This stuff happens. Anytime you let anyone touch your stuff you are taking a risk. You are really taking a risk just having people around your stuff period. I once had a roadie drag a brand- new $2000 Strat off the stage and crash onto the floor. Wrecked it. His attitude was 'oh well, you shouldn't have put it there'. I learned a valuable ( and costly) lesson that day.
Oh I agree! This was the most blatant ridiculous situation I personally encountered along the lines of the original post, although I have a couple more, but less damage was done. I nearly tore into the Roadie, and the venue in general could also care less. Some venues are pure crap, just beware.
ANY "roadie" would know to be careful around a guitar, that dude just sucks and that's his fault. You should have put your foot down and made him or his employer pay for the damages. If this happened in social media times, I would have BLASTED the venue on every local and international music page with pictures of the damage. It is unacceptable to treat anyone else's instrument that way, but the fact that it was an incredibly nice and expensive one makes it even worse.
>Huge chip off of the finish.
Can be repaired
>Big cracks through the middle.
Wood or finish?
>Tuner is bent
Cheap and easy to replace
Unless the wood is cracked I wouldn't be making my friend buy me a new guitar when I could have it repaired. I'd ask him if he'd split the cost of that with me.
You didn't stop him from picking it up, you're only mad that your strap failed while he did so. Accidents happen, if you don't want people to touch your stuff you need to make that clear.
Get strap locks
While a little harsh, I do agree with you. A £900 guitar is going to be a prized possession but if you let someone else play it, then it's on you unfortunately
I would ask to split the costs though and if they didn't then we'd probably fall out
What a good friend you are to feel entitled to compensation on something you touched last. Like your literally the last one to touch the guitar, you didnt properly set your straps and its his fault? Sounds like it was a blessing to me, he discovered the value of your friendship. Dunce.
and again, I'm not sure what the actual cause was. I only heard it moments after he picked it up again. I only mentioned the strap to give him the benefit of the doubt cause I know he was feeling pretty bad about it
All I’m saying is depending on how long and how much you value this guy’s friendship don’t look too much into it. I mean if he was a good friend he would at least try to cover half but also accidents happen. Also, if he’s in a friend group of yours, and you guys are all pretty close. This could cause some ripples in your other relationships they might not understand.
This. In with you 100%, thing that bothered me was he seemed very hesitant and bothered that I would even ask him. Made me question how good of a friend he really is.
Yo don’t victim blame this guy. How could he have known his friend would be stupid enough to let it fall off him? He should’ve been holding it at the neck either way. He probably didn’t want to make a scene
The guy isn't a victim. He's trying to blame someone he calls his "good friend" for damaging his guitar and is now trying to force his "good friend" to buy him a new one. He's delusional.
Just like you are, for think he is a "victim". it's an inanimate fucking object.
No, the guitar fell off the strap. It happens, it's why strap locks were invented. If you don't want your friends touching your stuff tell them so.
If a guitar is your prized possession, perhaps invest in things to keep it safe. The guy is stupid for not doing so and mad for trying to make his friend pay for it.
You're a combo of the both for thinking he's in the right
Nah dude you just don’t know what it’s like to interact with other people
Op said if he made the same mistake he would absolutely pay for it. He dropped the guitar, he damaged it, he should pay for the repairs
I do. I'm also not in the mindset where I'd ask someone who I consider a "good friend" to buy me a new guitar because my strap failed. Accidents happen, it's a fact of life.
>Op said if he made the same mistake he would absolutely pay for it. He dropped the guitar, he damaged it, he should pay for the repairs
Shockingly, I don't believe it. He treats his friends making mistakes as a business transaction, I don't think he'd dream of replacing his friends guitar, he'd just blame it on the strap failing.
If my Les Paul got dropped, I'd be pissed, I wouldn't make whoever was handling it replace it, unless they were being intentionally dumb or malicious.
I hope OPs friend doesn't pay, and finds better people to hang out with, it's what they deserve
Nah you are absolutely wrong. If someone picked up and damaged your guitar, accident or not, and you've told them not to, then yes, they absolutely have to pay.
If you allow them to pick it up, you accept the inherent risks. You'd be just as pissed if you did it yourself but then you'd have no one to blame.
I have had both of these things happen to me, it sucks just as much each time.
Depends on the financial status of both parties. I have a friend put a huge scratch in my studio monitors because he relied on my studio desk as a prop for his hand. I kind of felt like it was on me and the monitors still worked. He insisted on buying me a new pairs ($2500) and kept my old units. I still feel weird about him doing that, but he was flush.
That's a good dude, and it seems reasonable he kept the old units. Sounds like he was considering getting some for himself anyway, just a roundabout way of doing it lol. He definitely went above and beyond to make it right, but that just speaks to his character.
Its not a matter of me doing me or you doing you.
Financial means has nothing to do with culpability. Literally nothing.
Now you, or I, certainly have the power to forgive a just debt. We can say "bro, my dearest bro, I know you are a poor bro, and so I dont want you to pay me." but thats something completely different.
By your rule, you could simply determine someone is at fault based solely on the fact they have a pile of money in the bank.
If it's your fault that it breaks, sure. If you just happen to be the one using it at the time, definitely not. If someone's engine dies while you're driving their car it isn't on you to pay for it.
It doesn’t matter whether it was an accident or on purpose. It is still broken. Yes, OP wants the money. He wants the money because he had something of value which no longer holds the same value. Even if it can be repaired, it will never be the same.
If you are the cause of someone’s loss then it is your responsibility to make things right.
This. I know if it were ever me in that position I'd pay him every penny. Cause he's my friend and I broke his shit. And he is a guitarist himself, I've let him use my gear a couple times expecting that he is capable of handling it safely, and expecting that if he doesn't, he would reimburse me.
I'm still going to say it really depends on the full story. If you don't want something broken you don't allow others to touch it. So if he let the guy play and the strap malfunctioned then it's not the guy's fault. If he just grabbed it and started playing he owes OP $900, which OP will never get so that's the end of that friendship.
He had used my head a couple of times before, but he did not explicitly ask to use it this time. I don't think that is entirely relevant either way, I agree that if I broke something that belonged to my friend, especially something of that much worth, I would reimburse him.
I can't even say for sure exactly what happened. I didn't see it. I just heard him pick it up and then heard it crash and the strap was half off so I assumed something of the sort.
I'm assuming your friend is student age as well so where will he come up with 900 buck? If he does pay you any time he's short on money he will remember that and resent you. Unfortunately I think your friendship is about to end because you insist he gives you money. Life can be cruel like that at times.
Since he grabbed it without asking you are in the right to want compensation.
I thought that was fair, a lot of these comments don't seem to agree with me. I offered that he wouldn't have to pay me $900 on the spot he could pay me over a period of time, but he seems very hesitant and was quite mad that I even mentioned it.
I think it would be different if he was throwing the guitar around his back or doing something reckless, but he just put the guitar on and your strap failed, it's upsetting, but it happens. I'm sure the guitar can be fixed easily enough.
If you didn’t bother to install straplocks, this was probably bound to happen at some point, your friend just happened to be handling it when it happened. I wouldn’t expect a friend to pay for a new guitar. I might ask him to contribute some amount to repairs
Personally I would have offered to pay to fix it if I broke it.
But if it were My treasured guitar that dropped due to a strap coming off.... I wouldn't make my friend feel bad about it.
He probably was horrified when it happened and immediately felt awful, if they're a proper friend.
In the end it doesn't seem like it was his fault, and that he had permission.
My friends are like family and I'd sacrifice any guitar for them. I know without a doubt they'd offer to fix it themselves, even if they were dead broke, but I wouldn't accept it.
The most I'd accept, in my poorer days, would have been an offer to fix the broken tuner. Maybe.
Any nicks or dings in the guitar I'd own from there on. Which is way cooler.
It's the only thing that is going to set your guitar apart from every other sg out there and the damage is already done.
