Gear used by Eddie Van Halen and Prince has been stolen from a Nashville storage locker

Eddie Van Halen and Prince
(Image credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images / BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images)

Gear once played by Eddie Van Halen and Prince has allegedly been stolen from a Nashville storage locker.

According to a report in the Tennessean, the items taken include vintage Fender and boutique TopHat guitar amplifiers, custom Marshall guitar cabinets, Ampeg bass cabinets, collectable Sears Silvertone instruments and more.

According to Zeke Clark, a longtime guitar technician who has worked with Van Halen, Cheap Trick and Kenny Chesney, among others, and who owned the equipment, thieves took “at least $50,000 in gear and tour memorabilia”.

The article goes on to state that Clark last visited his Nashville-area storage space in late October. He returned on December 3 and found a new lock on the unit. After removing it with bolt cutters, he discovered 20 Marshall 4x12 cabs, among other gear, missing.

According to Clark, the Marshall 4x12s were used by Eddie Van Halen on the band's 5150 and Monsters of Rock tours. Additionally, Prince employed the cabs on studio recordings in the '90s.

The Metro Nashville Police Department Hermitage precinct has opened an investigation into the theft.

A complete list of missing items is to-be-determined.

"This stuff means the world to me," Clark said. "This is part of my life. This is my history. ... I just want to get it back."

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year 

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Richard Bienstock

Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.