SAN FRANCISCO—The electric guitar belonging to ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers member John Frusciante has been found by San Francisco police detectives after it was stolen in a robbery earlier this month.
The guitar, a 1966 Fender Telecaster, had been loaned by Frusciante to a friend, who then lost it when his Potrero Hill-Bayview home was burglarized. After the instrument was located, it was returned back to Frusciante’s friend. It is currently valued at $30,000.
The police did not specify where or in whose hands the guitar was found in. They have not named any suspects in the burglary.
Officer Carlos Manfredi told media on Friday, August 28 that it was moved around at least three different times in 10 days before it was found.
The guitar was set to be loaned to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in just two weeks.
The Hall inducted Frusciante and the rest of the Red Hot Chili Peppers back in 2012. The guitarist did not attend the ceremony.
Frusciante joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1988 when he was only 18 years old. He had two stints as a member of the legendary rock band from when he originally joined until 1992 and then again from 1998 to 2009.
It was during his second stint that Frusciante helped produced “Californication,” the band’s most commercially successful studio album in 2001, selling over 15 million copies worldwide.
Aside from the 1966 Fender Telecaster, Frusciante also used a 1955 Gretsch White Falcon, a 1962 Fender Stratocaster, and a 1969 Gibson Les Paul Custom.
In recent years, Frusciante revealed his frustration with his musical career and as of 2015 has unofficially retired from performing and releasing new music.
Frusciante was ranked by Rolling Stones Magazine as the 18th greatest guitarist of all time in 2003, and at number 72 in 2011.