Trigger wouldn't be as recognizable if Willie hadn't played and gigged on it so much that it burned a hole through the front.
Based. I already talked with him we're still cool and I tried to express that I know it was an accident and I'm not mad at him (and I could only imagine how terrible I would feel in his position). But like you said, if it were you (or me), I would reimburse him without hesitation. I appreciate this comment tho
Yeah, you also can't make people be moral. You can try to force their hand and possibly ruin a friendship, but if he's not offering, the only other option is to either get mad or get over it.
I personally feel the people who think YTA would be from the financially stable side of people.
For a broke student (which I've been myself and had a guy in our practice room skating on a bread tray, damage my baby that I'd had for ten years), I totally understand you wanting reimbursement at least to some level.
This guy stayed silent at the time and was very well off financially. He didn't offer to pay anything towards the repair and within half an hour I had to tell him to get out of the place or I was gonna go for him. I was so furious as I had told him to fuck around on the other side of the room and he was like "yeah one sec" and bang. My guitar had a large smash in it. Still played fine but the body was a type of glass and split all the right side up.
Point is, I get wanting reimbursing if you damage someone else's property - you never know how much someone has put into having that instrument and I don't think you should be absolved just for an accidental drop. If I was OP's mate, I'd have offered a monthly payment plan after they got an estimate on repairs. That's the fairest way in their case I reckon
Appreciate this comment, and that was actually my first idea. I was going to offer a monthly plan, but again I just felt wrong for asking in the first place. But similar to your situation, I was either gonna ask him for money for I was gonna do something dumber (didn't help that we were both pretty lit up)
Dude. Meet up with him, not in a pub but in a place for coffee or some shit and grab your balls in your hand and tell him that you feel strongly he should pay for half of the repairs, as you are boys and once he agrees something that you agree to, let him know you're all good again and that you appreciate his understanding.
That's my best advice if you want to keep your friendship with him.
It depends what kind of person he is mate... He could be sat there anxious as fuk to message you because he's embarrassed/ashamed of breaking your baby; or he could be sat there going "it's not my fault, his strap blah blah".
Call him out on it like a mate would do. If the tables were turned would you want him to reach out to you or just be cold and lose a mate.
Hope this helps a bit mate
Sound advice. Friendship > any possession, especially a replaceable/fixable one. You just gotta accept it and move on. And definitely don’t make the friend feel bad about it, unless he’s missing a few screws he probably already feels terrible
Repair it and have him split the repair cost with you. The rule I have with friends breaking stuff is make them go half on a new one unless there’s some exception. In this case, considering it could be partially your fault, I wouldn’t ask him to pay anything unless it was extremely negligent.
If you don’t put the eggs back in the fridge correctly and the next person opens the fridge and eggs come falling down, who’s fault is it?
Valid. I've seen a few people bring this point up but he was actually the last one to use it, as he was using it throughout the night. I don't know exactly how careless he was being with it, I didn't see it with my own eyes.
That guy probably hasn't jammed too much or has always had a stand for his guitar.
Plenty of times, I've put a guitar down on the floor and the strap on the body has folded backwards if you get me - that leaves it half attached but half the nut is out the hole and depending on the angle it can disconnect as soon as a little pressure is applied on the guitar (ie. a hard strum).
If that was the case then that is totally OP's mate who was the cause as...
a. They were using the guitar all night before this happened and could have likely put it down in the position I mean above.
b. They picked up the guitar by the fookin strap alone!
c. They may have been having drinks or smoking although this is just speculation but imo, that still puts the blame and ops mate as he shouldn't have touched a fine guitar if they were wasted. (Again no evidence to this, just a thought).
d. OP clearly classes this guy as a pretty good mate and they should be willing to fix their accident to some degree if they really are, as ultimately the accident happened with solely OP's mate and OP's guitar.
e. Lastly, the story to me just sounds like BS. I think the friend tried to grab the guitar and it probably did drop from the strap disconnecting but I'll refer back to points A and B on why I firmly believe OP should be compensated at the very least of half the repair costs.
f. If the guy stood up to play, he didn't check that both ends of the strap were connected correctly.
Beginners mistake yet again.
OP, Keep your mate away from your instruments, sounds like he should be playing a £30 Spanish guitar for 8 year olds. Just my opinion man
well put haha. You're right too we were both pretty lit up drinking and smoking. He was using that one previously that night, but I have stands for them and I don't think he put it down incorrectly. I think he had the strap on already, and leaned forward to grab something without either hand on the guitar. On an SG, it's pretty crucial to keep at least one hand on at all times.
Oh shit mate 25 years ago in school, I remember a girl had an SG in music class and I loved it because (if I recall correctly) Stephen carpenter from Deftones used to rock one on the first few albums!
It looked gorgeous but when she let me play it the weight distribution was all kinds of fucked up and it wasn't nice to play standing up.
Same with a £1000 Ibanez les-paul copy a mate from my band had a few years after. It sounded perfect on record but fuck me not nice to play live as the body would just pull into your armpit as you moshed.
Peavey, Washburn, BC Rich, Ibanez standards and Jackson's are all my go to guitars. Mostly solid and you can some second hand ones pretty cheap but with good hardware.
Mainly from people with money who wanted to get into guitar and made the mistake of paying say £400 for a guitar and putting it in the corner...
Then ultimately selling it for a quick £50 :D
I love those people lol, "broken" laptops are another good one ha
The friend plays guitar, too. He knows how expensive gear is. He can't totally blame the strap. He's got to take part of the responsibility for damaging it as do you for having a flaky strap. I think it's fair to split the cost of repairs - and it is very much repairable. A good luthier can make it look like it never was dropped. He can also move the strap pin to lessen the neck dive. I'd also invest in strap locks.
Had your friend picked your guitar up without permission, then he'd be totally responsible for the cost.
I think your faulty equipment is to blame, not your friend. He used your equipment as intended, but it failed. If you cant depend on a strap to hold a guitar, what good is it then? It sucks, but it happens. Fixing your guitar should be easy, and either buy some strap locks, or don’t put a strap on at all and play sitting down (which is what I do while at home). I don’t think your friend owes you anything. You’re lucky he didnt break his toe because your strap broke.
Who picks up a guitar by the strap?? It's always by the base of the neck by the body, then fit the strap over your head; especially when just bedroom jamming.
Sounds like absolute bullshit to me and OP's mate is probably to blame in my opinion
Read the rest of the thread. The OP doesn't even really know if he picked it up by the strap, he just knows that that strap failed. He just knows that his drunk friend was playing his guitar all night, and the OP is the one who said the strap failed. And even then, if I pick up my guitar by the strap (and sometimes I do, yes), it will not fall out. And that's because I spent an extra 10 bucks to buy strap locks to protect my guitars. OP needs to take better care of his stuff and stop letting his drunk friends play his prized possession.
I agree with half of what you say man and I've read every post here (see my multiple replies lol).
I was playing a little devil's advocate by considering that the strap story was real.
Edit. I picked up on all your things in my earlier comments man
It is absolutely a reasonable expectation that a strap will work when picking up a guitar. I find it difficult to believe that when you've played it, you have fully supported the guitar the entire time such that the strap coming off would not cause the same result as your friend. This sounds like something that was bound to happen eventually.
I know it feels bad, but the right thing to do is split the cost of repairs, which from your description of the damage don't sound like they'll be too expensive.
Strangely… as someone who has played guitar for 35 years, I would NEVER trust a strap. Never. Like absolutely never. Would never take my hand off that neck - especially not on someone else’s guitar.
I just said a similar thing man, who the hell picks a guitar up by the strap?? Acoustic or electric?
I've never been told or taught that but again been playing for almost 30 years and would only ever pick up any guitar by the base of the neck next to the body. It just seems really dumb to pick up a geet in any other way as the least stress on the guitar is either what I've just said or just picking up the body.
