Flatline Audio Robbed

[daveotero]

Hey Everyone, ultra shitty news today...

The title kinda says it all. There's more information at http://www.hellionstudios.com.

The worse part about it is the data loss. Weeks of sessions and hard work are gone and a lot of recording will have to be redone off the clock. Not to mention the sick collection of drum samples I've created over the years . I realize none of you guys are really in my area, but if you see any of the gear listed at the link above for sale, please let me know. Over $10K of gear was stolen, almost all of it uninsured.

I've moved to a temporary location and sourced enough gear to run sessions again. Only had to cancel one day. Now begins the long process of searching for a new studio space and getting my gear list back to a respectable status. Thanks for any help you guys might be able to offer.

 

[Frank'nfurter]

Have a eye on ebay. Sometimes the robbers are that stupid to sell their prey via ebay. Good luck.

 

[SPLASTiK]

That really sucks dude.

Other than ebay be sure to keep your eye out on craigslist in your area!
http://www.craigslist.org/about/cities.html

 

[metalkingdom]

Just heard about this. Sorry that this happened to you. No one deserves that. Good luck, man.

 

[Mr. Brokenamp]

I'd call around the local stores and pawnd shops too. I used to work at a pawn shop and we got lots of thiefs trying to bring in items, and we sent lots of thiefs to jail.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Also try Craigslist.org. I've seen more than enough 'too good to be true' deals there.

I hope you find the bastards -- pull a Chewbacca and rip their arms out of their sockets. Fuckers.

 

[James Murphy]

Dave, so sorry to hear about this... if there's anything i could help with, let me know.

so many of these types of burglaries are commited by people who have been inside the place before, perhaps a studio tour, a hanger-on of a band, etc., etc.

that's showing quite some resilience to be up and running again so quickly and i applaud you for that.

we have Brinks Security here at The SafeHouse, and still i worry when i'm not here..... anything captured on your video system?

 

[metalkingdom]

so many of these types of burglaries are commited by people who have been inside the place before, perhaps a studio tour, a hanger-on of a band, etc., etc.

EXACTLY. Be careful guys! I know engineers who have been bound and gagged at 5am by masked men driving U-Haul trucks.

Luckily you weren't there, Dave. It could've potentially been a lot worse.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Hey Everyone, ultra shitty news today...


Over $10K of gear was stolen, almost all of it uninsured.

Dude, I feel bad for you, but I've got to ask: what were you thinking? If you're going to run a business, you need insurance. Period.
Believe me, I know it totally fucking sucks to shell out for premiums when margins are so low, but you've gotta be realistic about things. That, and shell out for a good, monitored security system. Again, it seems like a pain in the ass expense, but totally necessary.
I've lambasted my own clients for bringing in $10K drumkits uninsured. If you make a large investment, protect it.
I know State Farm (not spam here, I've researched this) can give you a discount if you have your house, car & business insured with them.

I'll be honest here: Sometimes, making metal means dealing with unsavory characters. One band I was going to record broke up before they could come in, because the guitar player was arrested for Armed Robbery! He held up a store to raise money for a tour!
Now, I'm all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, but I've raised my eyebrows more than once to some of the characters I've had come in & out of my place. Fortunatley, my security system's logo is proudly displayed all over the place. It beeps every time a door is opened. This lets them know in very certain terms that a break-in here is not a good idea.

Now for the tough part: Most of these types of crime are usually committed by someone the victim knows. If I were you, I'd start going thru my client list to compile for potential suspects, make some visits, & keep my eyes & ears open. If it's not someone you know, it's probably a friend of someone you know. Chances are, if they're dumb enough to do a B&E, they'll be dumb enough to brag about it.

You might want to put up a cash reward offer in the local music stores as well, say for $1000 or so. You'd be surprised how fast some people will sell out their buddies for a grand.


*lecture mode off*

Besides all that, dude, I really feel for you. It's gotta be heartbreaking to watch your work disappear thanks to some scumbag. Fortunatley, you live in the States and have a Second Ammendment. Excersice that right & go find the fucker.

-0z-

 

[Glenn Fricker]

EXACTLY. Be careful guys! I know engineers who have been bound and gagged at 5am by masked men driving U-Haul trucks.

Wow. Sometimes I'm really glad I'm Canadian.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

we have Brinks Security here at The SafeHouse, and still i worry when i'm not here.....

James, I know exactly how that feels.

 

[egan.]

I'm really sorry to hear this Dave. Hopefully the cops will have some luck.

 

[Andy Sneap]

we had the old studio broken into several times, worst scenario was my old G3 laptop with my worst (best?) Jap Porn getting stolen lol. They actually came back and stole £4k of security cameras, we actually have footage of them using a mountaineering harness to scale the tower and unscrew the camera. I now subscribe to the Tony Martin theory of shoot on site.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I now subscribe to the Tony Martin theory of shoot on site.

Yeah, but you're in England. What are you going to use? A potato gun?

 

[metalkingdom]

we actually have footage of them using a mountaineering harness to scale the tower and unscrew the camera.

Holy shit! That sounds more like a Special Forces operation....

There's something intriguing about Japanese porn, especially when the girls have big knockers. You never feel insecure about your "manhood" while watching it, either.

Oz - even though guns are banned in England, I'd be careful around guys who live on farms out there.

 

[MKS]

This is the insurance we got last year. We have not lost anything yet so I really can't share any firsthand experience. However, I did research before purchasing the policy and found some positive comments.

http://www.musicproinsurance.com/

 

[Andy Sneap]

still have shot guns in the uk, next best thing to a potato gun

 

[Glenn Fricker]

still have shot guns in the uk, next best thing to a potato gun

Glad to hear it! We get a lot of mixed messages thru the media about English gun laws, so thanks for the clarification.

..That being said, yeah, shoot on site!


-0z-

 

[ForeverDeparted]

Dave, that is no good to hear. I heard the news on Monday. I live in the area and I'll keep my eyes peeled and my ears low to the ground. I hope you find your workstation with all of your sessions and hope you didn't lose too much ground. Good luck with everything. Hope everything pans out for you.

 

[Razorjack]

I'm trying to find decent insurance for my home studio. In the UK it seems hard to find anyone who will deal with non-pro businesses and just give me contents insurance, they all want me to get public liability as well even though I won't be allow the public in!! (I will however get a waiver signed by anyone who comes in just to cover my ass).