Words of invaluable wisdom... (OT--sorry)

[liveloveshare]

So... My house got busted into despite an ADP alarm system (they busted a window) a bunch of really important things were taken from me.  Laptops... computers.. PS3.. money... my tackle box full of my electronic components/tools... sense of security—the list goes on.  All that really sucks... but namely, my musical equipment was taken.  Guitars... a bass..and my pedals.  My pedals... /sigh.. some of which I made with my own sweat, blood, and solder.. at the recommendation of components and builds from this very website, from users like you!

It's hard not to feel materialistic at a time like this.  Before this I was very much the kind of dude that just viewed things of that nature of being 'just stuff'...until you realize it's your stuff and there is a supreme chance you won't be getting any of it back.  

Ever...

Well anyways, if you have ever had any of this happen to you then you know what I'm talking about.  It feels like a chunk of your insides have been stolen too.. It is a horrible, horrible, horrible feeling I hope none of you who are reading this will ever have to experience.  And if you yourself have ever stolen any music equipment or anything... well... nevermind—I'm trying to be constructive here and I feel my blood pressure rising.

In any event, my advice is simple.  If there's something you consider invaluable...

Write down the serial numbers.
Write them down twice, on two separate pieces of paper.
Store it somewhere secure.
Potentially store it two places, possibly your car/work/friends house/rehearsal space, etc.  Possibly you want to go the extra mile and make a digital copy of it and email it to yourself... all solid suggestions.  I would not, however, rely specifically on a digital copy.
If you have built things with your very own hands (i.e. pedals, guitar kits, etc.) serialize them yourself!
Consider renters insurance—I thought it was stupid... That $35-$60 a month is looking like an extreme investment right now.

Don't put yourself in the position I am in currently.  This all may seem common sense, but I guarantee a good majority of musicians out there don't have a single piece of their gear referenced.

If you have no serial numbers, the cops, in most cases, have nothing to reference when they recover your stolen items.  I had all my stuff written down on a piece of paper--everything from my digital camera to my tube screamer clone that I built myself.  I kept it in a file with a lot of receipts of major purchases.  Proactive, right?  They took the whole drawer, and everything in it.  I cannot tell you how stupid I felt having all my proverbial eggs in one basket.

"Well Justin, can't you just call the retailer where it was purchased?"

Try calling up your local Guitar Center and asking them to pull the serial number from 8 years ago and let the uhm...'ing, stuttering, and stammering begin.  They purge their records periodically.  In some cases, some of the retailers I've been calling to track things down never kept the serial to begin with and worked off a SKU system instead (retarded, right?)

Other things to consider if you have gear stolen and are trying to track down serial numbers:

Have you had your guitar/amp/etc. serviced?  Chances are the technician wrote down the serial number before he even started working on it.
Remember those little warranty cards that might have came with your guitar when you bought it?  Did you fill that out and send it in?  Sometimes calling the manufacturer directly can yield results.
Some manufacturer websites have a user feature where you can register your stuff online.
Always try giving the retailer where it was originally purchased a call—it can't hurt.  In my case, a good chunk of my gear came from guitar center.  But I found out they purge their records every seven years.
If you bought your gear used, maybe the original owner has some information—in my case I looked through my old emails to find the craigslist response the seller had sent me.  Emailed him, took him two days to reply.  He said he would have to make a few phone calls but he could probably do it.  And he did.

Anyways, like I said, for some of you who have been around the block this may be no-duh material, but for a 22 year old goon like me, this was an extremely, extremely painful lesson to learn.  If you think you could benefit from any of this, don't wait till next week... just do it now.  I know it seems like it may be redundant but as one pawnshop owner explained to me, '...and if you don't have the serial numbers, you're basically—oh how does that expression go?  Oh ya, @#$%ed.'

On a side note... looks like it's time to start building pedals again. ;]
-Justin Butler.

[maarten]

Justin,

A really sad story, please accept my sympathy.

I think your observation on serial numbers will be usefull to many of us; nevertheless I would like to express that this is something which will only compensate the effects of what happened here. As I read from your message, basically you are not very occupied with the materialistic side of things, allthough you now regret the loss (of course). In the long run you will probably find that the material loss is just that: a material loss. More lasting is the feeling of invasion of your privacy, at least in my experience.  From this I learned to make sure always to take those precautionary measures (up to a reasonable level) to make sure I did not invite circumstances to make this happen to me. That's about all one can do, I think.

On the positive side of all of this: you might end up building better fx than you did the first time around!

Wishing the best for you,
Maarten

[Quackzed]

oh man, thats messed up. 
look in the phone book for any music store or pawn shop in your area and stop in for a visit, see if you can't relocate some of it. i've had a few friends victimized by a pub break-in and they found thier amps at least at this nearby music store that buys used stuff.if these punks are too lazy to earn an honest living, they're too lazy to go far to cash it in.i would say to just call, but i worry that some pawn shop owners are crooked as well.chances are they will sell it quick. sorry to hear about that ,man. but i would love for you to be able to recover a few things at least and maybee even find out who did it.
cowards.

[Joe Hart]

My parents' house was broken into a couple of times and it was always thought of as an "inside job" -- meaning someone who had the knowledge of what was in the house and where it all was. Both times the break-ins were when the whole family was away on vacation and they didn't really ransack the place, just took my dad's gun collection and my mom's Hummels (little ceramic figurines) and jewlery. They even left some cash that was on a dresser.  My point being that if they took a drawer full of "seemingly random papers" maybe they knew exactly what they were taking? It's a bummer at any rate!
-Joe Hart

[petemoore]

 "They're" in a world of pain, believe me. I know this to be absolutely true.
You've been deprived of more than the stuff.
  I can only imagine how strong the vibes are hammering these young guys right now, who could love this world a bit more, yet require fairly extreme self-punishment.
  It's mostly sorta-young guys btw who would risk enduring such painful self trial and tribulationings, try to hurt you like that and get...pedals worth..whatever few bukks, jailtime, embarrassment, self-loathing, etc.
  They know they've been hurt worse than you, in their reasoning it can't be explained straight, there's no need for any of [the twisted] it though, I'm sure thier hurt was very painful, almost for sure paternal or maternal neglect is involved...easy to say but hard to prove...subconscious crap..some serious kind of pain there !
  You'll be fine too, what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger.
 

[liveloveshare]

Well thanks for all your guys kind words.  I just wanted to share my experience with other just in the off chance somebody reading this is going through something similiar and might benefit from any of this information.  There is something comforting about talking about this sort of thing though.. Heh.. kind of theraputic?  It's a pretty stressful ordeal.. Like I said, I'm a young guy and this is my first home.  Just leaves me feeling off-kilter.

In any event, thanks again for your thoughts and comments.



On an off note.. Somebody help me build the delay I'm conceptualizing.