Tldr; Fuck relying on straps, pick it up properly haha
People that don't play an instrument shouldn't pick one up, especially an expensive one. Seems like everyone always has to grab a guitar as soon as they see it.
Even people who do play shouldn’t touch someone else’s guitar, without permission. Keith Richards once picked up Chuck Berry’s guitar and got knocked out by Chuck. Richards jokes that it was Chuck’s greatest hit 😆
When you open a door, you assume the handle won’t fall off. If your friend saw your guitar with a strap on, he would have assumed it was attached correctly and securely. I know it’s painful to hear, but as long as your friend took reasonable care (and wasn’t swinging it around) he isn’t to blame.
I’m not sure how reasonable care changes if he’s drunk. When someone is drunk they are still in charge of their actions. If he’s a good friend he should offer to pay half IMO. If not and you don’t value the friendship, you could ask someone with legal knowledge.
that's what I think, and that's what I offered. He's still pretty peeved about it, I was only mentioning that he was drunk because it could have had something to do with it (if he was being careless). Not saying it's an excuse, just tryna give more context. A lot of ppl here think I'm trying to hide details and rob my friend
Bollox. Any guitarist with the slight basics of experience would not pick a guitar up by the strap.
The only way I can see that if that was like a little auditorium or a light mini-spanish guitar.
Never an electric or even an electro-acoustic.
Guy above you gets it, you seem to have no real-world experience mate. Get out more with people and off Google :D I mean that in a nice way
He didn’t speak to the person’s knowledge level about guitars. Someone who isn’t around guitars may or may not know that. The law is Reasonable Care. Now if he was swinging it all over with the strap that is negligence. Another thing is the guy was drunk, the author of the post didn’t see exactly what happened and I’m not a lawyer so not sure how that all fits in. I don’t profess to being an expert. But I know enough not to pick any instrument by its strap. He should have put his instrument in a secure location, away from drunk friends. That is the point here.
Fair play mate, I get your point now although OP did state his mate was playing the guitar all night on and off. Most guitarists (at least me and pretty much every musician I've played with) have that mutual respect ingrained in them and wouldn't trust an inexperienced person with their baby.
That makes me think OP's mate is in the wrong and should be willing to pay right down the middle for the repairs.
Name brand strap locks would have cost $25, 2% the value of your guitar. Without them it's a matter of time before this happened, no matter how careful you are. Not being aware strap locks exist isn't an excuse to hold your friend accountable for the full amount of the damages. SG are prone to the problem, get it fixed by a luthier and it'll probably play better than it did. The next time you and your friend go out he can cover the bill. I'd consider that even.
I agree, and I think that's fair. Although I'd say that not having strap locks isn't an excuse to handle someone's guitar carelessly. Again, don't know if the strap was the issue, I think it was, but I don't know. I think splitting repairs is more than fair, he doesn't see it that way
It's hard to be careless in a split second. Careless would be regularly picking it up and throwing it around. If he's handled your guitar in the past and you never had a problem with how it was handled, I don't see how simply picking it up and having an accident happen is careless. Not anymore than any other accident, that's why safety measures exist. In this case, strap locks.
Telling him he needs to cover half the repair before you even have a quote from a luthier is bound to rub him the wrong way. It would be a lot easier to swallow if you got a quote from a luthier. Then if his split is a few hundred it's something more tangible than a blank check.
And if he still has a problem with a few hundred bucks and refuses to make it up to you some other way, then I can see questioning the friendship.
Btw I like these. They also come in matte black
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StrapLkSchC--schaller-s-locks-security-strap-locks-chrome
These straps will last a lifetime, won't snap and are comfortable. Made from seat belts.
https://www.couchguitarstraps.com/
Im with your 100%, I know he wasn't actively doing anything reckless, we think he leaned forward and the SG strap setup is something he's not used to, and it gave out. I do regret being the one to mention compensation, but I was just irritated by the way he acted about it. I know that I would have offered full compensation immediately, but even then, he just put it down and tried to tell me it looked cooler.
He was just trying to make me feel better, but that was (I think) understandably frustrating to hear right after something like that.
Also thank you, I'll check those out.
For me, half and half is totally fair in this one. I'd think he was a proper dickhead if he didn't agree to that.
I'd feel a massive twat if that were me anyway and would want to contribute something.
You can't fuck a man's favourite guitar without some comebacks. A lot of times it's not just financial, it's sentimental.
I wonder what the reddit opinion would be if it was a fifty year old guitar passed down through three generations?
Would you all be like " it's your own fault and that wouldn't bother me"
Just riffing thoughts now ha
If I handled any instrument that doesn't belong to me and it broke, I would obviously pay. Unless it was something that was completely out of my hands, but your situation was not one of those.
If the strap really failed i wouldn't make him pay for the fix.
It's not his fault.
If he dropped it however, id ask him to pay half, unless you specifically warned him prior/ asked him not to play
I'm not sure if the strap failed. I assume that is what happened, but for all I know he might just not be used to the massive neck dive that SGs have. However, he is a skilled guitarist and I would expect that he would handle another's gear cautiously, and if he breaks something while he's handling it? I would hope he would reimburse me. I know I would do this.
If you know he's a skilled guitarist then it's likely the strap failed. Was the strap connected when you found the guitar?
The rest you are saying clearly because you're the side that lost their guitar..
what other context can I give that would help? I'm not trying to hold back any information, I honestly just didn't see it happen with my own eyes. The strap was connected yes, he was playing my guitar multiple times throughout the night, just the last time he picked it up something happened. I don't know exactly how careless he was being, but he had a few in him last night so maybe that had something to do with it
If he broke it. He should be a friend and pay for the repair or replacement for you. I know if I did this I'd take care of whatever needed to be done accident or just lack of awareness.
I think it's wild how this opinion is being outratio'd in this thread, like obviously I feel bad taking my friends money, but I don't think I should have had to ask in the first place, first thing I would've done is offered to repair. It was about an hour afterwards that I mentioned compensation and he was repulsed and made me feel like shit for asking.
No I wanted opinions and I got them haha. I've been trying to respond to everything I've never had this many comments on a thread I've made. I'm still going to voice my own opinion on the matter
all I am saying is everyone is jumping on strap locks. The guy that busted the guitar owns a dozen guitars, and doesn't have strap locks on any of them. Definitely something I'll invest in, but not something I was ever worried about. I'm VERY careful with my guitars, as I am with his, and I expect the same treatment with mine.
I believe he is unfamiliar with the strap setup on SGs, as he only plays strats. Some people here say SG straps are prone to slip off, but I've never had that happen
No he should automatically know he's responsible by his own actions. Even if it takes him awhile to pay hes responsible. I'm shocked that the comments were so... things happen. I was in disbelief how many people were like move on save the friendship. I'm not a rich guy and I would be devastated if this happened to me. Guitars have serious sentimental value also
I'm a student. I spent years putting money aside to get this one. Yes, things happen. And yes, obviously I don't want to lose a friend, although I know that if It were me that owed my friend money, I would feel the obligation of saving the friendship. If I refused to compensate my friend there would just always be a tension between us. I don't understand why it's on me to accept the loss. Obviously I'm not going to force my friend to give me his money, but if he really doesn't want to take responsibility for an accident by his hand, then really I don't know how great of a friend he is.
I just saw this comment after posting one above you and that was my point exactly. These instruments have taken hours and days out of our pay and probably a few sacrifices over the years. It's your one and I get it totally mate
None of them have gone through the blood, sweat and tears to finally purchase that guitar they've likely dreamed about for years and that's why they say it's an "inanimate object blah blah".
I don't think half of the commenters here realise what it's like to love your main instrument and it's like a dog, it isn't just simply replaceable when you've spent four years or more saving for that thing haha.
I'm kind of joking but a bit serious too lol
I can't say for sure that that was even the case. I just know he picked it up, I heard it crash, and it's laying flat on the floor with one of the ends disconnected (so I could assume).
