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- Sep 4, 2010
- 3,304
- 2,730
- Disclosures
- Endorsing: Martin Keith Guitars
I've seen a violinist, guesting with the band i played in at the time, drop and total a $100.000 violin on a concrete floor by accident.
How is a fireproof safe going to protect you from that - accidents stemming from, well, making music?
I'd go for insurance. (luckily, the violinist had it)
How is a fireproof safe going to protect you from that - accidents stemming from, well, making music?
I'd go for insurance. (luckily, the violinist had it)
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Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,793
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- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
I wouldn’t trust my home owners policy in the event if fire, theft, water damage, etc. (or if you’re a renter).
what you want is musical instrument insurance like what these folks offer:
https://musicins.com/
what you want is musical instrument insurance like what these folks offer:
https://musicins.com/
This topic is always on the back burner in my mind, pun intended. It's a frightening scenario and I know Tim ( @MNAirHead ) has shared his story a few times over the years and it makes my heart sink.
Aside from preventative measures, a detailed insurance plan, or renting the smallest, least expensive Storage Unit might be the best alternative. It's insured, and most likely safe from fire and definitely protected by video surveillance.
Aside from preventative measures, a detailed insurance plan, or renting the smallest, least expensive Storage Unit might be the best alternative. It's insured, and most likely safe from fire and definitely protected by video surveillance.
Old man rant, sorry. Please don't take this with an aggressive tone, but I am flummoxed but some the responses.
As I'm sure you've seen, the Denver/Boulder area of CO had some intense fires last month and, despite being in a residential neighborhoods with low fire risks, over 600 homes burned in under a day. I live a few miles from the burn area and was 100% making a plan for what I would grab or how I would protect my belongings. For me, my bass gear was at the top of my list.
If someone were to come at me and lecture about the importance of family would be among the most insulting/presumpitous things that they could do. My daughters are my world, and as a single dad, are with me 50% of the time. During those fires, my girls were with their mother. If they had been with me, having something like a fire proof safe would give me piece of mind to focus on other things.
With all due respect, the responses to the OP are kind of bewildering. She/he is asking a pretty basic question that many have considered, and is getting lectures on life priorities instead. Funny replies make sense, but I am struggling to understand the lectures. Do you have a way to protect your instruments or have experience with a gun safe? Yes, cool, let's hear it! Experience with fires, I am truly sorry and thank you for contributing. If not, why bother making assumptions about this person's family situation, valuables (financial or sentimental), or other precautions he/she might be taking.
As I'm sure you've seen, the Denver/Boulder area of CO had some intense fires last month and, despite being in a residential neighborhoods with low fire risks, over 600 homes burned in under a day. I live a few miles from the burn area and was 100% making a plan for what I would grab or how I would protect my belongings. For me, my bass gear was at the top of my list.
If someone were to come at me and lecture about the importance of family would be among the most insulting/presumpitous things that they could do. My daughters are my world, and as a single dad, are with me 50% of the time. During those fires, my girls were with their mother. If they had been with me, having something like a fire proof safe would give me piece of mind to focus on other things.
With all due respect, the responses to the OP are kind of bewildering. She/he is asking a pretty basic question that many have considered, and is getting lectures on life priorities instead. Funny replies make sense, but I am struggling to understand the lectures. Do you have a way to protect your instruments or have experience with a gun safe? Yes, cool, let's hear it! Experience with fires, I am truly sorry and thank you for contributing. If not, why bother making assumptions about this person's family situation, valuables (financial or sentimental), or other precautions he/she might be taking.
I thought I remembered that Walter Carter's Vintage Guitars in Nashville used to offer fireproof guitar storage enclosures, but I just looked at their website and didn't see anything other than nice furniture that wouldn't offer a lot of protection.
I think the idea of a separate insurance policy covering instruments is a good one.
I think the idea of a separate insurance policy covering instruments is a good one.
As noted previously, insurance the best way to go. I have all of my instruments insured. It will bump up your insurance cost minimally and will provide a better state of mind.
fair enough!
but, to my more serious point, preventing disasters is more reasonable than buying a disaster-proof instrument storage locker.
my dad is a local 3 electrician, been doing all sorts of work since the mid 1970's in that business. my whole life i've been told over and over- nearly all electrical fires come from extension cords. if not that it comes from sub-par work that's not up to code.
being cautious in prevention is definitely still my answer to this question
I leave mine out in the open. If I can’t see ‘em, I won’t play ‘em.
Aren't you kinda lecturing? It's a message board, we discuss things from different perspectives. You can't take it all personally.
A buried underground vault in the back yard is the only thing that would be guaranteed to survive a house fire. Unless you live in burning wooded area, then all bets are off.
Despite what some here say, houses do burn to the ground, in both urban and rural areas.
Despite what some here say, houses do burn to the ground, in both urban and rural areas.
If you perceive it as me lecturing, that's your truth and I'm not going to dispute that. I made a connection to my personal experiences, and am trying to understand the need to give replies that derail an OP's post, especially when the comments presume a person's life priorities are misaligned.
I will also acknowledge that I was unintentionally projecting with my last post and I was unable to edit myself before posting. We are all hypocrites from time to time. Sorry for contributing to derailing a room, I'll go back to my corner of TB and continue sifting through comments anonymously.
Anyways, a $3k gun safe for $15k worth of instruments financially makes sense only if there is greater than 20% chance that your house will burn down or someone is going to steal your basses. It's kinda like getting the extended warranty at Guitar Center in that respect.
A different calculus would be, a $3k gun safe for $15k worth of instruments makes financial sense if it helps you sleep better at night and gives you peace of mind when traveling.
Which is where it sounds like the OP is coming from.
I'm with @thombo : the insinuation that the OP's priorities/metrics are "wrong" is baffling.
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I've become wealthy from solving problems.
The OP did not describe the root cause problem.
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My "too quick to solution" had hindsight advice "injection molded cases with insulating foam"
My stairwell got to about 2800 degrees.
LESSON Learned ( did not have a problem ) is that I did not have pix or serial numbers of my Les Pauls, Teles, Botiques.... just the snobby basses.
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And yes, the pontification of forums makes me gag.
I have a walk in vault in my home. 200 square feet with 10 foot ceilings. 10” steel reenforced concrete ceiling floors and walls with a fire reared vault door. It is fire rated for 4 hours. The average house fire is less than half that.
I built my house as new construction, and the vault space is in the foundation of the poured concrete front porch. I got the vault at no up charge, I just had to buy a door.
I keep some hard to replace things in there, nothing super valuable. My instruments and microphones are in my home studio. Documented and insured. Ready to go down in a blaze. Including my custom boutique stuff. If I put them in the vault, I’d never take them out.
My music collection cost about the same as my car. In 10 years my car will be worthless. My instruments will hold most or more than their value.
You live, you take your chances.
I built my house as new construction, and the vault space is in the foundation of the poured concrete front porch. I got the vault at no up charge, I just had to buy a door.
I keep some hard to replace things in there, nothing super valuable. My instruments and microphones are in my home studio. Documented and insured. Ready to go down in a blaze. Including my custom boutique stuff. If I put them in the vault, I’d never take them out.
My music collection cost about the same as my car. In 10 years my car will be worthless. My instruments will hold most or more than their value.
You live, you take your chances.
Safe won't work if the Fire Dept. shows up and sprays water on it. I saw horror photos in a Gun Magazine (Can't remember which mag) which showed horrible damage from much moisture being sucked into the safe. They didn't burn up, but the end result wasn't any better IMO>
I have a rife safe and it works perfectly
