Jon Camp's Great White

[Jon Camp]

Hi Everyone,
I have been trying to find my beloved 'Great White' for over twenty years now and both I and my lawyers have never given up hope. It now appears that the bass is in the possession of persons who have been brave enough to post pictures to me of them plaing my 4001. It was always common knowledge that she was stolen and to cut to the chase civil and criminal proceedings are being instigated against these two individuals. If any of my fellow bassists have any further information regarding my 'baby' I would greatly appreciate them sharing it with me. This of course will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Thank You,

Jon Camp

[weemac]

Hi Jon!
Great White was purchased from an ebay seller a few years ago by a respected member on this forum and if I remember correctly there was a letter and a story that went with it. I sure the Ebay purchase was all legal and stuff. (I wanted to bid but did not have the funds)
Now the current owner of Great White rarely posts on the forum. I believe some of the other forum members may be able to contact the current custodian and some some discussion could be started.
I don't wish to speak out of turn though, and I appoligise to all if I have....
It would be lovely to get a happy resolution for all out of this, however it is a delicate matter...

Great to see that you seem to be stepping into the limelight a bit again Jon, with some new projects! And you have a strong fanbase here (including me)

Eden.

[admin]

In matters such as this it is fair to put out the word that an instrument has been stolen. It can be listed as a stolen instrument in the Registry. To be fair to all parties, however,it is asked that persons involved in legal matters associated with this bass not be named. Should persons be named the thread will be removed.

[8mileshigh]

Peter. For something to be listed as stolen in the Regsitry, do you need to provide proof, such as a police report or an insurance claim letter or similar? Otherwise I guess we could all claim instruments we had sold, were stolen and then try to get them back?

[jdogric12]

Seems like even listing a serial as stolen may lead down the path toward libel or slander. Just my three cents worth...

[8mileshigh]

Eden. I think the "Great White" that sold on Ebay years ago was a fake or tribute copy. From memory that was a '74 bass, am I right? And Jon's bass was made in May 1960 as he explained in a recent interview.......

JC: Yes. There’s a thing called Rickenbacker Resource that we discovered, and Wayne has seen a picture of a guy playing it and he’s sure it is the one. It got stolen—I had that one and a fretless Rickenbacker stolen from Red Rocks in Denver. Its was an inside job, because we were there for two nights and we locked all the guitars in their very secure storage. Micky’s guitars were in there the drums were in there, the expensive keyboards were in there. Next day we come into the soundcheck and the only things missing? My bass guitars (laughs).

So I was a bit miffed about that! We’re trying to track it down at the moment. I’ve been in touch with Rickenbacker themselves and they’ve been keeping an eye out for years and years. I doubt if I’d ever be able to get it back now, it must have changed hands a few times. But I’d just like to know its whereabouts. It was made in May 1960, it was a very very early one. I had a lot of work done to it. It’s probably still the best bass I ever had, it’s still my favorite. I didn’t name it the Great White, the Renaissance followers did that! (laughs)

[8mileshigh]

I'm not sure if this will help or not Jon, but an advert was placed in a local paper in 1984 apparently. Your lawyers might be able to trace the telephone number? Just an idea. Hopefully this will lead you to the "real" Great White.

[jdogric12]

That is news! So the one youre searching for, Jon, is a '60? Then you are definitely barking up the wrong tree here.

[admin]

Graham it should be appreciated that the information in the stolen registry needs to be validated on a case by case basis. Some registrants include police report information, phone numbers of police stations and other contact numbers. Others do not. Not all serials are complete either. The RRF does not claim to be the definitive word when it comes to stolen Rickenbackers but a resource and potential starting point for those who have had an instrument gone missing. Some times we get lucky. Clearly our listing is no substitute for a professional investigation.

[DriftSpace]

Could we possibly get some photos of the thing posted here so we all know what we're looking for? Maybe link to the registry, too?

I live in the Colorado area, but I'm sure there's little reason to think it would still be in the state after a few decades, especially given the presence of that advertisement with ... what is that ... a Chinese phone number, asking for pounds sterling?

[admin]

I am hoping that we get little additional information here so that the appropriate authorities can follow this situation from start to finish. It seems to me that additional speculative information could muddy the waters to the point that it would be impossible to get to the bottom of it all. While intriguing because of the involvement of a famous player there are many twists and turns that an instrument could have taken over nearly 30 years. Hopefully those with the proper training and authority will resolve this matter.

[8mileshigh]

what is that ... a Chinese phone number, asking for pounds sterling?

No........0371 is the old dialling code for a place called Wethersfield in the county of Essex (in the UK)

[DriftSpace]

No........0371 is the old dialling code for a place called Wethersfield in the county of Essex (in the UK)

That definitely makes more sense; the only reason I thought that is because Google results indicated it was Zhengzhou.

[weemac]

So, this is not Great White?

Eden.

[marc61]

Even if you do find it, best of luck trying to get it returned. There are statues of limitations that vary from state to state. I'm pretty sure this is well beyond that.

Wow so it was a 60s Ric...Looks like a 74 to me too