Varunkapahi got mugged - we can help

kesslari · #1 01-25-2010, 03:49 PM

<edited to hopefully bring this better into line with TB policies>

OK. I'm hearing from several people that they want to help Varunkapahi get a new bass after he was mugged and beaten and had his bass stolen.

Having spent some time in India, I know a bit about how hard it is to get a decent electric bass, and I know a bit about how wacky the economy is there. "Just go to the store and replace your bass" isn't an option for our Varunkapahi. Shipping to India from the US costs about $90 so even an SX goes up in cost considerably.

I've seen several people mention that they'd like to help our brother out. My thought is that shipping on a bunch of parts will nickle-and-dime us all to death - chipping in on a bass and sending it is probably the simplest way to go.

Varun has said that he'd love to find a nice 5 string bass, narrow spacing - he specifically mentioned an Ibanez SR 305 or 405. I think we might even be able to do better than that.

I (and a co-conspirator who wishes to remain nameless) have got $100 as a starter fund. I'm thinking that if we can raise $400-500 we can pick up a pretty nice bass on the TB classifieds (or if someone finds something on CL?) and ship it to India.
Several other co-conspirators have asked how they can help out. If you're one of them, post here and/or PM me. I'm not soliciting for help with this - just trying to make it easy for the people who expressed an interest in doing so.

I'm not posting this to get credit - credit goes to the TB community. I'm just being the scribe. Ideally we'd figure out how much Varun has to work with, he'd find a bass that he likes, and the TB seller would take paypal chunks from the various contributors, or something similar.

GregC · #2 01-25-2010, 04:03 PM

Great idea, I'm in. I'll shoot you a PM later.

iamlowsound · #3 01-25-2010, 04:04 PM

While this is a great idea, you might want to go read the rules.

lowsound

Phalex · #4 01-25-2010, 04:10 PM

Kesslari, you ROCK! I'm not real sure how to organize such things and you've taken the bull by the horns! (Omit Hindu joke here....

)

I'm in! I'll either have a spare P neck in a week or so, or I'll chip in cash, but count me in!

knumbskull · #5 01-25-2010, 04:13 PM

i'm in for a small contribution...

santucci218 · #6 01-25-2010, 04:14 PM

well, as iamlowsound said, check with the mods. soon as JT verifys this for being cool to do, then im in.

Phalex · #7 01-25-2010, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

While this is a great idea, you might want to go read the rules.

lowsound

Ah ha! Good catch! Rule #3. Off to the FaceBook TB page with this thread. (We can still do that right?)

MakiSupaStar · #8 01-25-2010, 04:20 PM

My paypal account is wonky, but I could send either a money order or in this case I can't see why a personal check wouldn't work. I'll shoot off a PM.

bongomania · #9 01-25-2010, 04:26 PM

PM me when there's a Facebook or similar page that we can do this on the legit, and I'm in.

MatticusMania · #10 01-25-2010, 04:28 PM

Well, I offered my bass, but it seems you want to get him something new... sorry, I'd love to help but I dont have any cash to contribute.

Geddyfleaharris · #11 01-25-2010, 04:30 PM

I saw his mugged thread. Sucks. If this goes through and it gets up and running legit - I am in.

MadMan118 · #12 01-25-2010, 04:33 PM

If you have any questions you can stop by the Unofficial TB chat and ask somebody there.
http://thousandwatts.com/chat/tbchat/
I'll be in there most of the day till about 21:00 pacific.

ugly_bassplayer · #13 01-25-2010, 04:37 PM

What rule is this thread braking, I can't find it??

bongomania · #14 01-25-2010, 04:55 PM

TB Rule Amendment: Charity Threads

Jimmy Bones · #15 01-25-2010, 05:15 PM

Hasn't something like this happened before which resulted in a huge, long, drawn out problem?

MakiSupaStar · #16 01-25-2010, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Well, I offered my bass, but it seems you want to get him something new... sorry, I'd love to help but I dont have any cash to contribute.

I think it was a mighty generous offer. I think we should send it to him and chip in for shipping. Another option is shipping to his friend's brother who lives here in the states. Then he could bring it over.

Rawkabilly · #17 01-25-2010, 05:28 PM

I have some parts to donate, but cash is very tight for me right now. Sorry.

meRTKendrew · #18 01-25-2010, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

PM me when there's a Facebook or similar page that we can do this on the legit

+1 on a facebook page.

kesslari · #19 01-25-2010, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

I think it was a mighty generous offer. I think we should send it to him and chip in for shipping. Another option is shipping to his friend's brother who lives here in the states. Then he could bring it over.

Agreed. Not trying to diss your generosity - I was thinking that more people might want to be involved, and that in doing so, we might all be able to pull together a nicer bass (that's closer to what Varun wants) than any of us could do individually.

kesslari · #20 01-25-2010, 06:02 PM

If anyone has a suggestion on how to do this via the Facebook TB page, let me know. I'm not quite "getting" how that would work - totally open to it, just want to understand the mechanics.