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Lost $50 in cables last year - just got em all back!
- Thread starter jmattbassplaya
- Start date
+1
It's a lot like that to be honest. I'd just rather this not be something that happens again and again, and suddenly that $50 has turned into a couple hundred bucks.
And for those of you who think $50 is nothing - that's cool. Instead, imagine it being an amount that would put you back significantly financially. Say you lent out a $1,000 bass and never got it back - would you be upset then? $50 might not seem like a lot to most of you guys, but it is for me, and I'd rather not be burned again.
I told him, but he honestly didn't even know they were in the bag because he hasn't gigged in a year or so.
Glad the cables found you!
This is another example of the the few spoiling things for the many (good people). There was time that most people, including band mates-were considered 'basically' honest.
It may surprise you-young, up and comers-to know that some of (as kids) used to visit older folk in the cities that rarely locked their front door. Try to imagine what it was like-living in a world that was much safer to walk around, and being trusted (more) as strangers. Let's just hope that triple locks on front doors don't become more common!
This is another example of the the few spoiling things for the many (good people). There was time that most people, including band mates-were considered 'basically' honest.
It may surprise you-young, up and comers-to know that some of (as kids) used to visit older folk in the cities that rarely locked their front door. Try to imagine what it was like-living in a world that was much safer to walk around, and being trusted (more) as strangers. Let's just hope that triple locks on front doors don't become more common!
And this is what it comes down to.
I'm definitely not struggling in life, but a lot of that is because I'm very conscious of my money and my possessions. I try to keep track of even my smallest pieces gear because I can't afford to lose something once a month and have to buy it again. Just for perspective, buying a $25 cable once a month would total $300 for a year! That's no small change.
I realize that the theme of this thread is loaning/borrowing small stuff, and that small stuff often doesn't get returned, and that small stuff, while cheap, adds up over time. I get it. But here's the flip side.
My priceless (to me) early 20th century Czech double bass is on long-term loan to my teacher. I had been pestering him to have a nasty top crack repaired on his bass. Two problems there: 1) he's a full-time bassist and doesn't have the ready cash for a full restoration; 2) he's a full-time bassist and can't be without an instrument during a full restoration (which, as predicted, is taking months longer than planned). I took a dent out of the first problem by raising $ for the repairs online. I completely solved the second problem by loaning him my bass after we delivered his to the luthier. The bass I loaned him--perhaps my most prized possession--is worth significantly more than the car I drive. But I trust my teacher, and when he gets his bass back, I will feel like I accomplished something significant. Besides, I am playing mostly electric right now anyway. Am I a little nervous? Sure. But that's what trust is all about. For me, the risk is worth the reward. Every time I look at my bass, I'll think about my teacher playing his fully-restored bass.
So I personally wouldn't make any hard and fast rules about loaning stuff out. I understand the "nickel & dime" factor on losing cables, so perhaps you limit your rule to cables. Unlike instruments, cables are easily confused with other cables as has been mentioned. Given its numerous repairs, my 100-year old double bass is a one-of-a-kind item and will never be confused with another bass.
--Steve
Me too.
I use this stuff - Heatshrink Products - Heatshrink A2(3X) - with a yellow plastic label below it with the band name, phone number, and cable length.
Very easy to see which cables are ours, and if one does get lost, the finder can get it back to us.
If someone *does* want to steal one, that's up to them - the heatshrink can be cut off.. but that's between them and their particular deity of choice.
Pete.
I take better care of my stuff than anybody I know or realy have ever met. I keep my instruments cased when not playing them, i restring them and clean them regularly, and I ALWAYS play with clean hands. I don't beat on my amps and cabs (maybe occasionalyl just to test their limits a bit and make sure everything is still sound, and this is in a controlled way, not just turn everything all the way up and go to town). I coil my cables when done with them, and put velcro cable ties around them, and then stack them either in a couple milk crates I have for that purpose, or a padded Moog bag that I have.
So my stuff tends to last forever if it's just me using it, beyond just normal wear and tear.
So I do have a pretty strict "no lending" rule, which I will make very rare exceptions to if I feel it's warranted.
On the other hand, I have had people lend me stuff for months or years (in a "hey, keep this as long as you want" way), because they know I will take good care of it.
That's not a double standard. It's the same standard. If you prove yourself beyond a reasonable doubt to be as good at taking care of stuff as I am, and if I can do without an item (or just feel like sharing) I will lend it out. You will probably have no problem lending to me, because you know I will take care of your item, possibly better than you do yourself.