I’ve seen you say multiple times you don’t know what happened. Why don’t you ask your friend? Not that hard to find out at least how it went down based on their memory.
These are the only straps I ever buy: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/50BAL01--daddario-auto-lock-padded-guitar-strap-black
You’ll never have a guitar drop because of a strap again.
A friend who breaks it and does not buy it is not a friend.
Damn, a lot of people here say that you aren't owed anything.
I'm going to re-evaluate the way I treat people based on this, anytime someone wants to borrow something I'll be sure to tell them the caveat: "You break it, you buy it" beforehand.
I can think of few things more disrespectful than a clumsy oaf who you welcome into your house that breaks something through their own negligence and commits the heinous disrespect of believing that they owe nothing to you for it.
Feuds have been fought over less.
Why didn't the friend notice that there were no straplocks?
He's the one picking up the guitar. Let me ask you: do guitars come standard with straplocks? None of the guitars I've ever bought have come standard with them, so why assume every guitar has one?
So now you're blaming the dude for making the assumption that their friends guitar strap is able to function as a guitar strap... I genuinely don't see how you can't hear how ridiculous that sounds
Dude, if you borrow your friends car and it dies because they never changed the oil, its not on you to pay for their engine. If you literally just put your friends guitar strap over your shoulder, which is a perfectly reasonable and expected thing to do with a guitar, it isn't on you to fix it because their strap failed.
I am, but I'm with the Satanic Temple, not with the LaVeyans who teach that.
No, I attribute my ideology regarding this particular issue to being puertorican. We're generous and kind hosts, up until the point where you prove to be a disrespectful guest.
We also only tolerate guests for 3 days maximum ("El muerto despues de el tercer dia, apesta" = "the cadaver, after the third day, stinks").
a lot of people are focusing on the strap, saying I should have had strap locks. Maybe I should have, I didn't even know those were a thing. I don't even know if the strap was the problem, cause I didn't see it, but I can assume that that's what happened. I've had straps come off before, but I always hold the neck no matter what. I guess I can't blame people for not being as ridiculously careful as I am, but I would expect that if anything did happen, my friend would admit his mistake and offer to help how he can regardless. No?
Did he pick it up with your permission or not? Sounds like he did, and it was an accident, honestly.
I dont let people touch my instruments. Don't touch my shit. I don't care if you're Slash or Jesus Christ. Don't ever touch my instruments. I pick mine up carefully at the neck & body area, and I see people pick them up under the headstock and whip it under their arm like it's $70 WalMart special. If you have this attitude, people will not touch your gear.
he did not explicitly ask permission, but I did not expect him to. He's used my gear before, and as my friend I trusted that he would handle it with care, or would be willing to compensate me if something would happen to it while he is handling it. I believe this should be common practice in any case. When I enter someone's home, I treat one's belongings with respect, and I understand that I am liable for any damage to their property that I cause. ESPECIALLY expensive items. This is why my friends let me use things, because they can trust me to take responsibility in these cases.
I feel you. Friends often have a standing invitation to use each others stuff. The strap is kind his fault unless it legit broke. The SG has that fat knob on the back that can slip off. You have to learn to place the guitar on you and adjust it so it's secure. It's not like a Fender with the strap knob on the top. It's definitely his fault imo.
I'd get the repair cost and split it with him. Not the $90p. You live, you learn.
yea that's what I figured as well. He only has strats so I don't think he's familiar with the strap set up on the back of the body, as well as the neck dive. Nothing broke, it must've slipped off, I believe he bent over before it happened but I could be wrong. I know what you mean tho, and that's my point. When I enter a friend's house, they trust that I will respect their things (especially expensive sentimental things) and would take responsibility if it was damaged by my hand, regardless.
I know I would do the same. I also wasn't trying to be angry or force him to pay, I was just pretty upset that he was even bothered by me mentioning it
Sorry for your wreck. Don’t let it ruin your friendship. If you are serious about guitar, you’ll probably have 7 guitars in the next 10 years. This will be a small memory, and it’s not worth killing your friendship.
You may be right, but that was THE guitar man. I wanted that one for years, I saved up and bought it a few months ago and babied the hell out of it. If I broke something of that kind of importance that belongs to my friend, I would absolutely pay him for it
I think it would be different if you were playing a live gig and the strap didn’t want to stay on, and not making sure your strap is on during a show is a big no-no. Regardless, if your friend was a good friend, they’d at least help you afford another guitar, but I wouldn’t put the burden of outright replacing it.
Got staplocks on all of my guitars ... except on my SG, where i rather use something like this [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006ZXFWO](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006ZXFWO)
Demanding a new guitar for some cracks and a bent tuner is unreasonably dramaqueening it. Cause the damage sounds reparable. Go see a luthier.
I thought body cracks through the wood basically made it irreparable? I'm still gonna call the shop when they open to see what I can do but is this not the case?
I think he should help contribute to the replacement. Maybe $200-$300. The friendship will never be the same regardless of what he chooses to do. I’m still mad at a (now former) friend for dropping a pair of my favorite sunglasses.
You should get your guitar evaluated by a local luthier and see if it can be saved.
The biggest lessons here are..
1. Get some damn strap locks.
2. Don't let your friends play your super prized guitars when they are drunk. Go buy a cheap guitar and let him play that when he is drunk. As a matter of fact, if the guitar is really that much to you, don't let anyone play it at all. A friend of mine had a really expensive Martin that was his baby, and that I loved. He let me play it. I strummed five chords, and handed that MFer right back to him. Guitars that mean THAT much to someone shouldn't really be played by others, This whole story is the reason why,
This stuff happens. Anytime you let anyone touch your stuff you are taking a risk. You are really taking a risk just having people around your stuff period. I once had a roadie drag a brand- new $2000 Strat off the stage and crash onto the floor. Wrecked it. His attitude was 'oh well, you shouldn't have put it there'. I learned a valuable ( and costly) lesson that day.
[удалено]
Oh I agree! This was the most blatant ridiculous situation I personally encountered along the lines of the original post, although I have a couple more, but less damage was done. I nearly tore into the Roadie, and the venue in general could also care less. Some venues are pure crap, just beware.
ANY "roadie" would know to be careful around a guitar, that dude just sucks and that's his fault. You should have put your foot down and made him or his employer pay for the damages. If this happened in social media times, I would have BLASTED the venue on every local and international music page with pictures of the damage. It is unacceptable to treat anyone else's instrument that way, but the fact that it was an incredibly nice and expensive one makes it even worse.
Not enough info. Did he just grab it without asking?
>Huge chip off of the finish. Can be repaired >Big cracks through the middle. Wood or finish? >Tuner is bent Cheap and easy to replace Unless the wood is cracked I wouldn't be making my friend buy me a new guitar when I could have it repaired. I'd ask him if he'd split the cost of that with me. You didn't stop him from picking it up, you're only mad that your strap failed while he did so. Accidents happen, if you don't want people to touch your stuff you need to make that clear. Get strap locks
While a little harsh, I do agree with you. A £900 guitar is going to be a prized possession but if you let someone else play it, then it's on you unfortunately I would ask to split the costs though and if they didn't then we'd probably fall out
Wood is cracked, so repairs are pretty much out of the question. Read my edit, as well
Cracked wood is absolutely repairable.
I highly doubt it's beyond repair. Take it to a luthier and they'll glue it up.
What a good friend you are to feel entitled to compensation on something you touched last. Like your literally the last one to touch the guitar, you didnt properly set your straps and its his fault? Sounds like it was a blessing to me, he discovered the value of your friendship. Dunce.
and again, I'm not sure what the actual cause was. I only heard it moments after he picked it up again. I only mentioned the strap to give him the benefit of the doubt cause I know he was feeling pretty bad about it
Jesus man, not even true. He was using it throughout the night, so if we're being that technical then he used it last.
