Gibson L-00 Keb Mo Custom Shop Sunburst 2012 and a Tale About a Foot Chase

I answered the ad at 02:13 a.m., which is how all good decisions begin.

"Vintage guitar, mint condition, $200, need gone ASAP." The photo showed a sunburst beauty leaning against what appeared to be a microwave, suspicious, yes- but the kind of suspicious that whispers -'this could be your moment'.

I message, the reply comes instantly, this should have been the second red flag.

I met the seller in a parking lot behind a closed smoothie shop. He introduced himself as "Rick (probably)." Rick (probably) wore sunglasses. At night. In Maine.

"Cash only", he said, tapping the guitar case like it owed him money.

I opened it, and there it was. Glorious. Real. Not a sticker. Not cardboard. A genuine, gorgeous Gibson parlor L-00. I strummed it lightly and angels- not metaphorical, actual angels- seemed to nod in approval somewhere.

I handed over the cash.

Rick (probably) smiled.

"Cool, cool" he said, backing away slowly. "Hey, quick thing- just gotta, uh... verify the bills"

"Verify them how?" I asked.

He blew a whistle.

Three guys emerged from behind a dumpster like NPCs loading in late. One had a clipboard. One had a suspiciously empty sack. One just kept yelling "VERIFICATION MODE!"

"Yeah," Rick (probably) said, "we're gonna take this money for... processing, and we're gonna take that guitar too."

That's when I realized: this was absolutely a scam. But here's the twist, the guitar is definitely real. I clutched the case tighter. "No processing. Transaction complete. Goodbye forever." And then I ran.

The chase began immediately.

Rick (probably): "GET HIM!"

Clipboard Guy: "AND THE GUITAR!"

Sack Guy: "WHAT DO I DO?"

Other Guy: " VERIFICATION MODE!!!"

I sprinted into the woods behind the lot, branches slapping my face like nature disapproving of my life choices. The guitar case bounced against my side as I dodged roots and leapt over what I was pretty sure was a raccoon making stern judgements.

Behind me: chaos.

Rick (probably) tripped over a fern. Clipboard guy lost three pages of very official looking nonsense labeled "scam flowchart". Sack guy got stuck in a shrubbery and politely asked it to let go.

I burst out of the forest onto a city street.

Traffic. Lights. People.

I ran straight through it all like a low budget action-hero.

A taxi screeched to a halt. A hotdog vendor yelled: "Hey, that guy's got a guitar!" which was not helpful.

Rick (probably) and crew spilled out onto the street behind me, now fully committed.

"Stop him!" Rick shouted.

Someone actually tried. I juked them with a move I immediately named "the financial responsibility shuffle."

I dove into the nearest building.

A bowling alley.

The smell hit me first. shoes, nachos, and dreams deferred.

I sprint past lane 6 as someone released a ball. It rolled majestically... directly into Rick (probably)'s foot as he burst in behind me.

He screamed. The ball continued, unfazed, and got a strike. Applause erupted. Timing impeccable.

I vaulted over a bench. Someone shouted, "is this league play?"

I grabbed a bowling ball and rolled it backward. It gently tapped Sack Guy, who immediately sat down and gave up.

I burst out the back door and into-

A Chinese Massage parlor.

Everything went quiet.

Soft music. Incense. A woman at the desk looked up calmly.

I stood there, panting, clutching the guitar like it was a newborn.

Rick (probably) burst in seconds later... and immediately slipped on the polished floor, sliding across the room and knocking over a decorative plant.

The staff did not react. One of them said simply "You seem tense."

Clipboard Guy entered, saw the atmosphere, and whispered, "Maybe we reschedule the chase?"

"NO," Rick hissed, still on the floor. "We finish this."

I backed toward the exit. "Look," I said, "we both know the guitar is real."

Rick paused. "Yeah," he admitted.

"And you were trying to scam me."

"Also yeah"

"So technically I've out-scammed you."

Rick considered this deeply. "...I don't like that."

I bolted again. Final stretch.

Back into the streets, over a fence, through someones backyard birthday party (I accidentally took a cupcake- no regrets), and finally-

I had reached a dead end.

An alley. No way out. Rick (probably) and remaining crew surrounding me. It was over.

Or so they thought. Because at that exact moment- a marching band came through the alley. No explanation. Full uniforms. Playing aggressively. I didn't question it. I joined them. Just stepped right in, guitar case in hand, pretending like I belonged. Someone handed me a tambourine. I accepted. Rick (probably) just stared, baffled.

"Is he... in the band?"

Clipboard Guy flips pages. "No record of band membership"

The band turned the corner. I turned with them. And just like that, I was gone.

Later that night, safely home, I opened the case again. Still there, still beautiful. I strummed it again, perfect.

This Gibson Custom Shop Keb Mo L-00 is a gorgeous "12 fret" parlor "flat-top". The nitro finish on these is so thin that you can clearly see the red spruce top grain in side light. Considered nicer than a regular L-00 due to the herringbone purfling binding, open backed tuners, and with scalloped x-bracing that gives it a fuller sound than you would expect of this smaller parlor style guitar. The neck joining the body at the 12th fret gives these guitars a warmer, more open tone than traditional 14th fret guitars and also shortens up the overall length which makes this a perfect 'couch guitar' and just feels really nicely balanced. Overall condition is extremely clean and perfect except for a small patch of hazing on the back due to a non nitro safe guitar stand (hard to see, does not affect tone, just telling you out of full disclosure. Comes with original Gibson Custom Shop case. Frets have been polished, guitar thoroughly cleaned and polished, and strung with Elixir Polyweb (warm) 12-52's.

Have a wicked good one,

Nate from Maine, Fargarshio's Guitar World.