“I hadn’t even had a chance to play this guitar before it was ripped off from our gig”: Nancy Wilson on the story of her stolen baritone – which made its debut at a Chappell Roan gig

Last year, Nancy Wilson’s custom Telecaster-inspired baritone was stolen before she had a chance to gig with it. But, after its theft became headline news and the culprit was found, the six-string made its live debut alongside one of the biggest pop stars on the planet.

The Heart guitarist said she was “heartbroken” when the guitar was brazenly stolen from the stage at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City on the eve of their US tour last summer.

Thankfully, police were able to track down the perpetrator, 57-year-old Garfield Bennett of Pleasantville, via city-wide CCTV footage. He was seen trying to sell the guitar on the streets of the surrounding area.

Wilson’s guitar was custom-made for her by her “guitar butler”, Nathan McMurdo, but was stolen before its sparkling Purple finish got the chance to shine under stage lights.

“I think Nathan liked my purple boots, and he made a guitar to match them. His wife did the painting [on the headstock],” Wilson tells Premier Guitar of the build. “We brought it to Atlantic City, the first show, and someone broke into the place and stole this guitar, as well as an old mandolin from the 1920s.

“Both the instruments were returned, but I hadn’t even had a chance to meet this guitar yet or play it yet before it was ripped off from our gig.”

The search for the guitar had seen the band reach out to local news outlets and take social media to plead, while working closely with the city’s police department.

Wilson says the thief allegedly asked one old lady walking down the boardwalk if she would buy the guitar for “$40 and a cheesesteak”, before it returned home to Wilson in time for a fabulous debut.

Heart's Nancy Wilson Rig Rundown with Ryan Wariner & Ryan Waters - YouTube

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“This guitar got a story before it even started,” Wilson laughs. “A few weeks later, I was invited to play [Heart’s 1997 hit] Baracuda with Chappell Roan in New York. She’s amazing, and her band is kick ass. But she plays it in a lower key, so I thought, ‘Let’s break out the baritone for that.’ This guitar got its debut on stage with Chappell Roan.”

It was a hell of a show from Heart and Roan, who is helping bring guitar solos back to the mainstream.

The guitar is rocking Fishman Fluence single-coil pickups and an Evertune bridge – “it’s like a science project I don’t understand,” Wilson quips, “but it sounds good!”

Elsewhere, Wilson has spoken to Guitar World about how the band adapted to survive the 1980s, and called out Donald Trump for using Heart's music without their permission.