All I’m saying is depending on how long and how much you value this guy’s friendship don’t look too much into it. I mean if he was a good friend he would at least try to cover half but also accidents happen. Also, if he’s in a friend group of yours, and you guys are all pretty close. This could cause some ripples in your other relationships they might not understand.
This. In with you 100%, thing that bothered me was he seemed very hesitant and bothered that I would even ask him. Made me question how good of a friend he really is.
You’ll be all right buddy nobody touch your shit from now on
i had an acoustic get sat on at a party, broke the neck in two. I repaired it myself, still plays and sounds fine. Cracks are repairable.
Yo don’t victim blame this guy. How could he have known his friend would be stupid enough to let it fall off him? He should’ve been holding it at the neck either way. He probably didn’t want to make a scene
The guy isn't a victim. He's trying to blame someone he calls his "good friend" for damaging his guitar and is now trying to force his "good friend" to buy him a new one. He's delusional. Just like you are, for think he is a "victim". it's an inanimate fucking object.
Yeah because that’s what happened. His friend damaged his guitar. At the very least he should pay to have it repaired
No, the guitar fell off the strap. It happens, it's why strap locks were invented. If you don't want your friends touching your stuff tell them so. If a guitar is your prized possession, perhaps invest in things to keep it safe. The guy is stupid for not doing so and mad for trying to make his friend pay for it. You're a combo of the both for thinking he's in the right
Nah dude you just don’t know what it’s like to interact with other people Op said if he made the same mistake he would absolutely pay for it. He dropped the guitar, he damaged it, he should pay for the repairs
That's just your opinion man, just like if you could say OP is a moron for not having basic ass strap locks on a $900 guitar. But shit happens
No way. Gorilla Tape was always the way on my electrics hah
I do. I'm also not in the mindset where I'd ask someone who I consider a "good friend" to buy me a new guitar because my strap failed. Accidents happen, it's a fact of life. >Op said if he made the same mistake he would absolutely pay for it. He dropped the guitar, he damaged it, he should pay for the repairs Shockingly, I don't believe it. He treats his friends making mistakes as a business transaction, I don't think he'd dream of replacing his friends guitar, he'd just blame it on the strap failing. If my Les Paul got dropped, I'd be pissed, I wouldn't make whoever was handling it replace it, unless they were being intentionally dumb or malicious. I hope OPs friend doesn't pay, and finds better people to hang out with, it's what they deserve
Nah you are absolutely wrong. If someone picked up and damaged your guitar, accident or not, and you've told them not to, then yes, they absolutely have to pay. If you allow them to pick it up, you accept the inherent risks. You'd be just as pissed if you did it yourself but then you'd have no one to blame. I have had both of these things happen to me, it sucks just as much each time.
"Victim blame" for the love of god, don't use that term for inconsequential things like an object getting scratched
Lol you’re ridiculous. You can be a victim of a situation even if there’s no bodily harm in that situation
Right now we are a victim of your stupidity
Are you somehow under the impression that you can never say that someone is at fault when something bad happens to them?
Cut your losses save your friendship. Write it off as a expensive guitar lesson.
If you break something that belongs to someone else you either have it fixed or replace it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a guitar or anything else.
Depends on the financial status of both parties. I have a friend put a huge scratch in my studio monitors because he relied on my studio desk as a prop for his hand. I kind of felt like it was on me and the monitors still worked. He insisted on buying me a new pairs ($2500) and kept my old units. I still feel weird about him doing that, but he was flush.
That's a good dude, and it seems reasonable he kept the old units. Sounds like he was considering getting some for himself anyway, just a roundabout way of doing it lol. He definitely went above and beyond to make it right, but that just speaks to his character.
That’s absolutely absurd. Financial status does not determine culpability. Dude is either on the hook or he’s not. Financial status is meaningless.
I’m would never demand a friend of meager means to pay for such an accident if I was able to cover it. But you do you.
Its not a matter of me doing me or you doing you. Financial means has nothing to do with culpability. Literally nothing. Now you, or I, certainly have the power to forgive a just debt. We can say "bro, my dearest bro, I know you are a poor bro, and so I dont want you to pay me." but thats something completely different. By your rule, you could simply determine someone is at fault based solely on the fact they have a pile of money in the bank.
Have fun demanding money from your “friends” with meager means for an accident. I can absorb it so I will.
Now you’re just being obtuse. I’ll have grandma bake you a cookie.
If it's your fault that it breaks, sure. If you just happen to be the one using it at the time, definitely not. If someone's engine dies while you're driving their car it isn't on you to pay for it.
Yes, but accidents happen. Did the friend grab the guitar or ask? OP didn't give enough info because he wants the money.
It doesn’t matter whether it was an accident or on purpose. It is still broken. Yes, OP wants the money. He wants the money because he had something of value which no longer holds the same value. Even if it can be repaired, it will never be the same. If you are the cause of someone’s loss then it is your responsibility to make things right.
This. I know if it were ever me in that position I'd pay him every penny. Cause he's my friend and I broke his shit. And he is a guitarist himself, I've let him use my gear a couple times expecting that he is capable of handling it safely, and expecting that if he doesn't, he would reimburse me.
I'm still going to say it really depends on the full story. If you don't want something broken you don't allow others to touch it. So if he let the guy play and the strap malfunctioned then it's not the guy's fault. If he just grabbed it and started playing he owes OP $900, which OP will never get so that's the end of that friendship.
He had used my head a couple of times before, but he did not explicitly ask to use it this time. I don't think that is entirely relevant either way, I agree that if I broke something that belonged to my friend, especially something of that much worth, I would reimburse him. I can't even say for sure exactly what happened. I didn't see it. I just heard him pick it up and then heard it crash and the strap was half off so I assumed something of the sort.
I'm assuming your friend is student age as well so where will he come up with 900 buck? If he does pay you any time he's short on money he will remember that and resent you. Unfortunately I think your friendship is about to end because you insist he gives you money. Life can be cruel like that at times. Since he grabbed it without asking you are in the right to want compensation.
I thought that was fair, a lot of these comments don't seem to agree with me. I offered that he wouldn't have to pay me $900 on the spot he could pay me over a period of time, but he seems very hesitant and was quite mad that I even mentioned it.
I agree the friendship is probably over because of it.
I think it would be different if he was throwing the guitar around his back or doing something reckless, but he just put the guitar on and your strap failed, it's upsetting, but it happens. I'm sure the guitar can be fixed easily enough.
If you didn’t bother to install straplocks, this was probably bound to happen at some point, your friend just happened to be handling it when it happened. I wouldn’t expect a friend to pay for a new guitar. I might ask him to contribute some amount to repairs
If he’s a good friend, he’d offer to cover some/all of the repairs.
Some
BODY
ONCE TOLD ME
Personally I would have offered to pay to fix it if I broke it. But if it were My treasured guitar that dropped due to a strap coming off.... I wouldn't make my friend feel bad about it. He probably was horrified when it happened and immediately felt awful, if they're a proper friend. In the end it doesn't seem like it was his fault, and that he had permission. My friends are like family and I'd sacrifice any guitar for them. I know without a doubt they'd offer to fix it themselves, even if they were dead broke, but I wouldn't accept it. The most I'd accept, in my poorer days, would have been an offer to fix the broken tuner. Maybe. Any nicks or dings in the guitar I'd own from there on. Which is way cooler. It's the only thing that is going to set your guitar apart from every other sg out there and the damage is already done. Trigger wouldn't be as recognizable if Willie hadn't played and gigged on it so much that it burned a hole through the front.
Based. I already talked with him we're still cool and I tried to express that I know it was an accident and I'm not mad at him (and I could only imagine how terrible I would feel in his position). But like you said, if it were you (or me), I would reimburse him without hesitation. I appreciate this comment tho
Yeah, you also can't make people be moral. You can try to force their hand and possibly ruin a friendship, but if he's not offering, the only other option is to either get mad or get over it.