You might say, but if someone does you the favor lending you their PA or whatever, and you refuse to lend them anything, doesn't that make you a dick? Not necessarily. There are other ways those favors can be repaid. If the person wasn't good at taking care of stuff, I'd probably rather just give them some money, beer, take them out to lunch, etc... than lend them some expensive piece of gear which might be significantly damaged. I hate buying things more than once, and I hate when something in perfect or near perfect condition is marred because I let someone else use it.
So my stuff tends to last forever if it's just me using it, beyond just normal wear and tear.
So I do have a pretty strict "no lending" rule, which I will make very rare exceptions to if I feel it's warranted.
On the other hand, I have had people lend me stuff for months or years (in a "hey, keep this as long as you want" way), because they know I will take good care of it.
That's not a double standard. It's the same standard. If you prove yourself beyond a reasonable doubt to be as good at taking care of stuff as I am, and if I can do without an item (or just feel like sharing) I will lend it out. You will probably have no problem lending to me, because you know I will take care of your item, possibly better than you do yourself.
You might say, but if someone does you the favor lending you their PA or whatever, and you refuse to lend them anything, doesn't that make you a dick? Not necessarily. There are other ways those favors can be repaid. If the person wasn't good at taking care of stuff, I'd probably rather just give them some money, beer, take them out to lunch, etc... than lend them some expensive piece of gear which might be significantly damaged. I hate buying things more than once, and I hate when something in perfect or near perfect condition is marred because I let someone else use it.
Of course I wasnt saying that its ok to take things that dont belong to you. I was saying that losing $50 worth of cables would never stop me from loaning something like a cable to someone that needs it when Im not using it. Thats just being a d-ck.
I think this thread kinda morphed into a 'should I lend or not' debate. I don't think that was the OP point. More so just be a common courtesy if someone 'lends' you something, common courtesy says to give it back! He was pissed that his stuff just disappeared while the lendee didn't seem to give a rats arse about getting it back to him in a timely manner! Instead, he got an "I Don't Know Where It Is" answer. Unacceptable!
Well you'd be wrong.
The point of my story was two-fold:
1. I thought the manner in which I lost the cables and got them back, and how I was about to lose more cables the same way, was funny and I thought I'd share that story - I guess no one else saw the humor there
2. I (personally) from now on will be sure to mark my gear much more clearly, and I (for the time being) will not be lending gear. My bandmates can buy their own cables and keep up with them, just like I have to keep up with my own.
I never said others shouldn't lend gear. If you got that from my OP then I'm sorry because I meant that more as a rule I was personally adopting because, apparently, I can't get no respect
I mean, would you feel comfortable lending gear to guys who have issues remembering to return stuff even if you ask them for it back?But seriously, the whole, 'OP you're such a dick, ass, petty dude' thing that this thread has turned into has gotten pretty ridiculous. I told a story and gave my opinion of what I had learned from the story. I'm willing to bet everyone who said they would have no issue losing money over other people's recklessness would change real quick if it happened to them.
Agreed. And it's a personal choice. Plus there's a scale thing; if you loan out pencils in class and never get them back, then you are a pencil donor. Nobody wants to be a cable donor. Or a tuner donor. Or a pedal donor. My only point is that there are times when a loan makes perfect sense, and it hinges on trust. I loaned a banjo to a grad school buddy a million years ago and he recently shipped it back 10 years later. If someone thinks you're rude because you like your cables to be organized and accounted for, then they need an attitude adjustment.
This thread made me call my teacher to see how he's digging the bass. He went on and on about how he likes the tone, how the strings are great and he might get some, and how happy he is that he can work while he bass gets restored. I am not humble about this: but for me he'd be playing that beautiful 1950s Wilfer with the ugly crack on the upper bout. Now he's playing my lovely bass and his bass is being healed for future gigs. I love that. Makes me happy.
I never said so, but I am glad you got your cables back. And I do remember when $50 would have made a huge difference in my monthly bottom line. I get your original point.
--Steve
I guess it was the "never let anyone borrow your gear under any circumstances" that I was questioning. You obviously can do whatever you choose. I wouldn't loan anything to anybody that I didn't trust. But I don't keep company with people I don't trust, so it's not much of an issue for me.
I think certain people don't think about the gear all that much and just want to play, so if they show up to a gig or jam and are missing a cable, just using someone else's doesn't seem to be a problem.
I would agree that if you borrow something, you should make an effort to return it and in the same condition. I try to make a habit of carrying spare items (of my stuff). I think everyone else in a band should do the same with their equipment.
I would agree that if you borrow something, you should make an effort to return it and in the same condition. I try to make a habit of carrying spare items (of my stuff). I think everyone else in a band should do the same with their equipment.
