Guitars That got Away
2003 Martin OM-28 John Mayer Signature
STOLEN AWAY FROM ME BY A SCUMBAG!
A true modern classic, highly sought after!
When Martin first released the 2003 Martin OM-28 John Mayer Signature guitars back in the early 2000s, I was one of the first in line to get one…well, as soon as I heard about them anyway. I bought this guitar brand new for around AUD$6500. The build quality on these guitars is sadly, only slightly better than your average Martin, which is to say not the best, certainly not in Collins class that is for sure.
Anyone who knows these guitars, knows all about their popularity as they now sell for significantly more than their new price, if one ever comes up for sale. And as is typical for me, I at one pint had it listed on Reverb.com for sale in mint condition. It did not take long for a buyer to press the buy button.
You can imagine my surprise when I went to get it out of storage to find, it was gone! At the same time I had the Martin Paul Simon Signature which was not as popular (but a better guitar) and this was still there along with a bunch of Masterbuilt Stratocasters. However I had mistakenly put them in the wrong case, so with the Paul Simon guitar was the paperwork for the John Mayer guitar and vice versa.
After giving the buyer the bad news, I spent the next few weeks pondering how the guitar was taken from a locked garage, and why they did not take the tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of guitars that were in storage with it? Read on to find out how…
Serial Number: 180 of 404
Neck Date: N/A
Body Date: N/A
I was scratching my head for many weeks before working out how and when the 2003 Martin OM-28 John Mayer Signature was taken, and why it was the only guitar taken. For me, it had to be a crime of opportunity and not a break in, otherwise all the guitars would have been taken. There was only ever one opportunity…
Several months earlier, I had a termite problem in my garage where all of my guitars were stored, among many other things which I thought were blocking the view of the guitars. How wrong I was!
A pest control company was called in by my building’s body corporate and the guy came out and spent a few hours drilling holes down into the concrete to get to the soil where the termites were coming from, to then pump insecticide down into the holes. I sat at the entrance of my garage door the entire time…except for the brief time I had to go upstairs and do something. On my return, the guy was returning from his truck parked about 10 metres away from my garage. “Just had to get something from my truck” he said. I thought nothing of it at the time.
Sadly, as several months had passed since it happened, I did not feel I could go to the police and report it, but let it be known, this guy lives on the Central Coast of NSW and works as a pest exterminator and I am monitoring all sales of these guitars. If you happen to know anything about this guitar or the scumbag who took it, please contact me.
This is the only picture I have of the label inside the sound hole. It was a blurry photo that I have enhanced using AI software to add some clarity.
