I Don't Like It When People Touch My Gear

[salkdf]

Hello,

I'm a guitarist. Currently studying in NUS and playing in several bands. (Hall/CCA)

I've actually been on soft for about 3 years, but this is like the first time I've decided to post anything because I really need to vent. I seriously cannot effing stand it when other people touch my gear/play my guitars. Especially when I don't know the person well. If it's a friend still can.

Left my guitar in my room over the weekend and found out someone's been fiddling with it, my roomie has no idea who. I don't think it's him because he doesn't play the guitar. Anyway, the neck's slightly oily, B string's out of tune, and the zip's not where I usually leave it at. GRRRRR.

Anyone else with the same pet peeve?

 

[an2]

Same here man, except for mine the joker even broke 2 strings... Never found out who he/she was, but i went to get myself an external lock so now not so bad.

Even for friends when I lend them its on the fact that if anything is broken or going to break once i get it back, they're changing it.

 

[cheesedaele]

A friend asked me to play with their band for an event and I said sure. Now, the studio we used has 1/4" cables for people to use, and they're clearly labelled, and all look about the same (they were all ordered in one batch). I use a coily, which of course does not look at all like the studio cables.

One jam, I arrived early, so I set up first and went to grab a drink. When I got back, I found another guitarist power chording away with my coily cable. He said he thought it was the studio cable and that he never brings his own cables. This also wasn't the first jam, so it's not the first time he's seen that I'm the guy who owns the coily cable. There were also plenty of studio cables lying around within easy reach. But most of all, if someone already has their gear all set up nicely, what kind of *&@%$(*@ unplugs it because he's too dumb or too lazy to look for another cable!? Doesn't it take even less effort to just grab a neatly coiled one off the top of an amp than to walk over to someone else's gear, bend down, untangle and steal it?

Suffice to say, I was extremely grumpy for the rest of the time that I had to play with that guitarist.

 

[dooda]

Extremely terrified of buckle rash and sweaty fingers

 

[Brenkoh]

One does not simply fiddle with someone's coily and expect peace. Perhaps in the future we have biometric locks to deter the itchy fingers.

 

[VidaK]

somehow this thread might be more appropriate if it is in the music kopi-tiam section...

ouch cheesedaele, if that happened in my band I won't be surprised if flying V can actually fly XD

 

[Tetragrammaton]

Yeah...that's rather rude to use without permission. My worst experience was, a friend wanted to borrow my Gibson Les Paul as he's having special function. I normally will take special attention maintaining this guitar of all the guitars I have. The strings are new and I polish it regularly. And so I reminded him to take of it when handing the guitar to him. It took him 3 months to return to me even after I called him a couple of time. Finally when it came back to me, the strings all corroded, 1st string burst and still not taken out hence scratched onto the body. There was a sticker mark on the body though it's taken out. I was furious and he kept saying it's just a guitar. But he forgotten that it's just my guitar not his. Now I never loan him any guitar and he kept telling my friends how unreasonable I was. Oh man....this kind of people also have ar? Aiyah....

 

[Khai HeadrusH]

Tetra, i wldnt call ur friend, a friend, coz friends dont do this.

 

[ShredAddict]

I like people to fiddle with my guitars. Help me season them for free rather than pay few hundred dollars to Tonerite it.

small things like cleaning up and changing strings is all part and parcel of guitar playing. my opinion? just play the guitar and focus less on the not so important details.

 

[relinquish69]

damage = they pay. that is all there is to it. other than that, I'm cool with people trying my gear.

 

[Kaye]

I'll stab anyone with dirty or oily hands touching my guitar. At least have the courtesy to wipe it clean after use!

 

[superpotato_30]

I can count the number of people i'd lend my precious (and only guitar) away to. The number adds to a mere 2. No more no less.

Most people wouldn't be bothered to set a number code on their stock Gibson hardcases, but i take the effort to. Plus the few reasons why i'd lend my guitar out would have to be bloody bloody good. Something like going overseas for a prolonged period, eg: a couple of years. Other than that its a strict no.

@Tetra: It was nice enough to let your friend borrow your guitar for an event. Salute you for that. I'd probably still say no.

Yes i hate people touching my gear without permission. Gear is either : with me at home/ with me at a gig/jam/ with a well trusted professional tech.

End of story.

 

[relinquish69]

quite a lot of possessive people here on this thread. quite scary if you think about it. just saying.

 

[cheesedaele]

quite a lot of possessive people here on this thread. quite scary if you think about it. just saying.

I don't speak for others but in mine, the guy dismantled my setup. I have no qualms about people I trust picking up my things. Taking someone else's gear apart is really quite something else. I ranted enough in my post, not going to elaborate. But I want to clarify I wasn't too concerned about my cable, I was more concerned about what the cable was connected to, and about him having the gall to take someone else's gear apart. If it was a matter of convenience, other cables were much, much more conveniently within his reach; but it wasn't. He had the willful, calculated intent to take the extra effort to tear down my stuff and take it. Just makes you wonder, whoa, what other crazy things would he have no shame about doing.

Yea I'm scary possessive about certain things. Some things I readily share/give away, or if stolen/lost I wouldn't give a second thought. Everyone has their own personal precious items. One school of thought is "if it's so precious, keep it at home don't take it out lah". But another school of thought also goes that gear is meant to be heard, not locked alone in a dark box for your grandchildren to discover and sell to Cash Converters when you die.

Also, some things money can't simply repair/buy another. Of the many softies, relinquish69 I think you'd be one of the good folks who really understands this. "Damage = pay" doesn't quite work when all the money in the world isn't sufficient remedy. (That's if you can even get them to cough up and pay for it in the first place.)Then this goes back to the "use vs keep" debate, which is better left for another discussion.

It isn't so much about the gear, but about trust and people disrespecting other people and their wishes/property.

 

[superpotato_30]

damage = they pay. that is all there is to it. other than that, I'm cool with people trying my gear.

Theres no issue with others trying your gear. The question is about whether they were authorised to do so in the first place. Its not about being possessive. Its about having the courtesy to ask and await the owner's decision of whether he/she allows one to try their gear or not.. Having some 'ghost' play your guitar when you're not with it is akin to 'borrowing without permission'. Thats not as bad as having a 'ghost' play your guitar and damaging your setup/strings eh? I'm cool with friends/people try my gear WITH my permission and yes of course if they damage it they would have to bear the cost of replacement. Equating possessiveness to this would be an oversimplification though on the surface it does seem as such..