Instrument Security

Malice

Hi folks,

Long story short, my parents place was broken into last week. Nothing much was stolen thankfully but the whole incident got me thinking. I have a bunch of guitars and amps stored there and the thieves went through various cupboards in the room where my music gear is. Now, the gear in question isn't particularly valuable but it means a lot to me and would be immensely frustrating to have to replace it. The most valuable of the guitars are stored in locked hard cases, I have all the receipts and a list of all of the serial numbers and pictures of each of the instruments. Would any of that actually be any use if the instruments were stolen? The gear is listed on the house contents insurance but if something was stolen, I'd prefer to get it back rather than have to go shopping for another instrument.

What else can I do (apart from getting the parents a German Shepherd for Christmas )?

Rigsby

Sorry to hear about the break in. It must have been very traumatic for your parents. Yes, I'd definitely hold on to those receipts and serial numbers for insurance purposes. I was broken into a few years ago. Thankfully nothing much was taken, but the first thing the insurance company looked for was receipts for the items stolen. IMO, you seem to be taking as much precaution as is needed. Having said that, a house alarm (if your parents dont have one already) is a good investment and a deterrent to thieves. Also, some insurance companies insist on it.

Malice

Thanks Rigsby, I will definitely look into a house alarm.

Done and dusted

Jesus sorry to hear that Malice!!

I understand what you mean about the gear being worth alot to you....I have a encore bass (not worth a penny now but it was my first bass) which means a hell of a lot to me and I know I would be in bits if anything happened to her!

I've seen a poster in the rehearsal studio my band uses where a guy (I think he's a boards.ie member) got all of his gear stolen and some of it was very expensive like his Vintage 1974 Fender J bass!! I can only imagine the pain he feels.

Do your parents have an attic or even some wardrobes up stairs where you could store your gear? Rigsby is spot on with his alarm advice.

Hope the parents are ok and you find a good way to store your gear!

Phil

rcaz

Rigsby wrote: »

hold on to those receipts and serial numbers for insurance purposes.

I thought the point of serial numbers was so that, if your gear is stolen, you can find it at a pawn shop/auction/website/whatever and prove that it's yours?

Malice

Done and dusted wrote: »

Jesus sorry to hear that Malice!!

I understand what you mean about the gear being worth alot to you....I have a encore bass (not worth a penny now but it was my first bass) which means a hell of a lot to me and I know I would be in bits if anything happened to her!

I've seen a poster in the rehearsal studio my band uses where a guy (I think he's a boards.ie member) got all of his gear stolen and some of it was very expensive like his Vintage 1974 Fender J bass!! I can only imagine the pain he feels.

Do your parents have an attic or even some wardrobes up stairs where you could store your gear? Rigsby is spot on with his alarm advice.

Hope the parents are ok and you find a good way to store your gear!

Phil

Thanks Phil, it was a good wakeup call to the whole family to be honest. We could quite easily have had one or more of our cars stolen too as the various car keys were sitting on the kitchen counter top. It's a bit disconcerting to know that an uninvited stranger was wandering around your house. I did move the guitars to one of the upstairs rooms as my room gets quite cold if no one is there turning the heat on.

El Pr0n wrote: »

I thought the point of serial numbers was so that, if your gear is stolen, you can find it at a pawn shop/auction/website/whatever and prove that it's yours?

I think the serial numbers are listed on the household insurance policy, I'll ask my parents about that. You're right that they'd be used to track down stolen gear as well though.

funkydunkey

again, sorry to hear what happened. I have been thinking about the same for a long time now. was thinkin of something like this in the guitar case.
http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.php/pName/family-gps-tracker-with-messaging-gsmgprssms-eu/
would give you an sms with GPS location of the gear if stolen.

there would be a few issues with battery life. as in, you'd need the battery to be fully charged when stolen to get the most out of the unit. i was thinkin, the lugs on the bottom of the guitar case have screws running through them so i could attach a power supply to it there and put the device inside (all as discretely as possible.) a little bit of work but if its worth doing. i have a fair bit if gear so one of these wouldn't be cost effective for every guitar/amp, but its only the Lesser im really worried about anyway. i looked into getting a very basic SIM card deal and they can be got for around €8 a month. think of it like insurance.