police report.

This is a tough way to learn to never leave anything of value in your car. I've gotten my car broken into two more times after that at different locations and occasions. . . it just happens. Lots of kids and crackheads out there with nothing better to do.

Man, that sucks! I'm very sorry.

Here's one incident, however, where it may be to your advantage to be left handed, since it will be easy to spot and hard to unload it. Any unsuspecting buyer who's unaware that it's stolen could turn up in some MySpace or YouTube clips or other online photos, so luckily today thanks to the net it's harder to hide these things.

I'll keep an eye out and do some regular global craig's list searches. Did you post mention on Talkbass and other forums?

That is one gorgeous bass. I've been on the lookout for it on ebay and craigslist; if I see it, I'll definitely give a shout.

You guys will be happy to know that I got a phone call today from a woman who had my Fodera in her possession! It was even right in my apartment community.

She found the bass a few months back in the woods, strangely enough, and took it in, hoping someone would put up flyers looking for it. Her roommate's boyfriend told her today to put the serial number into Google, and one of my posts (here!!!!) came up.

I picked it up and it's in one pretty little piece. The only thing is, I don't know how long it sat out in nature like that. The pickup poles and a bunch of the hardware (strings too, obviously) had some rust on them. Haven't plugged it in yet, but I'd imagine if it got wet in a storm or something, it might be shorted out.

My plan is to call Fodera on Monday and see if I can send it up and have them get it back in working order for me. I mean, this is kind of a miracle, so I would hope they'd replace some of the damaged parts for me.......

Woohoo!!

what a blessing! you are truly fortunate, congrats!

Wow! What an incredible story and incredible luck too. Hopefully you'll be able to get it back into shape easily.

Congrats!

Unbelievable. Congrats man, I hope it continues to serve you well

Wow - what a lucky break!

As if stealing it in the first place wasn't bad enough - just leaving it out in the trees!?? This saga would make a good definition of a pointless crime.

Anyway, good to see you got it back at last.

Now that's incredible!

Probably the thief wasn't quite aware of the value...

glad to see you have it back

Or the thief brought it to a pawn shop and the owner said, "I can't sell that. It's left handed."

Congrats on getting the bass back!

Was the bass in a hard shell case or gig bag when it was stolen? How about when it was found? (or did I miss that part?)

I'm pretty sure that this story belongs in a future version of the bible, because it's a frikkin' miracle you got that bass back after all of this time.

Good for you, man...

Now go and buy a lottery ticket!!!