A year abroad: loaning instruments to a studio - good idea?

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alex matson
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A year abroad: loaning instruments to a studio - good idea?

Post by alex matson » Sat Dec 05, 2009 5:54 pm

Since losing my job in mid-October, I've been weighing my options. A pretty attractive one is joining my little brother next year in the town of Naha, Okinawa. The kid makes almost 200k a year maintaining missile launchers...but he's lonely for family. The town's economy is based on the base and tourism. My bro says the scuba diving there is amazing. I'm pretty sure I'd regret not taking my first ever opportunity to live in another country. I'll be making my decision over Christmas when the fam gets together.

One of the big questions, of course, is what I'd do with my stuff. The two biggest things are my Hammond L-102 and Leslie, and my Yamaha CP80. Rather than put them in storage, I think loaning them to a studio here in town would be a better and nobler use for them. Of course, I'd like them to be well taken care of. Beyond that, there's my Rickenbacker 360/12C63 - a much more easily damaged thing. Is it crazy to think it would be well taken care of?

Then there's my Kurzweil K2600, and my car, a Forester. All of these things could be sold, of course, but I don't really want to liquidate my life...I'd just like to not rack up storage fees when they could be benefiting someone and maybe even making me a small rental income.

Anyone have any thoughts on this matter?

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Re: A year abroad: loaning instruments to a studio - good id

Post by sad iron » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:46 pm

alex matson wrote:
One of the big questions, of course, is what I'd do with my stuff. The two biggest things are my Hammond L-102 and Leslie, and my Yamaha CP80. Rather than put them in storage, I think loaning them to a studio here in town would be a better and nobler use for them. Of course, I'd like them to be well taken care of. Beyond that, there's my Rickenbacker 360/12C63 - a much more easily damaged thing. Is it crazy to think it would be well taken care of?

Then there's my Kurzweil K2600, and my car, a Forester. All of these things could be sold, of course, but I don't really want to liquidate my life...I'd just like to not rack up storage fees when they could be benefiting someone and maybe even making me a small rental income.

Anyone have any thoughts on this matter?
I do. My experience both personal and from observation, is that if you're making that big a move, it's best to cut ties with whatever might tether you to the old life. Do you really want to be worry about the gear you left in a town you may or may not come back to while you're half a world away? You can sell that stuff in Portland and buy it again later if you really need it again, wherever you go. Loaning stuff out is even more of a headache because then you're worried about who knows who coming into the studio you loaned it to and doing who knows what. And you're still half a world away. And if these folks at this studio are your friends, that's even more difficult. Cut it loose. Move on. If you love something, set it free, and all that. You'll be happier. My 2 cents, which ain't worth much.
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Post by DrummerMan » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:50 pm

Initial thoughts (In the "if it were me" category):

If you can, loan the organ, leslie and the yamaha to a reputable studio, assuming that they could actually need/use them, if such a studio is to be found, with the caveat that, while they don't pay you for them, they make sure they are taken care of and they take care of anything big, repair-wise, that goes wrong with them.

Take the Rick with you.

If you can't leave the kurzweil and the car with a family member somewhere in this country, sell them, assuming it's not a huge loss, monetarily, to do so. A car and a keyboard are generally more easily replaceable, physically and emotionally.

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Post by Snarl 12/8 » Sat Dec 05, 2009 10:05 pm

If you're going to sell the Organ/Leslie, let me know, my next door neighbor is looking for one.

I'm wondering if you could swing a deal where you "sold" the stuff with the agreement that you could buy them back in a year or so for what you got paid. Kindof like a pawn shop deal with a friend. Although this violates the secret to happiness, which is to make decisions and not revisit them later.
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Post by alex matson » Sun Dec 06, 2009 2:01 am

Thanks everyone.
Carl, perhaps you should have your friend contact me. Selling does kind of make sense.
I paid market value for the organ and Leslie, so it would be a decent deal. I think it was $350 for the organ and $800 for the leslie, which is a 147. The cool thing about both of them: The organ has a built in spring reverb, and the leslie had all its tubes replaced by the owner of the store I bought it from, Really Good Stuff on Hawthorn. He's an organ guy.
The leslie also has a footswitch - removable, it just plugs in - instead of the half moon switch, as I always hated having to drop a hand to switch speeds. I traded the guy that built it even for the switch. He lives nearby and could replace it if that was a big deal to your friend.

