TubeNet

Okay, okay. I went out and got it out of the trunk and brought it inside!

I think tuba thefts are both opportunistic and scoped out. Since most thieves breaking into cars want to get in and out as quickly as possible the chance that they'll have a grinder with them is slim; it just isn't something you need to break into a car. The hack saw comment was of coarse metaphorical. Locks are either ground open or cut.

Better restaurants? I've been to better restaurants in Paris (quite famous for cramped spaces) and have never had a problem taking a tuba with me. The "better" restaurants are always willing to accommodate a musician everywhere I've been all over the world.

TN is the perfect forum for blanket statements. No one comment applies to everyone. The topic is about theft and bad habits. Some tuba players (thus not everyone) are throwing up a smoke screen of excuses not to have to take their tuba out of the car. I believe the intentions of the OP were to help discourage this and maybe even pick up some good ideas if possible (for those moments when we do choose to leave tubby in the trunk).

The chained tuba idea isn't uniek. Bass players have been known to build cage, trunks or closets in their vans.

Make it more difficult and add an alarm.
And a battery disconnect.
And a pitbull.
Or troll the thieves by replacing your Hirsbrunner with a Tiger tuba. They'll never steal from you again!

Mark wrote:

bloke wrote:If a tuba is hidden in the trunk - but is stolen, simply, because the entire car is stolen, very few thieves steal manual shift cars.

I'm curious, how many manual transmission cars have trunks big enough to hold a tuba?

I had a manual '92 Corolla that could fit my 186 in the trunk, in a gig bag.

I haven't had a tuba stolen (from anywhere, thank goodness) from a church, but I did have a black, Stetson fedora stolen. I left without it after a rehearsal and went back for it later that day and it was gone.

Oldschooltuba wrote:My wife spent 30 years as a police officer. Thankfully retired now.
Her words......

"Never leave anything in the car you don't want to have stolen"

+1!!!

Just wondering why my girlfriend always leaves me in car...

bloke wrote: Brett just explained it - plain-and-simple:
In other words...
If a tuba is hidden in the trunk - but is stolen, simply, because the entire car is stolen, very few thieves steal manual shift cars.
.

... this trick obviously does not work on our side of the pond ...

Is "I can afford better restaurants" the "25 year old power lifter" of TubeNet?

nworbekim wrote:I wasn't so worried until I read all of this, now I'm a wreck... So many ways to steal, so many ways I hadn't thought of.... I don't think I'd be a very good thief.

Well if you really want to get freaked out: google bump keys.

It used to be a thief had to be pretty skilled to pick a lock or very knowledgeable to bypass it another way. Now thanks to the internet it is easy to get a bump key for your house locks. No skill required and it leaves no trace of forced entry. Many insurers will then use the no sign of forced entry to deny your claim. It is amazing how some locks will resist all types of entry but have one simple weak spot. Even the no key locks that use a code or your phone have been shown to have a simple defeat. Your tuba might not be so safe at home. That is why it so important to try to limit putting where you live and what you have out on the net. I never fail to be amazed at what people post on FB.

Personally I've got three lines of defense - a really good security system with a direct wireless link to the police , a 95 pound dog with a bad attitude about intruders and me and my Glock 9, Remington 870 pump and 1100 shotguns and a willingness to shoot anybody who enters without permission.

Usually if people hear me practicing they don’t want to be anywhere near the house. No risk of theft if your playing drives everyone away!

One thing I might throw out (not a theft deterrent) is record details of your horns in case something does happen. Make, model, serial number, finish and any Identifiable details. That way when you report it stolen you can at least have something to give the police and if you do happen to find it at the stop and pawn down the road you can readily identify it. In places with a higher theft rate (and even those with lower rates) a photo album may also be a good idea to have visual evidence that it is yours.

I've never delt with instrument theft but being in the military and living in barracks, things "go missing" all the time. Sometimes something as small as a scratch on a gaming system or tv that was well documented (along with the other info) can be enough to prove ownership.

I'm an avid Tile user. It's been great on my keychain.

I'm considering getting one of the slim ones and sewing it into the lining of my gig bag (or just tucking it away in a seam): https://www.amazon.com/Tile-Combo-Walle ... tile&psc=1" target="_blank

It's not GPS, but there are some cool crowdsourced features that can be implemented.

Some cool-looking GPS gadgets are surfacing too: https://www.amazon.com/AIBEILE-Personal ... ps+tracker" target="_blank

To avoid theft, just don't own anything worth stealing!!

BrooklynBass wrote:I'm an avid Tile user. It's been great on my keychain.

I'm considering getting one of the slim ones and sewing it into the lining of my gig bag (or just tucking it away in a seam): https://www.amazon.com/Tile-Combo-Walle ... ile&psc=1"
It's not GPS, but there are some cool crowd-sourced features that can be implemented.

That looks pretty neat. I just read some of the Q+A's and it seems the battery is not replaceable. You have to repurchase the Tile Mate in about a year. Sort of like a subscription.

Mark wrote:

bloke wrote:If a tuba is hidden in the trunk - but is stolen, simply, because the entire car is stolen, very few thieves steal manual shift cars.

I'm curious, how many manual transmission cars have trunks big enough to hold a tuba?

Mine does - a 2012 Honda Accord coupe.