Guitars worth $50,000 stolen from Costa Mesa recording studio, owners say

At least $50,000 worth of electric guitars, including one played by the former bassist for Long Beach-based band Sublime, were stolen from a Costa Mesa recording studio this week, a studio co-owner said Thursday.

Anik Dang, a Newport Beach resident who owns the 17th Street Recording Studio along with Lewis Richards, said he was working into the early morning Tuesday and left the studio around 4 a.m.

He received a call about noon from Richards, who told him guitars were missing. Dang said they have determined that at least a dozen were stolen, including a 1971 Fender Telecaster, a 2001 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top, a Brian Moore iGuitar, a Fender Stratocaster, a 1974 Fender Telecaster Deluxe and a Celinder bass. The studio is reviewing inventory to determine whether anything else is missing, Dang said.

“It’s devastating,” Dang said. “It’s not just our livelihood … it’s an emotional thing for us too.”

One of the bass guitars taken was played onstage by Eric Wilson, formerly of the popular ska-rock band Sublime, Dang said.

It’s not clear exactly when the studio was burglarized, but Dang estimates it happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Costa Mesa police responded to the studio at 1001 W. 17th St. at about 4:20 p.m. Tuesday and took a burglary report, according to police spokeswoman Roxi Fyad.

There was no sign of forced entry, Fyad said.

Police could not confirm exactly what was taken, and authorities have made no arrests.

The studio, which first opened in 2001, has worked with a variety of local artists, including guitarist and singer Micah Brown; the Dirty Heads, a reggae band from Huntington Beach; and Sublime with Rome, an offshoot of Sublime, according to the studio’s website.

Dang said many of the guitars have sentimental value for him and others who work in the studio.

“We just want them back,” he said. “We don’t want to punish anyone. Just do the right thing.”

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN