Guitar and Guitar Gear Protection

By: Danielle

As a musician, you want to protect your guitar, whether you play as a hobby or support yourself by touring year-round. All instruments are valuable and cherished possessions, no matter if they were surprise finds at a pawn shop or custom-made for you.

When it comes to protecting your guitar, you have several options, including installing a home security system and purchasing insurance.

Home Security

An ADT security system can give you peace of mind when it comes to leaving behind instruments during a short-term absence, such as working a day job or stepping out to run errands. The protective measure is invaluable for safeguarding your property, especially if you’ve amassed a collection of instruments in your home and/or maintain a recording studio with expensive equipment that will also be costly to replace. Many systems also include alerts for fire and carbon monoxide leaks, which will preserve the life of your guitar.

Insurance

Insuring a guitar is paramount in the face of accidents, robbery, or human error. What can run you just a couple hundred dollars a year can aid in repairing or replacing a damaged or stolen guitar. Depending on the value of your instrument,  the cost of repair or replacement can easily creep into the high thousands. Ideally, you’ll never have to file a claim with the insurance company. All the same, protect yourself with a policy that will make heading out on tour less of a concern.

Off-Site Storage

You might consider off-site storage for guitars and other instruments you don’t play often. Separate storage space can come in handy for longer stays away from home, if you don’t have the room to house a number of instruments, if you don’t have renter’s insurance, or if you have unreliable roommates. You’ll want to purchase insurance to protect your instruments, unless the facility happens to provide it as part of a rental agreement. Store your guitars and know they can still be easily accessed when you’re ready to bring them out for practice or a reunion show.

Be Aware

Always keep an eye on your guitar and other equipment. You can be easily distracted during load-in or load-out at a show; thieves only need you to be vulnerable for a moment before they act. A good rule of thumb is to treat your guitar like cash, which is exactly what it will be once it’s sold to a pawn shop. Always be aware about where your instruments are and who is helping to pack them in or out, especially if you or your band have gained notoriety and your guitars are deemed even more valuable.

You don’t need to be Polly Paranoid in order to protect your guitar and equipment, but having insurance and a security system are two big steps towards making sure your guitar stays in your hands where it belongs. Be wise about where your instruments are stored and aware of fans with sticky fingers and you’ll happily be playing encores for years to come.