Would you loan your guitar?

I have exactly TWO bandmates to whom I would loan a guitar for an extended period of time.

For everyone else, it's like this:

 

Nope not a chance in hell. From what I’ve seen it’s like lending your car, who ever gets it never takes as good of care of it or just beats it because it isn’t theirs.

 

I'm reminded of the scene in "Clear and Present Danger."

"How much for the helicopter?"
"Four million dollars."
"My pilot will want a test flight."
"OK, you'll just have to leave a deposit."
Getting checkbook, "how much of a deposit?"
"Four million dollars."

Next time someone wants to borrow my gear I'll ask for a deposit. If they can't/won't pay it, I'm not the bad guy for refusing the loan. It was their choice. And actually I am J/K, well maybe halfway serious.

 

I knew that was coming. Lol.

 

LOL! I remember being in New York in about 1988 and seeing that commercial on TV in my hotel room, it has stuck with me ever since.

As for loaning guitars, generally not. I'll let somebody play my RainSong or one of my Reverends, because it would be real hard to hurt one of those. but a loan lasting longer than a gig where it goes out of my sight, nope, though I've made two exceptions. One was the daughter of a friend and former co-worker. She's a working pro musician who's both very talented, and I admit, very easy to look at. In the midst of the pandemic, she needed a baritone guitar for a recording session, and nobody had one in stock, so I loaned her my Reverend Eastsider Bari for a month. I certainly didn't need it for any gigs at the time. True friend that he is, her dad repaid my generosity with two nice bottles of whiskey, and not surprisingly, the guitar came back at least as clean, if not cleaner, than it left. The other was, on its surface unthinkable, but I did it anyway. Right before the pandemic closed everything down, another friend asked to borrow my 1937 Gibson ES-150, as his needed to go out to get its binding replaced. I expected him to gig with it (had any gigs been possible at the time), but when it's Jonathan Stout, and he offers to loan you one of his '30s L-5s as collateral (I declined, not wanting to risk anything happening to it), I saw no downside. He never gigged with it, since there were no gigs, so the risk turned out to be negligible. And it came back with some masking tape on the flight case that said "Frank's ES-150." I left the tape on there as a souvenir. Can't think of any other circumstance where I would loan a guitar, except at a Gretsch Roundup, where guitar show-n-tell is the name of the game.

 

I just realised it cost me two guitars both with broken set(!) necks, one with a chip, one broken latch on a brand new case(yes the 5th one in the back) and a pedal(which fetches a pretty penny nowadays) never returned.

There’s a reason these people need to borrow stuff...

 

You would think for a paying gig, that they would offer to rent the guitar to get thru a night or weekend as the approach ? Considering what I have, they'd be better off going down to a pawn shop or doing a FB Marketplace deal meet up & buy, that's if GC or a music store isn't conveniently open. I know I'd probably handle it that way, I wouldn't impose on anyone like that. There is always offering to buy another's backup instrument.

 

No, not ever. I'd rather share my toothbrush than share my Gretsch. Perhaps I'm a bit anal but it's only reluctantly that I allow my guitar tech to even play my guitar.

 

In December of 2019, my wife and I showed up for our last gig of the year at a place in Ames, IA (2 hours from home). We'd already transitioned out of touring and into studio time as we were about to begin a recording project for the winter. When we got to the gig and began to unpack, I realized I'd left our mixer at home. We're a duo but we run 10 channels for our live show. I had powered monitors/speakers that I could run and the second channel on my Quilter amp to improvise what I could but it was looking grim. My wife posted on social media and some friends in Des Moines (The High Crest) had the night off and began loading their PA into a van to drive it up to us. In the interim, I noticed a poster for a local band (The Bushmen) that was playing the same club later in the month. For reasons I'll never fully understand, the band had their phone number on the poster. I called within about 30 minutes, their was a small format mixer in my hands that saved our show. We thanked the friends in The High Crest and saved them the trip.

My view is, it depends on the situation but those folks came to our rescue and I'd like to think I'd be able to return the favor if needed. I very much have a strong personal attachment to all of my instruments. None of them are investments to me but rather tools to engage in an endeavor I hold to be sacred. With that in mind, I wouldn't want to deny someone else that endeavor if I were able to help.

Turns out The Bushmen were recent inductees into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Music Association Hall of Fame which was pretty cool too. And the member who saved our bacon, David Williamson, plays a Gretsch too! I'd yet to get mine but we did chat a little bit on the topic afterwards. Small world.

 

I inherited a banjo from my wife's uncle, nothing special. I loaned it to a local music teacher so he could play a polka gig on New Years eve years ago. It never came back, he didn't return calls or emails. Maybe Pat Feely will see this and remind him to return it.

 

Sure thing...good luck with it...

 

Nope. No. Make that HELL no.

 

Nope. Isn’t worth the worry. Wouldn’t even feel the slightest bit bad saying no.

 

Short answer is "NO".

 

Yes, I would and have.

If people come round and someone wants to jam I'm happy for them to use whichever of my guitars they want as long as it's not the one I wanted to use.

I also lent a friend my MIM Tele over first lockdown here in the UK so he could learn how to play...I'm not sure I'd do that with my Gretsches or my acoustics but it's near impossible to break a telecaster so I wasn't too worried

 

I don’t mind people playing my guitar t my house. I did let a friend swap his top end Taylor with my Martin for one night but to let someone take it to a gig, no.

 

I would, I have, and I will. Things are just things. I’ve got lots of things. None of them are important. Love is important. Kindness is important. Treating others well is important. Being inclusive is important. Giving of yourself in service is important. Helping in any way(s)you can is important. Guitars? Material possessions? “Stuff”? Nah.

 

S

I always help when I can but with an item of worth which I do kit have to many of I generally say no because I don’t have the liquid cash to replace it more often than not. That being said one caveat there are a couple guys I could trust but it always seems someone I hardly know is the one asking and with them it is a no. I have a lifetime of people taking advantage of my willingness to help and almost none of them have ever reciprocated and plenty of them out right stole from me. So I am vary cautious and not very trusting anymore.