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Break-in at Daptone

SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
edited February 2009 in Strut Central
I just received this email..From DAPTONE:Friends and associates,As you may have heard through the grapevine by now, Daptone was brokeninto last night. Unfortunately, there was a lot of equipment (mics,pre-amps, monitors, turntables, guitars, amps, computers, etc.) stolenand damaged. It is going to take us a while to go through everythingand take full stock of what was stolen, and we are not supposed totouch anything until the cops come back to collect fingerprints so wecan only guess what's missing from some mic drawers and cabinets.And, no, we did not have insurance. We had been shopping around withdifferent companies earlier this month but had not signed a check, sonothing was insured. We are working on replacing the gate in front,installing an alarm system, and getting insurance, but it isPresident's day so it's not going as quickly as we would have liked.Nydia's computer was stolen (which wasn't backed up) and the modems/phone system was ripped out, so we'll be relatively out of commissionfor a few days.I would like to ask for everyone's help first in keeping an eye outfor all of our stuff showing up on ebay/craigslist/local music shops,and secondly (and more realistically) keeping an eye out for gooddeals on headphones, mics, pre-amps, etc. I could really use a headsup on any kind of studio package for sale or studio equipment to bepossibly bought or borrowed as soon as possible. We have a sessionscheduled for Friday to lay down some music for (I know this soundssurreal) Rod Stewart, and I'm going to have to get the studio runningby then. I know I'm going to need to find headphones, cables, mics, and pre-amps by then. I'm not sure what else yet.Upon first glance we are definitely missing:Fender Super Guitar Amp in caseFender Deluxe Guitar AmpA whole bunch of headphones and wiresNydia's HP laptop computerOne Desktop MacIntosh ComputerOne Purple Audio API style lunchbox withfour Purple Audio Biz mic pre-amps2 Yamaha NS10 monitorsVintage Harmony Rocket GuitarOne steel string acoustic guitarMartin Tenor sax in a gig bagTechnics 1200 turntableIon USB turntableTeac Receiver/stereo ampSony dual deck CD burner/playerAll of our modem/phone system stuff was ripped out and taken.A whole bunch of condensor and dynamic microphones (I still need tofigure out exactly what's missing)The power supply for my Trident console was tossed and the board wasmoved (probably not gently) so the status of that is still questionable.A baldwin organ was tossed and is probably broken.Lacie External hard driveOver the next few days, as we sort out the rubble, we are going tofigure out what else we lost.We are putting in a roll down front gate, alarm system, and finallygetting our insurance happening this week. We are also going to hirea security guard to watch the house for tonight as the cops and alarmguy seemed pretty confident that they will be back with a truck nowthat they've seen what's in here.Thanks for keeping eyes open for us. AND PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGEALONG TO ANYONE YOU THINK MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP US.Thankfully, we all still have our health, ambition, tape machines, andsense of humor in tact. You can slow us down, but you can't stopus. Sleep well knowing we here at Daptone will continue to...Keep putting Soul up,Gabriel RothP.S. On a lighter note, it seems like the burglars did drop a fewitems in order to lift Alex's old safe out of here, which was VERYheavy, VERY unwieldy, and also VERY EMPTY!

  Comments

  • catalistcatalist 1,373 Posts
    MAN.... that is some bullshit!!!

    I hope anyone in the NYC area can just keep their eyes and ears open for whoever might have pulled this shit... such a shame.

    Best of luck to everyone over there.
  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    that really sucks. Theft is such a nasty crime. I understand that some people are down on there luck and hope to make some quick money, but it's such a lame thing to do. These are people who make music and provide people with happiness. F*ck those thiefs. Hopefully that Rod Stewart money will come in handy. I can also see people lending a helping hand to get them back rolling.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    Sad news & this just makes it sadder.
    And, no, we did not have insurance. We had been shopping around with
    different companies earlier this month but had not signed a check, so
    nothing was insured.
  • snicka_gsnicka_g Hong Kong 276 Posts
    That is horrible news. I remember seeing some videos of a small tour of the house and it looked like such a nice place to work and record, really homely. All the work they had put into the studio to soundproof it (I seem to recall they had some sort of floating floor?!?) All that vintage equipment, man hopefully it will be found if the crooks try and sell it off....most of the equipment must be super rare so there must be a small buyers market?
    From the videos of the house on-line the crooks probably could have seen everything they wanted and seen that the house was old without much security. Thats crazy the cops said that they would probably be back, you would hope/think that the cops would try and wait around and nab the theives.
    Daptone have always been nice and friendly
  • the_dLthe_dL 1,531 Posts
    thats terrible news, i wish them all the best in getting back on their recording feet, i too might have to help out by buying a tee
  • m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
    That sucks bigtime. I hope they get at least part of their stuff back.
    The "no insurance" part" is a head scratcher, but I guess that's a classic mistake to make.
  • BeatnicholasBeatnicholas 1,005 Posts
    terrible. saw the sound on sound article about the studio, some terrific equipment in there. at least they didn't get the tape machine.
  • CosmophonicCosmophonic 1,172 Posts
    It's a shame, but seriously ALWAYS BACK UP! HARD-DRIVES COST NOTHING.

    All that equipment though. I hope this online plea for help works. Imagine how powerless those people must feel.



    That bit about the safe was funny.
  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts
    At least it doesn't seem like any recordings were lost. Gear can always be replaced.. and it honestly doesn't seem like they got away with anything super rare.

    Still sucks though. Insurance is a must.
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    This is terrible... my condolences and I'll keep my ears/eyes open.
  • mordecaimordecai 2,204 Posts
    that sucks. wish I had money to help them out... such a solid label. hope they bounce back quick
  • DrBorisQDrBorisQ 298 Posts
    this really is horrible news, but seriously - no insurance and no backups????
  • selperfugeselperfuge 1,165 Posts
    terrible to hear.
    but really, with the collective eyes and ears of this place and the gripped out nature of us all when it comes to records, recording equipment, and generally cool shit -- i'm going to bet there's an outside shot at getting a lead on these idiots.

    either that or they'll be sitting on the stuff for a looong time.
  • UnherdUnherd 1,880 Posts
    terrible to hear.
    but really, with the collective eyes and ears of this place and the gripped out nature of us all when it comes to records, recording equipment, and generally cool shit -- i'm going to bet there's an outside shot at getting a lead on these idiots.

    either that or they'll be sitting on the stuff for a looong time.

    Hopefully the Daptone guys are a little more dutiful getting that list over to the likeliest buyers (Sam Ash, Armands, etc) than they were getting their insurance and alarm stuff going.

    Really heartbreaking to hear this, but I guess it could've been much worse. I wonder if these dudes had seen the MTV clip. It sounds like some key pieces like the tape machines were left in favor of the empty safe, so thats a real silver lining...
  • johmbolayajohmbolaya 4,472 Posts
    I've posted this on other boards (OKP, SH), and maybe Roth and Sugarman can do what Lance Armstrong is doing, and perhaps use Twitter to be able to find anything that was stolen. It might not work, but hey.
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