Keep an eye out for another thread in the for sale section, guys. I have a pretty amazing table that I got from an architect's office that cranks up and down - only paid $120 for it, about 1/10th what they said they paid for it. It's actually 2 4' X 4' sections with one corner rounded out, so it makes a semi circular place to sit inside. It was just crying out to be in my studio...someone would love this.
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Post by TapeOpLarry » Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:31 am

I had a friend loan me a Hammond L-102 and when it turned out it needed work I spent $400 on an organ he'd bought for $40 or so. That'd be one of the dangers of doing this. At that point, who really owns it?
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Post by Dakota » Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:41 am

TapeOpLarry wrote:I had a friend loan me a Hammond L-102 and when it turned out it needed work I spent $400 on an organ he'd bought for $40 or so. That'd be one of the dangers of doing this. At that point, who really owns it?
Too true.

A simple but clear agreement in writing, email or whatever ahead of time can save unforeseen headaches later.

Having someone else put in maintenance and fix up over time can be cool, as long as everyone gets benefit from it.

Very important: be certain that the studio's insurance covers your loaners, or your own insurance covers it, whatever gets it covered. Things happen. I've been through that.

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Post by signorMars » Tue Dec 08, 2009 7:29 pm

if for some reason you do decide to keep your car, make sure you store it properly. i don't know the details, but this basically involves draining all the fluids, etc, so that the car still starts when you get home. if you leave gas, oil, etc in there, it can gunk up all the injectors and pumps to the point where you'll have major repairs to do if/when you get back.

sidenote: you should get your brother to invest in opening a studio in Okinawa with you. mainland Japan studio time is so expensive that tons of bands fly to America to record. you could undercut all them and make it a shorter flight. or you could just scuba dive and enjoy Okinawa for a year.
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:34 pm

Sell everything.

They are only things. Do not let them tie you down. This is a very Western way of looking at life, as if things are important. They are not.

You can always buy these or even better things in the future.

But you can't buy peace of mind. Leaving your things in other's hands will cause you Stress, and stress is bad for you.

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Post by Gentleman Jim » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:35 pm

noeqplease wrote:
Sell everything.

They are only things. Do not let them tie you down. This is a very Western way of looking at life, as if things are important. They are not.

You can always buy these or even better things in the future.

But you can't buy peace of mind. Leaving your things in other's hands will cause you Stress, and stress is bad for you.
+1

I've gone through a few periods of gear hoarding, and the result has always been the same for me. I get rid of stuff that I've been holding on to for years, and I feel less burdened. At some point I just realize that I'm treating myself like some kind of museum curator, and fetishizing the gear. It's wood and wire.

A really corny, faux-Buddhist way to look at it is Do You Own The Gear, Or Does The Gear Own You?

Prior to touring or moving, I've done the long term loan thing and I've also sold everything. One of my experiences with the long term loan was getting a phone call from my friend telling me that his band's practice space had been robbed and everything, including my recently purchased Les Paul, was taken. He was offering to replace the guitar, but at the time I was out on tour making about what that Les Paul cost me every week, while he was at home working in a restaurant kitchen and he lost 2 or 3 guitars, 2 or 3 amps, all his pedals, all his cables, etc. I told him if he ever made enough money to buy me a replacement that would be great, but I wasn't really holding my breath. It's been just over 15 years, and to the best of my knowledge he's never had that spare pile of cash lying around. Que sera, sera.

Sell the car; that's a no-brainer. Storing a car for a year, then coming back and hoping it runs? No thanks. There will still be plenty of Subarus for sale next year.

Sell the Kurzweil and the Yamaha. They're both portable enough that if you lend them to someone they could get damaged by being moved around in the studio. How would you react if you come back and hear that your synth has been busted for 8 months and they never bothered to email you? Because that's a very real possibility.

The Hammond is a bit tougher. Sure, it's big enough that it probably won't get moved around much, and that means it will probably survive. That's a call you'll have to make.

Here's the nub of it: If you think that you can come back and not lose your mind if some, (or all!), of your gear is broken, then feel free to lend it out. But if you suspect that it will ruin a friendship if your Yamaha dies and the person babysitting it can't afford to pay to have it fixed before you get back, then just sell it and move on.

Many years ago I was talking gear with a formerly 'successful' punk rocker who was in his mid thirties at the time. He had a really casual attitude about what gear he played, while my head was completely up my ass about having the 'right' strings, pickups, amp, speakers, and cab. I sucked, (and still do), but for some reason I thought it was of the utmost importance what gear I used. He just looked at me and asked, "So when people come to see your band, they come to see you, or they come to see your equipment?"

While I wouldn't say that I've taken that philosophy to heart 100%, I think it's a valid point. The most important component of your keyboard rig isn't the hardware.

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Post by dbeck » Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:17 am

If you don't need the money from the stuff you're selling, just put it in a savings account so it can be waiting for you if you decide to return. I think this would be most helpful with the car situation. It's a pain not having one when you need one.

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