Radius540 Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 hi... this might be weird but i think the gibson i bought is stolen. because it costed me 500 buks and its like never been played, i dont want to get in so ... i an wandering if i can change the serial number on it somehow with some paint or something... thanks, its a les paul by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 ummm...illegal. Just remove the serial if you're that worried about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radius540 Posted December 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 is there some good way of removing it with out like scratch or kill the head stock? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Sell it to someone for $1300 or so and buy another new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Don't change the serial number. If you ever get robbed of your favorite guitar you know how hard it is. Luckily it did not happen to me, but I think it's fair to at least leave the serial number on so that the original owner has a chance of finding the guitar again. If you behave fair I bet the original owener would pay you the price you paid to get his favorite guitar back. If he does not care he will not find the trace to you and the guitar with or without the serial on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 ^^^Good Advice. You obviously don't want to loose the deal you got on it, but if it really is a "hot" guitar, I bet the real owner had more than $500 dollars into it. If you change the serial number, what happens when you try to sell it? The guitar will appear stolen forever, no one will know how long ago it really happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radius540 Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 (edited) alrite thanks, yeah i guess i will keep the serial number on but i will care this baby with everything lol, cause its so nice lolbut its ebony i want a burst but o well its an awesome deal Edited December 22, 2004 by Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Did you happen to read the forun rules??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAI6 Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Personally, I wouldn't have bought a guitar I suspected to be "hot". The problems that could follow just isn't worth it. And if I found out after the fact, I would do my best to get it back to its rightful owner. Sure, I might "suggest" some sort of reward... But if no reward was offered, at least I would be able to sleep at night, knowing I did the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xebryusguitars Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Well if you wanna risk needing to refinish it, just sand it off, but I'm definitely suspecting that it could just be fake. Earlier on ebay, I saw a fake gibson neck for sale. I dunno the details of your neck and the authenticity but heres me thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 (edited) When did you suspect the guitar was stolen, before or after you bought it? Just realize that if you figured it was stolen before you bought it things could turn around and bite you in the ass. Lets just say you are playing it in a public venue or advertise it for resale and someone approaches and asks to inspect the guitar. Next thing you know the cops show up and are taking the guitar. You WILL NOT get your $500 back. Those are the rules because I had a guitar stolen from me last year. I talked to a few pawn shop owners and they told me that if they see the guitar they will call me and NOT the police. WHY? Because they want to recoup the money they spent for the guitar, the police will just take it as evidence. They basically offer the least amount of money possible to the seller and then you have to buy the guitar back from them. I guess you could call the cops and get it back for nothing but that is a pretty low handed way to pay back the guys who spotted your guitar in the first place. If the guitar was stolen and the previous owner had a few brains he would have put up some notices somewhere. There are quite a few websites that feature notices for stolen guitars etc. Do a search including make/model, color and serial number and see what turns up. But don't monkey around with the serial number. If it IS a stolen guitar and they find out you were the one who altered the serial number then you are going to be a suspect. Altering the serial number is an admission of guilt, ie. knowing it was a stolen guitar. It will also devalue the instrument bigtime. Nobody will want to buy it because THEY will suspect it was stolen or fake. If you do discover it was stolen and find the previous owner, well.... its up to your own conscience whether or not you decide to return the guitar. I would hope you are the good samaritan type, like the guy who returned my guitar. He paid $200 after it changed hands about 3 times. Of course, he wasn't the thief but I think he did the right thing in contacting me. I was happy enough to get my guitar back for a lousy $200 and I'm sure someone who possibly owned the LP would see things the same way. Edited December 22, 2004 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrock Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 If you're not intending on giving it back to the owner (or can't find them) what I'd do is this: First of all don't tell anyone, secondly, stop putting it on the internet for everyone to read that you're guitar has been ripped off. Third, don't tell anyone. There you are, a beginners guide to handling stolen goods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Secondly please watch your language.......... I have seen plenty of valid legal guitars go for unheard of low prices from people that just needed the money in bad times but seriously why would you purchase something thinking it was stolen in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Hot guitars come with a curse attached to them. Seriously. It will never play right, you'll never be comfortable with it. Mark my words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Hot guitars come with a curse attached to them. Seriously. It will never play right, you'll never be comfortable with it. Mark my words. he is right...i had a hot amp once...NEVER sounded like it should. i bought an inferior amp as soon as i could afford it and it sounded much better.things are sweeter when you know they didn't come from someone elses pain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 The thing with "hot" parts is, if you suspect it being fake/stolen/broken, then your just gunna feel fear about it. Like Drak and Wes said, its just ont going to be right. Thats how i feel when i pick up my modded guitars Later, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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