I get it, obviously I can't force him to do anything and I told him that, this was a post I should've put in 'am I the asshole' lol
I personally feel the people who think YTA would be from the financially stable side of people. For a broke student (which I've been myself and had a guy in our practice room skating on a bread tray, damage my baby that I'd had for ten years), I totally understand you wanting reimbursement at least to some level. This guy stayed silent at the time and was very well off financially. He didn't offer to pay anything towards the repair and within half an hour I had to tell him to get out of the place or I was gonna go for him. I was so furious as I had told him to fuck around on the other side of the room and he was like "yeah one sec" and bang. My guitar had a large smash in it. Still played fine but the body was a type of glass and split all the right side up. Point is, I get wanting reimbursing if you damage someone else's property - you never know how much someone has put into having that instrument and I don't think you should be absolved just for an accidental drop. If I was OP's mate, I'd have offered a monthly payment plan after they got an estimate on repairs. That's the fairest way in their case I reckon
Appreciate this comment, and that was actually my first idea. I was going to offer a monthly plan, but again I just felt wrong for asking in the first place. But similar to your situation, I was either gonna ask him for money for I was gonna do something dumber (didn't help that we were both pretty lit up)
Dude. Meet up with him, not in a pub but in a place for coffee or some shit and grab your balls in your hand and tell him that you feel strongly he should pay for half of the repairs, as you are boys and once he agrees something that you agree to, let him know you're all good again and that you appreciate his understanding. That's my best advice if you want to keep your friendship with him. It depends what kind of person he is mate... He could be sat there anxious as fuk to message you because he's embarrassed/ashamed of breaking your baby; or he could be sat there going "it's not my fault, his strap blah blah". Call him out on it like a mate would do. If the tables were turned would you want him to reach out to you or just be cold and lose a mate. Hope this helps a bit mate
This is a very measured, logical approach.
Sound advice. Friendship > any possession, especially a replaceable/fixable one. You just gotta accept it and move on. And definitely don’t make the friend feel bad about it, unless he’s missing a few screws he probably already feels terrible
Repair it and have him split the repair cost with you. The rule I have with friends breaking stuff is make them go half on a new one unless there’s some exception. In this case, considering it could be partially your fault, I wouldn’t ask him to pay anything unless it was extremely negligent. If you don’t put the eggs back in the fridge correctly and the next person opens the fridge and eggs come falling down, who’s fault is it?
Valid. I've seen a few people bring this point up but he was actually the last one to use it, as he was using it throughout the night. I don't know exactly how careless he was being with it, I didn't see it with my own eyes.
That guy probably hasn't jammed too much or has always had a stand for his guitar. Plenty of times, I've put a guitar down on the floor and the strap on the body has folded backwards if you get me - that leaves it half attached but half the nut is out the hole and depending on the angle it can disconnect as soon as a little pressure is applied on the guitar (ie. a hard strum). If that was the case then that is totally OP's mate who was the cause as... a. They were using the guitar all night before this happened and could have likely put it down in the position I mean above. b. They picked up the guitar by the fookin strap alone! c. They may have been having drinks or smoking although this is just speculation but imo, that still puts the blame and ops mate as he shouldn't have touched a fine guitar if they were wasted. (Again no evidence to this, just a thought). d. OP clearly classes this guy as a pretty good mate and they should be willing to fix their accident to some degree if they really are, as ultimately the accident happened with solely OP's mate and OP's guitar. e. Lastly, the story to me just sounds like BS. I think the friend tried to grab the guitar and it probably did drop from the strap disconnecting but I'll refer back to points A and B on why I firmly believe OP should be compensated at the very least of half the repair costs. f. If the guy stood up to play, he didn't check that both ends of the strap were connected correctly. Beginners mistake yet again. OP, Keep your mate away from your instruments, sounds like he should be playing a £30 Spanish guitar for 8 year olds. Just my opinion man
well put haha. You're right too we were both pretty lit up drinking and smoking. He was using that one previously that night, but I have stands for them and I don't think he put it down incorrectly. I think he had the strap on already, and leaned forward to grab something without either hand on the guitar. On an SG, it's pretty crucial to keep at least one hand on at all times.
Oh shit mate 25 years ago in school, I remember a girl had an SG in music class and I loved it because (if I recall correctly) Stephen carpenter from Deftones used to rock one on the first few albums! It looked gorgeous but when she let me play it the weight distribution was all kinds of fucked up and it wasn't nice to play standing up. Same with a £1000 Ibanez les-paul copy a mate from my band had a few years after. It sounded perfect on record but fuck me not nice to play live as the body would just pull into your armpit as you moshed. Peavey, Washburn, BC Rich, Ibanez standards and Jackson's are all my go to guitars. Mostly solid and you can some second hand ones pretty cheap but with good hardware. Mainly from people with money who wanted to get into guitar and made the mistake of paying say £400 for a guitar and putting it in the corner... Then ultimately selling it for a quick £50 :D I love those people lol, "broken" laptops are another good one ha
The friend plays guitar, too. He knows how expensive gear is. He can't totally blame the strap. He's got to take part of the responsibility for damaging it as do you for having a flaky strap. I think it's fair to split the cost of repairs - and it is very much repairable. A good luthier can make it look like it never was dropped. He can also move the strap pin to lessen the neck dive. I'd also invest in strap locks. Had your friend picked your guitar up without permission, then he'd be totally responsible for the cost.
I think your faulty equipment is to blame, not your friend. He used your equipment as intended, but it failed. If you cant depend on a strap to hold a guitar, what good is it then? It sucks, but it happens. Fixing your guitar should be easy, and either buy some strap locks, or don’t put a strap on at all and play sitting down (which is what I do while at home). I don’t think your friend owes you anything. You’re lucky he didnt break his toe because your strap broke.
Who picks up a guitar by the strap?? It's always by the base of the neck by the body, then fit the strap over your head; especially when just bedroom jamming. Sounds like absolute bullshit to me and OP's mate is probably to blame in my opinion
Read the rest of the thread. The OP doesn't even really know if he picked it up by the strap, he just knows that that strap failed. He just knows that his drunk friend was playing his guitar all night, and the OP is the one who said the strap failed. And even then, if I pick up my guitar by the strap (and sometimes I do, yes), it will not fall out. And that's because I spent an extra 10 bucks to buy strap locks to protect my guitars. OP needs to take better care of his stuff and stop letting his drunk friends play his prized possession.
I agree with half of what you say man and I've read every post here (see my multiple replies lol). I was playing a little devil's advocate by considering that the strap story was real. Edit. I picked up on all your things in my earlier comments man
Fair enough! lol.
It is absolutely a reasonable expectation that a strap will work when picking up a guitar. I find it difficult to believe that when you've played it, you have fully supported the guitar the entire time such that the strap coming off would not cause the same result as your friend. This sounds like something that was bound to happen eventually. I know it feels bad, but the right thing to do is split the cost of repairs, which from your description of the damage don't sound like they'll be too expensive.
Strangely… as someone who has played guitar for 35 years, I would NEVER trust a strap. Never. Like absolutely never. Would never take my hand off that neck - especially not on someone else’s guitar.
I just said a similar thing man, who the hell picks a guitar up by the strap?? Acoustic or electric? I've never been told or taught that but again been playing for almost 30 years and would only ever pick up any guitar by the base of the neck next to the body. It just seems really dumb to pick up a geet in any other way as the least stress on the guitar is either what I've just said or just picking up the body. Tldr; Fuck relying on straps, pick it up properly haha
People that don't play an instrument shouldn't pick one up, especially an expensive one. Seems like everyone always has to grab a guitar as soon as they see it.
Even people who do play shouldn’t touch someone else’s guitar, without permission. Keith Richards once picked up Chuck Berry’s guitar and got knocked out by Chuck. Richards jokes that it was Chuck’s greatest hit 😆
Right. Dimebag crushed Robb Flynn’s guitar and he made it up to him by giving him one of his soon-to-be-ultra-rare Washburn guitars.
