Client trashes equipment

[kronosonic]

Have you had a client trash a piece of your equipment accidentally (or intentionally)?

How do you handle it? Confrontation right then and there? Write it off?

[joel hamilton]

Depends on what it is. If it is something you really love, start with a severe ass kicking outside the studio (so nothing else gets broken). That is if the person did it on purpose....

If it is an accident: seems to be case specific. If the band has really good major funding, you decide whether it shows up on the invoice, or you split the cost of the piece or whatever.

I have done all three

The ass kicking is obviously a last resort....

[kronosonic]

Depends on what it is. If it is something you really love

yeah, which raises the issue of whether or not stuff you really love should be available to clients.

A few months ago I had a kid here who wrecked the finish on one of my guitars in just a few seconds. Before he got ahold of it it looked brand new and now it has some major dents and chips. It can be repaired ....but....still. Oddly enough, I don't think he was even aware of it happening. If I was thinking I would have checked for big ass rings before handing him the guitar. lesson learned.

And then there's taking stuff away from people:

A couple of years ago, just after I got some new gear, I had a woman come over and I put a mic up and during warm up she was practically eating the thing. The pop filter was drenched after a couple of minutes so I went so far to put the wind screen on it...then she's all worked up, grabbing onto the mic itself, screaming into it with her lips on the pop filter pulling the mic stand up to it. It was only a C1 so it's not like a major issue I guess.

Anyway, I was concerned for my mic so I told her it wasn't right for her voice and threw up a 57 and suggested ways she could "work the mic."

[Zeppelin4Life]

one time my brothers friend was over, and I was nice enough to let him record some guitar tracks for whatever. While he was walking out of my room (my former studio) he somehow, someway, managed to get a mic cable stuck in his guitar case and while he was walking about he was like walking a microphone and the cable was the leash. Forunetly, nothing was really broken.

Another time, my guitarists turned because he 'had an itch' and the whole neck fell into one of the drumset overheads, that fell over, and that took my cymbal with it. Everything was fine tho.


One last time was when my family was looking over a friends dog and everytime I played an Ab it would go nuts. so I played an Ab not thinging about the dog and the little thing comes up and bits the amp. I sitll have a little mark but that got me really mad

[Stephen]

Have you had a client trash a piece of your equipment accidentally (or intentionally)?

How do you handle it? Confrontation right then and there? Write it off?

I send my good friends Vinncenzo and Anthony to have a "talk" with him later on.
(Just kidding...)
Pax, Steve

[justinf]

The ass kicking is obviously a last resort.... icon_smile.gif

This, of course, depends on the client. Sometimes you gotta go straight for the ass kicking.

[Slider]

I've lost numerous 57's to drummers with bad aim.
Sometimes they just knock the grill head off them.
I had another engineer drop a very expensive tube mic, but it was fixed for free.
I hate when clients crank my headphones and blow the drivers.
Then I don't notice until later when they're long gone.
I tell drummers "if you hit a mic and break it, you buy it".
I probably wouldn't hold them to it, but hopefully it makes them more aware.
I've let 57's go a couple times without charging.

Everytime I put 414's on the toms I'm kinda scared.
I use the MC012's or 57's if I think they might hit them.
I use a MD-431 on snare that's bigger and not as tough as a 57.
So sometimes I'll just use the 57.
I actually look at the marks on the drumheads and see where they strike the head and try to avoid it if I can.

Now someone trashing shit on purpose...
I can't even imagine.
I had a guy throw a pair of 7506 headphones full force on the ground after messing up.
He just bought them and took the broken ones home.
If you do something that stupid you buy them.
I hate seeing the studio clip of asswipe Fred Durst punching the U47 when he couldn't get a punch right.
It seriously made me sick. I hope they billed him $20,000.

[snuffinthepunk]

I hate seeing the studio clip of asswipe Fred Durst punching the U47 when he couldn't get a punch right.
It seriously made me sick. I hope they billed him $20,000.

what a freakin idiot...do you know how to find a link to that video? I wanna show some people.

[jc]

I tell drummers "if you hit a mic and break it, you buy it".

not fair!

[Slider]

I probably wouldn't hold them to it, but hopefully it makes them more aware.

[Nathan Eldred]

I have 4 TLM103s I use for toms, this one looks the worst. I had a project in last summer, where the drummer bashed this mic (in the photo). I didn't mention it to him or the band. I'm sure the drummer noticed hitting it though... What kills me is that the mic was perfect before that session.

I guess everything is a case by case basis. All I can suggest is to include the broken equipment clause in your contract, and it should also say "accidentally" or "intentionally". I have it in my contract, but didn't choose to hold them to it.

BTW, I don't let anyone play my guitars anymore.

[Slider]

Ouch!!! that thing got crushed.
That would seriously bum me out.

[Zeppelin4Life]

I hate seeing the studio clip of asswipe Fred Durst punching the U47 when he couldn't get a punch right.
It seriously made me sick. I hope they billed him $20,000.

well that explains why he sounds like a friggen dying 3-toed sloth on all his 'records'...thoes capsules are senstive

[Brett Siler]

No thats just his natural voice.

Seriously post that link I really want to see it!

[cgarges]

Okay, so what if a studio owner accidentally plugs something in without checking out what's going where and sends +48v into a power supply with an XLR connector on it, but doesn't say anything to anyone because he doesn't know he's done it? In the meantime, the entire staff tells you it's totally indicative of the sort of thing the owner does all the time. Ultimately, it comes down to about a $200 repair. What if a week later, something at the same studio blows up for some unforseen reason while you're on a session and it's about a $400 repair?

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC