A pallet of custom Les Paul guitars designed by Tool guitarist Adam Jones have been stolen from a truck in Indiana.
The limited-edition 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst was unveiled last week, with three members of Tool scoring new short film The Witness to mark the occasion.
Now, Gibson and retailer Sweetwater Music have reported that a pallet containing 13 of the guitars was stolen off the back of a Sweetwater truck in Whiteland, Indiana on October 30.
The guitars come in two formats, a signed version retailing at $10,000 (£7,500) of which there are only 79 in the world, and a Vintage Original Spec version (£4,500) with 179 copies.
Sweetwater Chief Supply Chain and Merchandising Officer Phil Rich spoke of the theft in a press release, writing: “Somehow out of a truck full of guitars, this ONE pallet was singled out and stolen at a truck stop. Totalling close to $95,000 in guitars, we feel this person(s) knew exactly what to look for and when.”
Gibson’s Cesar Gueikian added” “These guitars were the dream guitars of 13 Gibson and Adam Jones fans, who had been patiently waiting for them to be delivered. We have decided to publish the serial numbers of the 13 stolen guitars and are appealing to all of Gibson’s fans to keep an eye out for them and let us know if they surface.
“Our fans should ask any third-party sellers for a serial number before purchasing to be sure they are not being sold one of the stolen guitars.”
Fans with any knowledge of the whereabouts of the guitars are encouraged to contact Kenny Polley of the Whiteland Police Department on email at [email protected] or by phone at (317) 535-8100.
Meanwhile, Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan has hit our at coronavirus conspiracy theorists after revealing earlier this month that he contracted COVID in February.
“I’m still feeling residual effects of [the virus],” he said. “I feel like there’s a bunch of people that…maybe I didn’t almost die, but I have friends who almost died. It was ugly. And then you have people going…apparently I’m being paid to say this. Eat a dick, dude.”