The instrument belonging to Tim McCord -- bass guitarist for Grammy-winning rock band Evanescence -- was stolen, along with other valuable items, on Feb. 7 at the apartment on McAllister Street and Masonic Avenue that he shares with girlfriend, Ashley Dunlop.
Dunlop, 25, said the bass guitar holds extra sentimental value for McCord, 32, whose father handed down the instrument before dying of cancer 12 years ago.
McCord is currently on tour with Evanescence in Japan.
After touring with the bass guitar for years, he decided to retire it in his father's honor after a performance last fall in Tuscon, Ariz., where his father died, Dunlop said.
"He didn't want it to get banged up on the road and he wanted to keep it safe," so McCord brought the instrument home during a tour break in late January, she said.
A week and half later, the cherished bass guitar was stolen when someone ransacked the couple's apartment.
Dunlop returned home from work the evening of Feb. 7 to find the apartment's door wide open.
"It took me a minute to try and piece it together ... the very first thing I noticed was that Tim's bass was gone, and my heart just stopped because I knew he'd be devastated when I told him," she recalled.
Since that time, Dunlop has teamed with police to recover the guitar and is offering an award for its return.
But, so far, no leads have turned up, she said.
The San Francisco woman said she has no idea who would burglarize their apartment, which is on the second floor of a secured building.
A neighbor walking by noticed that the apartment's window was open just 15 minutes after Dunlop left for work.
"I think somebody was watching and knew my schedule," she said. Despite that unsettling news, Dunlop is focused on recovering her boyfriend's beloved bass.
"I know how much this means to him so I'm trying to do absolutely everything I can to get it back," she said.
The guitar is described as a tobacco-burst Yamaha BB11005 four-string electric bass that was stolen in a black case with a yellow, circular sticker bearing the initials "NFG".