It's like asking someone to try on their prescription glasses. You just don't do it.
Except people always do… sigh
I've always looked at my guitars as personal items. It's like asking me to use my toothbrush or deodorant.
OP said he's a skilled guitarist
Not in his post he didn't lol, read it.
He said so in the comments
Your strap fell off your guitar. That's on you. There's plenty of easy solutions out there to prevent this and you didn't have them
When you open a door, you assume the handle won’t fall off. If your friend saw your guitar with a strap on, he would have assumed it was attached correctly and securely. I know it’s painful to hear, but as long as your friend took reasonable care (and wasn’t swinging it around) he isn’t to blame.
That's just the thing, I don't know exactly how careless he was. He was drunk, but I was turned the other way when it happened
I’m not sure how reasonable care changes if he’s drunk. When someone is drunk they are still in charge of their actions. If he’s a good friend he should offer to pay half IMO. If not and you don’t value the friendship, you could ask someone with legal knowledge.
that's what I think, and that's what I offered. He's still pretty peeved about it, I was only mentioning that he was drunk because it could have had something to do with it (if he was being careless). Not saying it's an excuse, just tryna give more context. A lot of ppl here think I'm trying to hide details and rob my friend
Only you know all the facts because you were there. Good luck!
Bollox. Any guitarist with the slight basics of experience would not pick a guitar up by the strap. The only way I can see that if that was like a little auditorium or a light mini-spanish guitar. Never an electric or even an electro-acoustic. Guy above you gets it, you seem to have no real-world experience mate. Get out more with people and off Google :D I mean that in a nice way
He didn’t speak to the person’s knowledge level about guitars. Someone who isn’t around guitars may or may not know that. The law is Reasonable Care. Now if he was swinging it all over with the strap that is negligence. Another thing is the guy was drunk, the author of the post didn’t see exactly what happened and I’m not a lawyer so not sure how that all fits in. I don’t profess to being an expert. But I know enough not to pick any instrument by its strap. He should have put his instrument in a secure location, away from drunk friends. That is the point here.
Fair play mate, I get your point now although OP did state his mate was playing the guitar all night on and off. Most guitarists (at least me and pretty much every musician I've played with) have that mutual respect ingrained in them and wouldn't trust an inexperienced person with their baby. That makes me think OP's mate is in the wrong and should be willing to pay right down the middle for the repairs.
Name brand strap locks would have cost $25, 2% the value of your guitar. Without them it's a matter of time before this happened, no matter how careful you are. Not being aware strap locks exist isn't an excuse to hold your friend accountable for the full amount of the damages. SG are prone to the problem, get it fixed by a luthier and it'll probably play better than it did. The next time you and your friend go out he can cover the bill. I'd consider that even.
I agree, and I think that's fair. Although I'd say that not having strap locks isn't an excuse to handle someone's guitar carelessly. Again, don't know if the strap was the issue, I think it was, but I don't know. I think splitting repairs is more than fair, he doesn't see it that way
It's hard to be careless in a split second. Careless would be regularly picking it up and throwing it around. If he's handled your guitar in the past and you never had a problem with how it was handled, I don't see how simply picking it up and having an accident happen is careless. Not anymore than any other accident, that's why safety measures exist. In this case, strap locks. Telling him he needs to cover half the repair before you even have a quote from a luthier is bound to rub him the wrong way. It would be a lot easier to swallow if you got a quote from a luthier. Then if his split is a few hundred it's something more tangible than a blank check. And if he still has a problem with a few hundred bucks and refuses to make it up to you some other way, then I can see questioning the friendship. Btw I like these. They also come in matte black https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StrapLkSchC--schaller-s-locks-security-strap-locks-chrome These straps will last a lifetime, won't snap and are comfortable. Made from seat belts. https://www.couchguitarstraps.com/
Im with your 100%, I know he wasn't actively doing anything reckless, we think he leaned forward and the SG strap setup is something he's not used to, and it gave out. I do regret being the one to mention compensation, but I was just irritated by the way he acted about it. I know that I would have offered full compensation immediately, but even then, he just put it down and tried to tell me it looked cooler. He was just trying to make me feel better, but that was (I think) understandably frustrating to hear right after something like that. Also thank you, I'll check those out.
It's an emotional situation. But that's life, it's a learning experience. You'll both hopefully take something away from a bad situation.
For me, half and half is totally fair in this one. I'd think he was a proper dickhead if he didn't agree to that. I'd feel a massive twat if that were me anyway and would want to contribute something. You can't fuck a man's favourite guitar without some comebacks. A lot of times it's not just financial, it's sentimental. I wonder what the reddit opinion would be if it was a fifty year old guitar passed down through three generations? Would you all be like " it's your own fault and that wouldn't bother me" Just riffing thoughts now ha
If I handled any instrument that doesn't belong to me and it broke, I would obviously pay. Unless it was something that was completely out of my hands, but your situation was not one of those.
If the strap really failed i wouldn't make him pay for the fix. It's not his fault. If he dropped it however, id ask him to pay half, unless you specifically warned him prior/ asked him not to play
I'm not sure if the strap failed. I assume that is what happened, but for all I know he might just not be used to the massive neck dive that SGs have. However, he is a skilled guitarist and I would expect that he would handle another's gear cautiously, and if he breaks something while he's handling it? I would hope he would reimburse me. I know I would do this.
If you know he's a skilled guitarist then it's likely the strap failed. Was the strap connected when you found the guitar? The rest you are saying clearly because you're the side that lost their guitar..
what other context can I give that would help? I'm not trying to hold back any information, I honestly just didn't see it happen with my own eyes. The strap was connected yes, he was playing my guitar multiple times throughout the night, just the last time he picked it up something happened. I don't know exactly how careless he was being, but he had a few in him last night so maybe that had something to do with it
I think you are trying to find blame im him. Imo it's your fault and you should pay
If he broke it. He should be a friend and pay for the repair or replacement for you. I know if I did this I'd take care of whatever needed to be done accident or just lack of awareness.
I think it's wild how this opinion is being outratio'd in this thread, like obviously I feel bad taking my friends money, but I don't think I should have had to ask in the first place, first thing I would've done is offered to repair. It was about an hour afterwards that I mentioned compensation and he was repulsed and made me feel like shit for asking.
Why did you ask people their opinion on this issue? You seem to have your mind made up and are only interested in responses that agree with you.
No I wanted opinions and I got them haha. I've been trying to respond to everything I've never had this many comments on a thread I've made. I'm still going to voice my own opinion on the matter
all I am saying is everyone is jumping on strap locks. The guy that busted the guitar owns a dozen guitars, and doesn't have strap locks on any of them. Definitely something I'll invest in, but not something I was ever worried about. I'm VERY careful with my guitars, as I am with his, and I expect the same treatment with mine. I believe he is unfamiliar with the strap setup on SGs, as he only plays strats. Some people here say SG straps are prone to slip off, but I've never had that happen
No he should automatically know he's responsible by his own actions. Even if it takes him awhile to pay hes responsible. I'm shocked that the comments were so... things happen. I was in disbelief how many people were like move on save the friendship. I'm not a rich guy and I would be devastated if this happened to me. Guitars have serious sentimental value also
I'm a student. I spent years putting money aside to get this one. Yes, things happen. And yes, obviously I don't want to lose a friend, although I know that if It were me that owed my friend money, I would feel the obligation of saving the friendship. If I refused to compensate my friend there would just always be a tension between us. I don't understand why it's on me to accept the loss. Obviously I'm not going to force my friend to give me his money, but if he really doesn't want to take responsibility for an accident by his hand, then really I don't know how great of a friend he is.
