“He turns back to where all the guitars are and the double-neck is gone, stolen from the stage while the lights are down”: Nuno Bettencourt’s custom Washburn N-8 double-neck was stolen from an arena stage – but made a remarkable return

Like many bands and guitarists, Nuno Bettencourt has been the target of a gear robbery. However, the story of the Extreme guitarist’s disappearing custom Washburn double-neck is one of the most brazen tales of gear theft we’ve heard yet – taking place right onstage, during an arena show.

“Imagine, you're in an arena. Lights go down, and we're [about to] start the set. Then, all of a sudden, we got to this medley where I was supposed to use it, and [my guitar tech] comes out and hands me my normal six-string,” he recounts in a new interview with Masters of Shred.

“I'm like, 'No, it's Hole Hearted [from 1991's Pornograffitti album]. He goes, ‘Just take this. I'll explain later!’”

As Bettencourt recalls, his tech was left with little choice but to offer a replacement. As the tale goes, having completed his pre-flight checks, the tech turned to grab the double-neck, only to find it was no longer in the rack.

‼️Nuno Bettencourts Double Neck Washburn N8 Guitar STOLEN off the stage while he was playing?! 😱🎸 - YouTube

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“He turns back to where all the guitars are. [And the double-neck is gone, stolen right off the stage while the lights are down, waiting for us to start. He says, ‘It was just gone.’ [I was like] ‘Look, what do you mean?’ ‘It's gone.’”

Initially, suspicion fell on the staff, as the robbery was so well-executed it seemed like an inside job. While the rest of the gig went on, Extreme's tour manager started checking every room, but to no avail.

“[It was] nowhere to be found,” says Bettencourt. "Somebody walked right out the door with it, with credentials or whatever, put it in a car, left on a bus or something [and it was] gone for years. So I lost the original double deck.”

The story doesn’t end there, though. Five or six years later, Bettencourt was at home when he received a call from a Washburn Guitars representative.

“He goes, ‘Are you sitting down?” remembers the Extreme man. “He goes, ‘You're never gonna believe what I'm looking at in my office in Chicago. Your original double neck.’ I'm like, ‘What do you mean?’ He goes, ‘It came back – and it showed up with a letter in it.’”

Remarkably, the letter contained an apology from the thief – and an explanation.

“He was part of a 12-step program, like he was in AA,” says Bettencourt. “And you have to [give] something back that you regret. So he returned the guitar [out] of guilt and [as] part of the program. He wanted to make amends, and he returned the guitar. I got it back. I couldn't believe it!”

Watch the full interview with Masters Of Shred above.

In other Nuno Bettencourt news, the veteran guitarist recently talked about the reason why he’s using his custom Washburn ‘Bumblebee’ to cover Van Halen with Extreme.