Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

sodbuster wrote:

ajish4 wrote:This is so heartbreaking......I can only imagine.....living on a lake and two blocks from a river.

I have this fear every hurricane season.

Just took out additional FLOOD INSURANCE last week. I've got a FEELING this is going to be a ROUGH YEAR!

better be careful buying used guitars, same thing with cars, I usually wrap my gear with 4 mil poly and duct tape when a bad hurricane hits the area, I shouldn't flood out as i am close to the highest point in Fl (I think that may be an Oxymoron) but incase I lose the roof, and the rain damage, and yeah we are due for a bad one soon

All 16 feet over sea level?

johnallg wrote: All 16 feet over sea level?

Actually, the town maps say I'm 19 feet above sea level......BUT I don't think anyone told the lake that though!

ajish4 wrote:

johnallg wrote: All 16 feet over sea level?

Actually, the town maps say I'm 19 feet above sea level......BUT I don't think anyone told the lake that though!

Tony, when the lake reaches the street, just wade into the center of the lake and pull the plug.

johnallg wrote: Tony, when the lake reaches the street, just wade into the center of the lake and pull the plug.

LOL, NOT ME BROTHER! There's TOO MANY unfriendly critters in that water!!!!!!!!!

Just found some more photos on FB. Not for the weak of heart.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 6762561121

jwargowski wrote:Just found some more photos on FB. Not for the weak of heart.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 6762561121

I've been thinking about this lately. I don't want to trivialize the loss; it's profoundly tragic. Nor do I want to sound like a silly optimist, but I can't help but wonder if these kinds of events, and this one in particular are an opportunity for a serious change in perspective.

I love gear as much as most of us...were I independently wealthy, I'd have my own personal warehouse. But I wonder what some of the artists themselves would say about my "worship" of the instruments they played. What's more important, the instrument, or what they did with it? There seems to be several fundamental differences between a Civil War sword in a museum and one of the Strats played by Jimi Hendrix. In the case of the later, there is something deeply significant that lives beyond the item itself. No one should deny the grief that results from this loss, but somehow I can hear the chorus of those who played these instruments remind me that what I need to do is find my own #1 and keep playing the stew out of it...In the end, its the music and the creative process that's important, much more so than the tool that was used to make it happen. Sad as all this is, it was a good reminder for me.

Oh the pain... the pain...

very sad.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4 ... =779561121

I looked at every picture (good that I'm on FB now), and some of the shots were tragic. The acoustics seem to have taken the worst of it. So was this warehouse a place where many musicians stored their gear? I saw the "Frampton" name in one shot.

I assume that there was some advantage to doing that - maybe more security and space?

In our basement, I've use those thick plastic utility shelves on the floor to raise the basses (and trombones) over the floor level by 2.5 to 3 inches. Not a lot of height, but would be of some help. We are on high ground and the house foundation is pretty tight. The only issue I've had was with the old sewer main (now replaced) and only the unfinished part got flooded a little.

The new "Vintage Guitar" magazine (August 2010) has an article about the flood and the damage to various instruments on page 17. I didn't realize that the Nashville Symphony lost two Steinway concert grand pianos and an organ. The "Roy Acuff Collection" of vintage instruments also had water damage. Gibson's manufacturing floor on Massman Drive apparently was flooded by 2 feet of water, and at the time it would be weeks till they restarted. They are going to run another article next month.

The Gibson Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute I have on order got lost in the flood.

There have been a couple of follow-ups to this in magazines that I subscribe to. "Vintage Guitar" did indeed run part 2 in the September 2010 issue. Bassist Dave Roe lost "26 basses and quite a few amps." He also had flooding in his house, as many did. There is other information.

The new "Bass Player" magazine (also September 2010) has an article in "Retro-Rama" about the iconic 1960 Fender Jazz prototype played by Joe Osborn on many classic hits by the 5th Dimension, Mama's and the Papa's, America, etc., being water damaged as well. The Musician's Hall of Fame (where the bass was displayed) had lost its building, so many of the exhibits and instruments were unfortunately stored at Soundcheck as well. I think I noted above that many of those instruments were also damaged or destroyed.

Dave Pomeroy related that he was first to tune up the 1960 Jazz and give it a go, and that famous tone is still there - although some cleanup work is needed. I saw some rust on the bridge. We've talked about how much McCartney's 4001S might be worth, but I'd guess that Osborn's 1960 Jazz would have quite a value as well. It was apparently played by Joe on over 200 Top 40 singles and many other tracks.

It was Joe playing on those tracks and coming up with those lines, but his musical "tool" certainly played a part.

It's all too easy to equate something like this to a $$$ value, where, in many instances, it's really something far more personal and intimate that may have been lost, and possibly, not being able to be replaced.

From that perspective, it is a very hard loss.

I know that in the grand scheme of things that the instruments and amps were just "things" and that the loss of life and loss of income associated with the flooding is a much greater tragedy. That's my logical side. My emotional side was almost brought to tears looking at those pictures and just imagining how the people who lost these must have felt.

I've got to admit a few of those pictures made me gasp. What a horrible loss!