Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

"Bob, is that one with an Alnico V in the neck position? Bigsby?"

Bigsby?! Shock! Horror! I hate those things! LOL!

No, it's a stock '55 with the alnico V neck p'up.

The guitar was in a house that burned down but the guitar was in it's case. The finish blistered and some of the plastic melted. I told the guy what it was worth when he offered it to me for $50. He didn't care. I said, "OK, here's $100" and he handed me the Home Depot lawn and leaf bag he was carrying the guitar in. I have to pinch myself sometimes when I think about this. I never ever dreamed I would own a 50's Les Paul!

Son of a .......
I'm guessing someone didn't have adequate insurance.

LOL! The insurance company gave them about $12,000 for the guitar and that was 5 years ago. It's been out for 9 months now being restored. I should have it back in another week or two. Can't wait to plug it in and blow the roof off the house!

Unbelieveable story, Bob! Though I must disagree about the Bigsby.

Hey, Pablo...well said, brother...and by the way, your English is quite a bit better than that of some of our elected officials here in the 'USA'...

My own feeling is: music is about playing, and collecting is about misunderstanding mortality...

I totally agree with you Dane...you have to enjoy your instruments while you have them because you can't take 'em with you.

"........because you can't take 'em with you."

This is something I get a little concerned about occasionally. Over the years I have accumulated a nice little collection of traditional and high quality guitars and amps yet I have no one in my family worthy of the gear upon my demise. None of them play or even know what the stuff is worth! I pains me to think of my 360 being sold for $150 or my Suhrs fetching 1/10 their actual worth.

What do you do with your gear when you have no one to leave it to?

A few kind and selfless folks have offered to take it off my hands already, (yeah right), and lift the burden from my shoulder. LOL

Bob,

One approach may be to leave a last will and testament with clear instructions on the disposal of your "gear".

I am fortunate, in that my youngest son is quite a good guitar player. He already appreciates my small collection of guitars etc.

Brian, the problem is that I really have no idea who to give it to.

Well, I don't have very valuable instruments. But I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to give the instruments to young musicians, perhaps as a prize in a contest for newcomers or something like that.

Gruesse, Pablo

I like the above ideas....I would think you could leave them to a big music school in need where they could be rented or signed out to students so that they could be used as learning tools time and time again...that way nothing gets "sold" and you know it's going to a good cause.

I have a trust, not a will (because wills are public - anyone can read it once you've passed away - and a trust is private and no, you don't need to be "rich" to have a trust). In my instructions letter that is a part of the trust (I basically say "read the instructions letter to find out what I want you to do" in the trust) I describe everything I have that requires "special consideration" including all of my instruments. I estimate what they are worth at the moment (I update the letter every few months) and who to give "first shot" at them. I also explain how to correctly sell them off if it comes to that.

You owe it to your heirs to help them out and tell them what they have been given and why it is important.

If you don't have at least a will or even better a trust then you are putting an enormous burden on your family and you are taking control of your post-demise destiny away from your survivors and putting it into the hands of a judge (at least in the US). Don't do that.

Well said Alan. I also like the idea of making the gear available for people to use. I'll give this some thought.

I'm lucky, my wife has a good appreciation of my gear's worth.
The only thing she won't sell is my '76 4000, my first real bass, which I never thought of as valuable until finding this forum.
I won't care, I'll be dead & in heaven everyone gets a 4002, a 360, & a doubleneck of their choosing!
Just think of how long the line will be to jam with Jimi, John, & Ludwig, to name a few...

I have a will, but Im the only one in my family that plays. I've given my wife instructions to contact the good people of this forum for direction.

I've never seen this happen here, but I would be honored to help out if one of our forum members fell, and the family was looking for advice.