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Put THIS in your bass

MEKer

MEKer

Supporting member
May 30, 2006
6,081
3,586
#1
Reading the Lost/Stolen Forum, one of our fellow TB'ers, gruda, tells of some equipment he had stolen and then mentioned these little gems to help recover stolen guitars/amps:
Invalid Link Removed

Thought I'd bring it to everyone's attention in the Bass Guitar Forum to give the info wider exposure. Consider it a bass accessory. Seems pretty cool. Anybody else use them?

P.S. If you read this, gruda, much sympathy and best wishes to you in recovery, and thanks for this valuable tidbit. I never knew of this tiny device for our basses.
 
#6
Good concept, but wouldn't this require that:

1) You track down the exact location of your stolen instrument.
2) The dealer have the RFID reader.
3) You convince the dealer to use the reader to confirm it's yours (I'm thinking shady pawnshops might not want to cooperate).


I go low-tech, and slip a piece of paper with my name, number, and address in an obscure spot on the bass (ie inside the thumbrest, underside of pickguard) so that if it does come down to the point that I need to prove it's mine, I alone have that knowledge, along with photos, serial, and receipts. I also stick an address label on the inside of the rear cavity panel, in case a decent human being finds it. Not sure how much of this would hold legally, but I suppose it's better than nothing.
 
#9
A Facebook message I just received from Bryan Lee Peterson of Gearsecure.net (the link is in my sig):


November 20 at 12:10am

"Yes, I've seen a number of these types of things before from as long as ten years ago. I don't think they will ever take off, and I had a discussion with my partner about this a couple weeks ago. Guitar Center, the largest retailer in the world by far, won't even buy the equipment to put the usual mall style alarm sensors in their stores.

They certainly are too cheap to buy these devices, the readers and the chips and the like, and if they aren't going to, and independent won't either. In order for this to be at all effective, the industry as a whole, plus pawn shops and repair shops and the like would have to have at least 40-50% buy in, and at $25 per chip, it just isn't economical. Plus, once these things got that prevalent, a smart thief would check anything they stole up and down for the chip.

As an industry, we're slow to adapt to change like this. Most store owners are willing to rely on the cunning of their experience to try to prevent buying stolen gear rather than buy a machine that isn't in common use."
 
#11
Good input and thoughts on this. I tend to agree with the nay-sayers on this as the points raised bring a hopeful "hey maybe this'll help" back down to earth. 'Nuff said.
 
#17
I have Snagg chips in all my instruments. They are less expensive in quantity, and they sometimes are on sale.

I had the same questions, like "what are the odds someone will ever scan the instrument if it is stolen?" So I contacted the company for more information. Here is the reply I received:

"Hi Ed,

Scanners are sent overnight to officers requesting verification of instrument identity.

Recovery rates for locally reported theft in any area are about .3% according to national police recovery officers associations. Police reports you fill out will not reach further than the city or county you live in. Snagg sends complete descriptions as well as photos to all police recovery detectives in the United States and Canada.

We are indorsed by the largest music insurance company MusicPro Insurance.

Snagg is the largest registry of musical instruments in the world and growing daily.

Our recovery rate is, by far, the best of any system in the world barring GPS/TRIANGULATION systems which involve huge fees every month.

hope this helps,

DON BASKIN
SNAGG MICROCHIP
1537 GLASGOW LANE
ESCONDIDO, CA 92027
619-890-8488
[email protected]"

It seems to me that having your instrument information registered in a world-wide database is even more valuable than the actual RFID device. That registry is included in the purchase price, BTW.

It's not a substitute for insurance, but if you have any attachment to your instruments (other than their monetary value), it's a cheap way to add a little peace of mind.

Just my opinion. You're entitled to your own.;)

Ed
 
#18
It seems to me that all you need to prove ownership is a picture or video that shows it in your possession and its serial number. I routinely and regularly go through my studio with a video camera shooting everything (mine and other folks') with a running commentary of what each item is, who it belongs to, what its serial number is, etc. I store the tapes elsewhere.
 
#19
MIJ-VI said:
A Facebook message I just received from Bryan Lee Peterson of Gearsecure.net (the link is in my sig):


November 20 at 12:10am

"Yes, I've seen a number of these types of things before from as long as ten years ago. I don't think they will ever take off, and I had a discussion with my partner about this a couple weeks ago. Guitar Center, the largest retailer in the world by far, won't even buy the equipment to put the usual mall style alarm sensors in their stores.

They certainly are too cheap to buy these devices, the readers and the chips and the like, and if they aren't going to, and independent won't either. In order for this to be at all effective, the industry as a whole, plus pawn shops and repair shops and the like would have to have at least 40-50% buy in, and at $25 per chip, it just isn't economical. Plus, once these things got that prevalent, a smart thief would check anything they stole up and down for the chip.

As an industry, we're slow to adapt to change like this. Most store owners are willing to rely on the cunning of their experience to try to prevent buying stolen gear rather than buy a machine that isn't in common use."
Click to expand...

That's stupid. If people want one, they'll get one. It's not some trend like pokemon where people get them to be a cool person. It's for security.

Also, i vote nobody gets them, that way they wont have leverage for the v-chip:eyebrow:
 

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