LeftyBassist.com

Hey, guys,

With great sadness I write this post. I got my brand-new Mike Lull JT5 stolen this weekend. We were playing at a festival near Pittsboro (Raleigh/Durham), North Carolina and after our set, me and the guitar player put our guitars in the trunk of our car. A few minutes later, another band member had to put his stuff in the car. He says he locked the car but it seems that he inadvertently pressed the truck release button on the remote as he walked away, leaving the trunk wide open (at least that's one theory). We came back two hours later to find the trunk wide open and both guitars gone.

Anywho, I filed a police report. Below are some pictures of the bass. The serial number is 2592. The only difference from the photo is that I had decorated it with some "spaceship, planets and stars" removable stickers. I'm pretty sure it's the only left-handed, all-mahogany, natural, 5-string Mike Lull JT out there. The bass was in a black Mono Vertigo bag.

It could have been locals or people from other bands who are from all over the place, so the bass could be anywhere in the US by now. We were parked in the performers' parking lot but anybody had access to the area.

Thanks in advance for any help. You may e-mail me a kakoguzman@hotmail.com if you see it.

Aw man. Good luck finding your gear.

That is horrendous - hopefully it is recovered soon

Horrible story. I hope they catch the POS that stole your bass. I'm guessing that you waited a while for that Lull to be built. Beautiful bass. Hope it finds it's way back to you. Good Luck.

terrible terrible news. Good luck with the recovery

Thanks, all. Yes, this was custom build, waited four months. That 's not really the problem, the problem is that I don't have and won't have the money to get a similar bass in awhile. I don't really want to sell any other basses I have right now, so that was it. Sweetest 5-string I ever had, made to my specs. . .

To the looters defense, well, that was a lot of temptation. . . a wide-open car trunk left unattended for hours in the middle of the night with two guitar in Mono cases inside.

Irony of it all is that both the guitar player and I are super cautions and paranoid about getting our stuff stolen. We both have had stuff stolen from cars before, but because we were stupid and left them in the cabin. When we travel we always put the instruments in the trunk of the car if we are parking in a relatively safe area, or take the guitars with us otherwise if we are in a van or vehicle without a locked trunk.

And more ironic is that I always try to take cheap basses to shows when I'm flying, but this time because the bass was new and I was still in the honeymoon period, I just brought it. Plus I didn't really have a cheaper or less valuable bass (to me) to bring this time. And more irony is that I had such a great weekend with the bass. It sounded and played so good and was in heaven.

Anyway, material things. I just got me an off-the-shelf MIA P-Bass and that's all I would ever bring to shows out of town.

Any possible insurance claim? Some auto insurance might cover theft.

Nope. We had basic insurance on the rental. The guitar player has insurance on his axe, so he's covered. . . but I'm screwed. I'll try to at least get a decent tax deduction on my return next year since I file all my music income separately as self-employed.

Carlos, this is so messed up, good luck with everything man. With everyone's vigilence and considering the rarity of your bass hopefully we'll be able to catch it.
For what it is worth: Some insurances can insure your instruments outside the home owner policy. Statefarm was charging me $40 year.
Also since I was regional manager in a rental car company for 15 yrs, I know everything about this matter, including insurance issues, how to get the best deals...if anyone has any question let me know. FYI: Even with the full insurance you usually can only get reimbursed up to $600 per stolen item in case of theft. Also Carlos, some rental car companies bundle the lost or stolen item insurance into their basic insurance so you may want to pm me and I can check how you are covered exactly. In that case you could claim your money.

This really sucks, sorry this happened to you Carlos.

Thanks, Andrew.

Frenchy, I just checked and the car had no extra insurance at all. And I just checked my homeowner's insurance, and I don't have any such coverage either. I'm in Florida, and home insurance premiums are incredibly high here, so I have basic insurance only. Thanks for offering help.

UGH... dude...

Crooks suck! Hope you can recover your bass.

Bastards!

Really sorry to hear this. It's uniqueness raises some hope for recovery, maybe...?

Just found another photo. . . This is the way it was, with stickers on it.

Tedesco, yes, that's my hope as well.

This is just terrible news Carlos! Several times I have had friends with left handed basses and guitars get stolen and they do pop up. Nobody steals them to play just to make a quick sale for some beer/drug money whatever. If there is any light at the end of the tunnel this is where being a lefty is somewhat helpful since lefty instruments stick out and custom left lull basses will for sure. I will keep my eyes open and look out for you brother!

On a side insurance note my Allstate insurer here in PA I have a musical instrument policy it covers all my stuff from damage and theft but it is separate from home owner. I have pictures and serial numbers stored at home. I keep a ton of stuff in a studio downtown in Lancaster city. Allstate PA offers a professional and hobby plan obviously the professional is more but not much and it covers all your stuff at home, studio, and on the road. I just have hobby since we are just getting ready to gig again but it’s a phone call to switch it. I think I have 25K coverage and it’s like $150 a year as it attaches to my home, auto, and life plan. Maybe worth a look for future. FWIW...

Thanks man. . . My guitar player did have insurance on all his instruments. He pays $280 a year for $20,000 coverage. I'm consoling myself thinking that I took the risk knowingly. I've been getting tired of taking shitty basses to out of town gigs for fear of damage or theft, so I said, "what the hell, I'm going to enjoy my brand-new bass." It actually was the bass that I was least attached to because it's new, but the most expensive I owned. Complete lack of logic on my part not keeping a decent, reasonable priced bass with me at all times for traveling. I was "really" close to getting a bass just for these trips (I have out-of-town shows all this month) but for whatever reason didn't do it. . .

Just spoke with the deputy who wrote the report and something good, which I didn't know, if that they have a national database that pawn shops have to check. I could presume that not all pawn shops follow this rigorously, but it's hope. An we know that if it pops up on eBay, Craiglist or Guitar Center we'll see it. . .

another positive thing is that they are probably more "opportunity thieves" than "organized thieves" and as such, will probably try to quickly go through a pawn shop, Craigslist or Ebay without realizing that such a unique bass will stick out like sore thumb.

If you have not done so yet you may want to post a "stolen gear notice" on your regional Craigslist without indicating that it is such a unique instrument - as the thieves might be more careful - but with just a description of what was stolen. That would increase the amount of peeps on the look out for your bass. In any case you already have all of us to help.

Oh man that sucks

Definitely do what Frenchy-Lefty suggests, and it looks like you already posted it in the stolen gear forum over at talkbass. Good luck and we'll keep a close eye out for it.

Damn Carlos, sorry to read. Sucks!!!!

I'll def keep a feeler out as well for it. Never seen one like that so it will stand out big time.

Fingers crossed it shows up and the person/people involved get busted.