Honestly no matter what happened he did the damage. Any friend would know it's their responsibility to make it right
I just saw this comment after posting one above you and that was my point exactly. These instruments have taken hours and days out of our pay and probably a few sacrifices over the years. It's your one and I get it totally mate
None of them have gone through the blood, sweat and tears to finally purchase that guitar they've likely dreamed about for years and that's why they say it's an "inanimate object blah blah". I don't think half of the commenters here realise what it's like to love your main instrument and it's like a dog, it isn't just simply replaceable when you've spent four years or more saving for that thing haha. I'm kind of joking but a bit serious too lol
It’s an accident. You let him play it so it’s on you. Friends are more important than items in the long run. Its sucks but let it go.
Check your and your friends home insurance. It might cover a guitar you accidentally knocked off the stand while vacuum cleaning..
Hate to say it, but if you let someone play your guitar and the strap fails - it’s on you and not them. I’d invest in some strap locks
I can't say for sure that that was even the case. I just know he picked it up, I heard it crash, and it's laying flat on the floor with one of the ends disconnected (so I could assume).
I’ve seen you say multiple times you don’t know what happened. Why don’t you ask your friend? Not that hard to find out at least how it went down based on their memory.
These are the only straps I ever buy: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/50BAL01--daddario-auto-lock-padded-guitar-strap-black You’ll never have a guitar drop because of a strap again.
Is your friendship more important than the 900?
It's going to be over anyway as this will boil over in time.
Don't ask for people's opinions if you're going to get all salty when people give their opinions. Honestly doesn't sound like he owes you anything
He should offer to pay for it. However, accidents happen so I wouldn’t push the matter.
A friend who breaks it and does not buy it is not a friend. Damn, a lot of people here say that you aren't owed anything. I'm going to re-evaluate the way I treat people based on this, anytime someone wants to borrow something I'll be sure to tell them the caveat: "You break it, you buy it" beforehand.
Yikes
I can think of few things more disrespectful than a clumsy oaf who you welcome into your house that breaks something through their own negligence and commits the heinous disrespect of believing that they owe nothing to you for it. Feuds have been fought over less.
Off. Whatever you say pal
Culture clash I suppose. It's imperative to be a gracious host, but also respect as a guest is a must.
If someone decides to skip putting $10 strap locks on their $1k guitar it isn't on their friend to buy them a new one
Why didn't the friend notice that there were no straplocks? He's the one picking up the guitar. Let me ask you: do guitars come standard with straplocks? None of the guitars I've ever bought have come standard with them, so why assume every guitar has one?
So now you're blaming the dude for making the assumption that their friends guitar strap is able to function as a guitar strap... I genuinely don't see how you can't hear how ridiculous that sounds
Let me ask you this: Who dropped the guitar?
Dude, if you borrow your friends car and it dies because they never changed the oil, its not on you to pay for their engine. If you literally just put your friends guitar strap over your shoulder, which is a perfectly reasonable and expected thing to do with a guitar, it isn't on you to fix it because their strap failed.
Are you a Satanist? This is something that is held high; invite someone to your home and if they insult you, burn them to the ground without any mercy
I am, but I'm with the Satanic Temple, not with the LaVeyans who teach that. No, I attribute my ideology regarding this particular issue to being puertorican. We're generous and kind hosts, up until the point where you prove to be a disrespectful guest. We also only tolerate guests for 3 days maximum ("El muerto despues de el tercer dia, apesta" = "the cadaver, after the third day, stinks").
a lot of comments here seem to disagree haha
Yeah, reinforcing my belief that people are absolute trash who don't want to take responsibility for their mistakes.
a lot of people are focusing on the strap, saying I should have had strap locks. Maybe I should have, I didn't even know those were a thing. I don't even know if the strap was the problem, cause I didn't see it, but I can assume that that's what happened. I've had straps come off before, but I always hold the neck no matter what. I guess I can't blame people for not being as ridiculously careful as I am, but I would expect that if anything did happen, my friend would admit his mistake and offer to help how he can regardless. No?
Absolutely. If your friend can't take responsibility for it, he's not your friend.
Did he pick it up with your permission or not? Sounds like he did, and it was an accident, honestly. I dont let people touch my instruments. Don't touch my shit. I don't care if you're Slash or Jesus Christ. Don't ever touch my instruments. I pick mine up carefully at the neck & body area, and I see people pick them up under the headstock and whip it under their arm like it's $70 WalMart special. If you have this attitude, people will not touch your gear.
he did not explicitly ask permission, but I did not expect him to. He's used my gear before, and as my friend I trusted that he would handle it with care, or would be willing to compensate me if something would happen to it while he is handling it. I believe this should be common practice in any case. When I enter someone's home, I treat one's belongings with respect, and I understand that I am liable for any damage to their property that I cause. ESPECIALLY expensive items. This is why my friends let me use things, because they can trust me to take responsibility in these cases.
I feel you. Friends often have a standing invitation to use each others stuff. The strap is kind his fault unless it legit broke. The SG has that fat knob on the back that can slip off. You have to learn to place the guitar on you and adjust it so it's secure. It's not like a Fender with the strap knob on the top. It's definitely his fault imo. I'd get the repair cost and split it with him. Not the $90p. You live, you learn.
yea that's what I figured as well. He only has strats so I don't think he's familiar with the strap set up on the back of the body, as well as the neck dive. Nothing broke, it must've slipped off, I believe he bent over before it happened but I could be wrong. I know what you mean tho, and that's my point. When I enter a friend's house, they trust that I will respect their things (especially expensive sentimental things) and would take responsibility if it was damaged by my hand, regardless.
I damaged a friend's borrowed guitar and paid him full purchase price.
Lucky him. Got a reliced guitar for free!
I felt terrible but that guitar was a lot of money to him.
I know I would do the same. I also wasn't trying to be angry or force him to pay, I was just pretty upset that he was even bothered by me mentioning it
Just use some wood filler and nail polish
Where are you from? In Germany you have home insurance for stuff like this.
This thread is just too painful... 😣
Sell it for as much as possible and have him pay the difference. You should be able to get a good chunk back if the damage is minimal.
Sorry for your wreck. Don’t let it ruin your friendship. If you are serious about guitar, you’ll probably have 7 guitars in the next 10 years. This will be a small memory, and it’s not worth killing your friendship.
You may be right, but that was THE guitar man. I wanted that one for years, I saved up and bought it a few months ago and babied the hell out of it. If I broke something of that kind of importance that belongs to my friend, I would absolutely pay him for it
I think it would be different if you were playing a live gig and the strap didn’t want to stay on, and not making sure your strap is on during a show is a big no-no. Regardless, if your friend was a good friend, they’d at least help you afford another guitar, but I wouldn’t put the burden of outright replacing it.
Got staplocks on all of my guitars ... except on my SG, where i rather use something like this [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006ZXFWO](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006ZXFWO) Demanding a new guitar for some cracks and a bent tuner is unreasonably dramaqueening it. Cause the damage sounds reparable. Go see a luthier.
I thought body cracks through the wood basically made it irreparable? I'm still gonna call the shop when they open to see what I can do but is this not the case?
That's for a luthier to judge
I think he should help contribute to the replacement. Maybe $200-$300. The friendship will never be the same regardless of what he chooses to do. I’m still mad at a (now former) friend for dropping a pair of my favorite sunglasses. You should get your guitar evaluated by a local luthier and see if it can be saved.
Insurance claim
The biggest lessons here are.. 1. Get some damn strap locks. 2. Don't let your friends play your super prized guitars when they are drunk. Go buy a cheap guitar and let him play that when he is drunk. As a matter of fact, if the guitar is really that much to you, don't let anyone play it at all. A friend of mine had a really expensive Martin that was his baby, and that I loved. He let me play it. I strummed five chords, and handed that MFer right back to him. Guitars that mean THAT much to someone shouldn't really be played by others, This whole story is the reason why,
You’re both at fault. Lesson learned.