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Searching..??!? Thank you

7K views 42 replies 12 participants last post by  Tonelover 
#1 ·
Hello, I joined this site in hopes of possibly finding my long lost jem. I am now 44yrs old and I graduated high school in 93. I was a deeply infatuated guitarist since the age of 11. My mother ordered me my dream guitar for a graduation present. An Ibanez jem77pmc. I actually remember going down to thourobred music in Tampa Florida and choosing one of 3 brand new in the box! The one I chose had the most gorgeous swirl combo. I owned this guitar for about 15years or more. Was always babied and in original case. I was later in need of money and couldn’t find anyone who wanted it. The popular thing was Ibanez in flat black or more metal looking. Horrifically.. I actually sanded it down and painted the body. Sold it on eBay to the confusion of a few people that saw it asking if it really WAS a true jempmc?? It sold for around 5-600 if I remember. I now am in sickness to what I did.. and see the value of course in such a rare guitar I owned. Does anyone know of this guitars whereabouts?? Thank you so much for reading.
Sincerely,
Brian Townsend.
 
#4 ·
Wrong guitar.

The way I remember the story you took it into a couple stores to try and sell it to them and they are told you there was no way you'd be able to sell that ugly thing [obviously real swirls guys] so you took it home, used a hammer to beat all the clearcoat and swirl off and then sprayed it with charcoal Krylon primer.

If that sounds more like it I own it.
 
#6 ·
O. MY GOD......


..the feeling I got when I read that cannot be put into words. Literally chills came over my body,
hair standing on my arms.. utterly in shock .
Was like WHATT!!!!!!??! I screamed outloud ‘HOLY ****!”

To read,someone on the internet.. explaining something from 20 years ago, only Me and the guy I sold to on eBay knew... was seriosuly the most amazing **** I’ve ever experienced. One of the craziest moments of my life! There’s NO doubt that’s my guitar.
Was explaining to my wife..my flip out lol.. first off.. what are the chances of someone else!?stripping and painting an original jem77pmc, That color..
then reading the story I told.. verbatim.
For the past 20years It has been eating at me.. deeply. the regret. Not only the sentimental value.. but the added sick feeling of destroying and losing something that was a part of my history and who I am. that they only made 250.. ever. Uhg. It was horrible. I always thought about.. what if I could actually find the person who possibly has this guitar now?? What if MY jem is somewhere out there? This is absolutely amazing. Amazing. I seriously figured there was maybe a 1% chance in finding that guitar. The feeling I had reading that response, from some person I didn’t know.. insane! Like I said, NOT a DOUBT. When words chill right through your whole body! Words I only told one other person.. so damn long ago.. I was still in the Air Force! So it was maybe 1999?!
Hearing about the clearcoat! It was almost an inch thick! Took me DAYS to get through that painful process. Chiseling with a hammer.. uh.
I lived in ft.walton beach, Florida at the time of this.
I could barely fall asleep last night. When I get out of work.. I’m going to search for pics I can hopefully find in all my crap at home. And I will post.
I have felt the power of the internet! And this truly amazing Jemsite and the community. Thank you 🙏

Brian
 
#9 ·
I was the one that bought it on ebay, it's a story that's hard to forget.
Yeh tell me about it..😣
About 20 years of wtf did I do...
So.. how u been !? Lol
been a minute huh?!
My god This is total craziness...
I would have never thought I'd find it.. no less the person I sold it to, still having it!

My god this is crazy.
Like I said man I'm gonna see what pics I can dig up.. you have to share some history with me!! Did you restore or change it? I pmed u my email.
Another thing I just found out is the guy 'Darren Johansen who swirled all the PMCs .. including mine..is alive and living in pensicola Florida!?! So.. the music store in Pensicola Florida "blues angel music" was where I frequented, and took the Jem.. to see what he would offer!? In original mint condition.. the owner was the one who told me it was too dated and 80's and I would have a hard time getting much for it. He most likely KNEW Darren!! I think he painted some of there boutique custom pedals! Complete craziness.
I tried to find my old eBay info in my email.. but my damn email doesn't seem to even go back that far ! Lol
 
#22 ·
I have been extremely busy with work and haven’t been able to respond. Also had lost my T-Mobile account and switching to Verizon catching up on emails. Today is my first day off...and I have been thinking of a response to Rich. And in tearing through old boxes to find where I have my pics I was referring to. To post. It was a lot to take in.. finding the man who is in possession of the guitar that was my past.. and his response.
 
#23 ·
This thread was a contender for best thread ever. It had everything:

- youthful passion
- a sweet swirled JEM
- epic timeline
- moment of craziness followed by regret
- the tortured search
- success against all odds (never tell me the odds...)
- eventual redemption
- cameo from Rich as the hero

But the abrupt cliffhanger ending? I didn't see that coming... Now what?
 
#26 ·
There’s some funny folks in here. 😉 Reminding me that I need to go see that new Star Wars movie already. Thanks.
I was pretty intimidated when I saw Rich’s website..and the way he responded.
Of course I would give almost anything to have it back again. Thought that was obvious.
But yes, if I need to ask... I most likely cant afford to get that Jem back.
But more like ‘back to the future’ another favorite movie..
we all wish we could go back in time and do something differently and not lose things.. or have things again worth ALOT more money.. or lose things very important to us. But there is a reason for everything.
I AM very pleased it’s around...in good hands (other than being seperated from its neck) and it “maybe” I could someday afford to get it back.
But I will take it as another one of life’s learning curves.
I haven’t been able to find my little album with pics of that jem... after my last move. I only found one pic of really bad quality in another album. But im gonna keep looking.
I also had remembered those days of seeing a late 80s jem77fp all the time at my local music store for under 800 lol
I guess this is what getting old is all about.
 
#29 ·
...I would give almost anything to have it back again. Thought that was obvious.
Nothing is ever known without asking. Pretty easy to contact him, in, or out, of the thread and have a conversation to find out if you could get it back.

"I would give almost anything to have it back...", if true, means that you won't give up without at least trying.
 
#28 ·
I still have the large chucks of the swirl you sent with it.

The only reason I had to get a better neck was the sharpie on the inlays. I seriously doubt I'll ever get the project done and will probably just parts it out, the parts are so expensive these days and that it wouldn't be the original swirl would hurt resale on it anyway.
 
#31 ·
My apologies for such a crappy pic. The fuzziness.. and the colors are not represented worth a crap. I Was unsuccessful on my day off, in finding my other album that has the better pics.
It’s extremely difficult hearing just how badly my much younger self mutilated that guitar. I don’t remember a lot from that process. Another fact being, our memories of something.. are always much more glamorous, than how it really was.
Maybe a little PTSD .. or just being that it was so damn long ago.
Maybe I don’t remember this either but.. I’m very surprised I didn’t get severely slandered in emails after rich received the jem in that condition.. seeing it in person. I completely sympathize with the detest. Uhg. I want to go back and kick my own ass. My apologies to rich if it was in worse shape than depicted when doing the sale on eBay. Obviously I don’t remember what actually took place. And don’t even remember what I actually sold it for and if that was fair at the time.
Again I’m very very surprised I received response and he still owns it and hadn’t just parted it out! To keep something like that for 20+ years, when it didn’t hold any sentimental value like it does for me.
I will post other pics once I can find them.
 
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