Timothy Lyons Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Do you believe it is best to have your name all over everything, or be more subtle and just hope noone steals anything. I'm looking at getting a 6" paint mask bearing my moniker 'Leucht' and tagging my bass cases and rack and similar stuff. What are your feelings on this? http://www.leuchtnet.com/pics/cases.jpg \m/ Timothy Lyons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_dont_fret Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Do it, if you like. I don't, cause I've got nothing of real importance, and no one would really want to steal it, but you may want to. At least leave it small, ya know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Lyons Posted February 21, 2003 Author Share Posted February 21, 2003 I meant 6" TALL letters... the word would probably be about 24" wide. \m/ Timothy Lyons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 If you put your name on your stuff, you can worry less about the other bands on the bill "accidentally" loading your gear into their van. However, it won't remove all risk. If you become wicked famous, folks will try to steal it so they can claim that they own "the great" Tim Lyons' rack FX. No matter what, though, you always have to keep an eye on your gear -- and get some insurance! There's a thread about instrument insurance on the forum somewhere -- use the search feature. Peace. spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61Pbass Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 We have our band logo emblazoned on every case and rack that we own (in day-glo orange, no less) to make it easier to spot our gear during multi-band engagements. I don't know if it really helps prevent theft. On that front, everyone's social # is engraved somewhere on all of their personal gear, and the band's tax ID # is on the gear owned by the group. All of our cases are also numbered so stagehands (the ones capable of actually reading a stageplot anyway) can put them in the proper places onstage. Later.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axavm Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 61Pbass, I've just been reading some articles on identity theft, and 1 of the #1 things to put on your "things to never do" list is give anyone a chance to see your social security #. Only banks (or money related companies) and the DMV should have that info. Especially in light of all those CC# being stolen and all that crap, I strongly suggest you scratch those off ASAP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61Pbass Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Probably a good call in a lot of situations, but they are in VERY hard to find places. For instance, to see the one on my preamp, you would have to open it up and remove the circuit board. I had a ton of equipment stolen in the recent past, and one of the reasons I got it back was because of the #'s I had put on everything. I really don't think most thieves are going to totally disassemble the gear they have stolen, which they would have to do to find my #. BTW, I also have photos of everything I have on disk in a safety deposit box, a list of serial #'s, and adequate insurance on all of it. Later.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Lyons Posted February 21, 2003 Author Share Posted February 21, 2003 Alright, how do you put your band name on? Do you use a paint mask and spraypaint or what? If you use a mask, what company would you recommend I get them from? \m/ Timothy Lyons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 If you do get big, it'll be great for resale in the future; my ex-vocalist's father has one of Mitch Mitchell's old kits and the drum cases have JHE stenciled all over them. Just too cool... Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike H. Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Do what you think is right. I personally mark my gear in a way that I only know it's there and it can't be easily found or altered. Like on the back plate of my basses etc. http://www.identity5.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edendude Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Or you could just put the "Hartke" logo on all of it. It'd never get stolen then! Just kidding!!! My Last Band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 OK... If someone wants to steal your shit, they'll steal it, period. The best we can hope to do is discourage the amateurs and piss off the pros. If it looks like it might be difficult to get away with your shit easily, many won't bother. Labeling/customizing your shit will certainly help you identify if something's missing, and most folks who might steal it will notice this. It means you're well aware of everything you own. For this reason, we always label or personalize our stuff in some way. For example, every bit of our gear is in a case of some kind, from mic stands to drums. All of the cases have our stickers on them. That's a start... Luckily for us, all the gear we use has a kind of "customized" appearance -- the SWR bass head has been modified with circular stickers, and the Mesa cabs have "mudflap" girls on them. My Marshall guitar amp has had its logo removed, and my 4x12 cab has a picture of Rita Hayworth on it. My Les Paul has a custom skull sticker on the pickguard, and so does my SG. I guarantee that nobody else has guitars with these stickers on them. And, of course, nobody could walk off with the "#5" bass without Marky noticing. It's pretty hard to walk off with a drum set, so we don't usually sweat that. So, to answer the original question, you should definitely label your stuff in some kind of way, but it doesn't have to involve painting all over it. Having your name all over just means the person who steals it will know who they stole it from. Put it in a new case or re-paint it, and guess what? It could be anyone's... The best security for your shit is keeping an eye on it and knowing where all of it is at any given time. Y'know... be smart about it. Keep all the shit together. Keep it away from easily accessible doors. Have someone hang out with the gear all the time. Watch anyone who goes near it closely. It's common sense, really. \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prague Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 It would be interesting to name a band Anvil. Saves a lot on stenciling and you potentially own everything in sight. My old high school band, Samsonite, only scored clothes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 Funny you mention "anvil." A friend from my High School was in a band called Anvil Bitch. As far as I know, they didn't score much in the way of gear or bitches. \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig Posted February 21, 2003 Share Posted February 21, 2003 I have the last four digits of my SSN in out of the way places on most of my gear. Outside stenciling or marking is good, too. If it gets stolen, that can be taken off or re-painted over. But hopefully no one takes the neck off my bass and looks in the neck cavity. Which reminds me...I need to mark my BP200. Glad this came up to remind me. WooHoo! Bassplayers aren't paid to play fast, they're paid to listen fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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