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Bass Assassination Attempt!

M

MOTORHEADBANGER

Spud-boy looking for a real tomato
Dec 23, 2008
1,232
383
#1
Alright here's an interesting little story for all of ya'.

Yesterday in my High School Band class, we decided to watch a concert dvd since our latest performance went off well. Our group of about 30 some people are arranged 4 rows in the room with the last being keys and rhythm section. I decided to sit down with a few of my friends in front of my rig and enjoy the concert. During the concert I saw that 3 (very immature) percussionists were tying my extension cord into a large wad, so naturally I asked them to stop and to untie it. They agreed and I went back to my spot.

After class they left suspiciously quick and I went around to pick up a few things that were left on the floor (I'm in there for the next class). I saw that the cord was still tied in a big mess so I went to pick it up and my bass goes flying from it's stand, hits neck first on the floor, bounces up and roles down the tiers to the tile floor were it lands.

I was petrified. I picked it up and inspected the damages, then looked to see what caused it. I saw my guitar stand had my jacket draped around the bottom of it (I left it about 10 ft. from there and underneath someone had purposely tied the other end of the extension cord to my stand legs.

Now I try to be a calm, level headed and understanding person, and really just about everyone in there likes me, but the other day one of those 3 percussionists got into a fight with another band member, and I broke the fight up, so they have been steaming about it ever since.
 
#2
If they're getting into fights with other band members to begin with, in my opinion, they are scum. That's not how to function as a unit.

You need to talk to your band director, or another authority, because they tried to destroy your property. I would have gone postal over that probably... it's immensely disrespectful. Should they be punished? Probably but I don't know how. If they become repeat offenders then they need to be dealt with harshly.
 
#4
Trust me I've dealt with 2 of them the past 3 years. It's the same crap every time, but I don't know why they would take it out on me. I try to be the cool drum major. I have let alot of things they do slide and have taken the heat for it before simply because I believe they actually are good musicians, but need to grow up.

It did do some pretty bad damage. First off it's a neck through to get that into perspective. The drop put a crapload of dings, scratches and chips all over the body with a few spots down to the wood. A very large crack in the finish that runs 5 inches down the body directly overtop the spot were the neck wood and left wing attach. It took several small dings into the side of the Fretboard (where the position markers are), and it to a few small chunks of wood out of that edge of the fretboard.
 
#8
Trust me 4 people were sitting next to me and heard me say it clearly. Plus everyone in the class knows that they were the only ones sitting behind the bass rig. Everyone else was on a lower tier.
 
#9
I forgot to mention. I saw something laying next to my VT Bass pedal and sure enough, it was one of the screws to the back. One screw was missing, one was beside it, and the other two were barely screwed in. They were either about to mess with the circuitry but had to stop or they had just got done screwing with it and had to stop. Now my VT is having a lot of background hum.
 
#11
Well it's playable, but as far as resale goes I'm screwed if I ever decide to sell it (which I was considering). The bass's value with the few nicks that were in it should have put it somewhere in the $600-700 range. The chewed up side of the frets is an automatic price reducer since that is very nasty looking and in the spot where you focus on most of the time. The chips, scratches and gouges on the body reduce it quite a bit and the long crack that lines up with the neck/body wing joint is an automatic buyer beware even though it is only in the finish (a buyer would not be able to tell what damage may lurk underneath). I figure that I will probably only be able to get about $300 out of it now. Plus If I can't get the VT fixed that's $150 right there.
 
#12
a friend of mine had a similar thing happen to him in high school (it was a g&l strat from the leo era) do what he did, bring your parents in, demand to speak to the principal tell him/her what happned and you want their parents into the school to pay you for the damage, and if he/she dosent want to go down that road have your parents tell them its getting paid somehow either from their parents or from the school... my friends family did and after the principal saying they had no proof whatever they said something about the school taking resposibility and a lawyer would be in touch, according to my friends dad not 5 minutes later the culprits (a boy and a girl) were sitting in his office having their parents called at work...the damage was paid for and they were suspended, 8 years later he still has the guitar and with the money for the damages it is in better condition then when he bought it
 
#14
(helps to bring your parents, too) show them the damage, include photos for them to keep, and tell them the story, tell them who did it, then present them with a replacement bill (the damage you describe is too serious to fix), then ask them what they are going to do to make these clowns pay for the damage, so you can get your bass replaced within 30 days. Let them know that you make money with this instrument. No BS, name calling, etc., make it calm, just state the facts and leave them a very narrow range of responses, and, above all, do not let them answer with anything opened ended, like "we'll look into this." If they say that, then you can respond, to the affect of that is fine as long as the bass is replaced within 30 days. If they get vague on you, or start trying to accuse you of something or intimidate you, then cut them off and tell them, "OK, I see. I wanted to see what you would do about this before I went to the police and an attorney." Then stand up and say good by. Usually, as soon as you say "cops and attorney" they will decide that you are to be taken seriously and take action.
 
#15
My knee-jerk reaction: I tend to favor involving the police... or an attorney. Obviously, your school 'authorities' are useless.

Or, you could look at it this way. You will probably be floating around the local music scene for some time. So will those losers. If they hadn't tipped you off to their loserhood, you might have wound up in a band with one of them. Extrapolate that misery across dozens of gigs, over several months or years...

They may have just saved you a whole lot more than they cost you.

Not that it wouldn't still be fun to sic an attorney on them. Or more properly, their parents.
 
#17
BgTckt said:
My knee-jerk reaction: I tend to favor involving the police... or an attorney. Obviously, your school 'authorities' are useless.

Or, you could look at it this way. You will probably be floating around the local music scene for some time. So will those losers. If they hadn't tipped you off to their loserhood, you might have wound up in a band with one of them. Extrapolate that misery across dozens of gigs, over several months or years...

They may have just saved you a whole lot more than they cost you.

Not that it wouldn't still be fun to sic an attorney on them. Or more properly, their parents.
Click to expand...

I'm roughly the age of the kids who messed with him, and I kind of hate that policy. Maybe they could've been better parents, but a lawyer could cause all kinds of grief. I'd rather talk to the parents first and work out a settlement to pay back the damages, perhaps with a notarized contract.

On the other hand, real authorities might help.

If none of that works, maybe then a lawyer.
 
#18
That's the thing that screws me over. Today was the last day before spring break, so it may be a week before I can get ahold of these clowns. I agree that bringing my parents into this and confronting the school with the facts is the right way to do this. If I cannot sell the bass, it would cost me $600 minimum to get something of similar quality (it's one of my Aria Pro II's). Luckily I was able to mess with the VT Pedal and get it to work, otherwise, they would owe an additional $200.
 
#20
Um. There's no minimum limit on bringing charges for wilful damage or mischief where I'm from, not sure about your area. If the school isn't willing to discipline or deal with this issue, go talk to the police yourself. This isn't simple teasing or prankstering - once you start damaging property, that's a crime, and should be dealt with accordingly.

Especially considering if they're going so far as opening up equipment to bugger with the contents inside, who's to say their next "harmless joke" doesn't end up live-wiring a piece of equipment and someone dies as a result?
 

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