Lucky me

[mtjam]

So today I made one of the most boneheaded moves ever. I played a gig this afternoon and it started raining heavily suddenly, so we had to rapidly break down our gear (with "help" from friends and random people). Anyway, I managed to round up all of my gear and get it loaded into my truck. I was happy that nothing was missing. Since the gig ended at 4 PM, the band decided to hang out at the bar. When it was time to go, I met my wife at my truck. I asked her if the back hatch of the truck was open when she got there. She said yes. That means I left my vehicle completely open, packed full of gear, with my beloved 81 Series 1 right on top of the pile, for several hours! I can't recall making a dumber mistake as long as I've been gigging. Fortunately, nothing had been touched. Anyone could have literally reached in and easily taken my bass right out of the back of my truck.

Caught a lucky break today. I am thankful that this situation didn't turn out worse.

By the way, that bass sounded great at my gig!

[David Houck]

Glad you didn't lose anything!

[elwoodblue]

Whew!
 One day I left a '70 goldtop (in it's case) leaning against the car as put it into drive.
No harm done (a good test for the plastic 'chainsaw' LP case), but I had to work on feeling smart
again.
 I bet you triple check things from now on(it's worth it!).
I know some very smart folks that say you shouldn't leave your Alembic in the car,
that has spurred me to unload things late after a gig when I was tired and a bit sore.

[mtjam]

Yesterday was a bit different. At 99% of my gigs, I pack up and leave immediately. Since my wife and daughter came to this one, we decided to hang out. I'm guessing I accidentally left my truck open because I was distracted by the heavy rain and wind. I also had to rearrange my gear to accommodate 2 passengers on the way home. In the future, I will definitely check and recheck to make sure my stuff is locked up. I had everything covered up, but anyone could have easily taken whatever they wanted. I imagine if this gig had been in a city setting, my gear would have been long gone.

[edwardofhuncote]

Oh man, I've done that before too - that's a creepy feeling! Good to know there still are some honest folks, and glad your gear was safe.

There was a series of violent thunderstorms at our gig yesterday too... probably part of the same front... fortunately the stage was covered by a big tent, but we still had to put our stuff up on wood pallets to keep it off the pavement. I've started keeping a great big "leaf-n-lawn" trash bag folded up in my gear bag for when there's threatening weather. I can run with a bass or an amp, but not both.

[Glynn]

I did something similar in 2000.  Packed up, gear in car - locked up, stayed on in the club for an hour. then came out to find car and all gear stolen.
I lost a Fender Jazz that I had bought new in 1968!!
One good thing was that with the insurance money of £1000 for that guitar, I bought my current new Alembic Orion 4.
A lesson learnt, though.
Glynn
 

[rustyg61]

I left my '62 reissue Jazz Bass at a fill in gig one time, but luckily the guitar player was honest & picked it up for me & called to tell me he had it! He could have easily not called & told me he didn't see it. Thank God for honest people!

Glad you didn't loose yours & it didn't get damaged by the rain!

[slawie]

Dodged a bullet there Rob.
Sorry about the loss Glynn.
Fortunately I've never had either experience.

I have had my home broken into and none of my music gear
was taken. They took laptop, camera, cash and my stash.

Guitars, amps and effects all left alone.

slawie