No, i'm not dying, or at least not any faster than normal. But my wife and I have been updating wills, setting stuff up for kids, etc. just to get it all lined up now, so I've been thinking about this.
Each of us on the Alembic board has at least one very expensive instrument. Many of us have a bunch, both Alembic and otherwise.
It occurred to me that if I die first, my wife wouldn't really know what to do to get the best prices for these things.
I've got them all listed with replacement values for insurance, but having a number is different than knowing where to go, what to do, etc. And insurance wouldn't be triggered when I die. And replacement value is just what it'd take for me to buy them again, not what I'd get selling them..
I'm not talking about zillions of dollars worth of guitars/basses, but i do have 4 Alembics, 2 of which are pretty fancy-pants customs, a few other collectable instruments, and a bunch of others that are worth a few bucks, so it does add up.
Have any of you figured out the what-happens-when-I'm-gone scenario? Are there any "trustee" sort of things that people have set up, or deals with auction houses, or... ?
Thanks!  Mark

Well, there is at least one person here sans expensive instruments (I'm just a fanboi, and if I'd ever had any money I'd have a warehouse full like John Entwhistle's.....), but if I did they - like my run-of-the-mill instruments - would go to my youngest son, as he is the only one of the 3 who plays; if any of the grandkids takes it up before I'm gone, the will will be updated to reflect that.

Peter

Mark; I have the same problem, and no, I haven't figured out a solution yet.

Peter - hopefully it'll be a mega "problem" for you soon!
Leaving them to my kids would essentially be the same problem - as non-players, they'd just sell them, or hang on to something for sentimental reasons that they SHOULD have sold.

Quote from: cozmik_cowboy on February 01, 2026, 02:30:23 PM
Well, there is at least one person here sans expensive instruments

You bring up something I've been thinking about off and on of late. I'm going to be resolving some of the conundrum by starting to sell some of my gear this year though I'm not quite sure when I will put the stuff up for sale. I no longer play out or run sound so have decided to sell off all of my bass rigs and PA system. I will be  keeping a small rack with a voltage regulator, DS-5R and in ear monitor system along with my 60W Marcus Miller Markbass and extension cabinet. Between these if the opportunity to play arises this will let me run through the FOH or for low volume situations use the Markbass.

I've also been thinking about selling some of my instruments. So far I plan on selling my 5-string Orion and maybe my Ibanez jazz box guitar. My Brown Bass might join the list but I'm still not ready to let it go. The same is the case for my Hagstrom 8 and Vox Mk IV. These were my second and first basses respectively so it is sentimentality holding me back. For the rest of my guitars and basses what happens to them kind of depends upon my granddaughter. If she shows an interest as she gets older I will let her have my Alembics and other basses/guitars. Otherwise if I'm still around I will likely sell what's left while I'm alive. If I'm not around I've told my wife to ask folks here or to see if Alembic could refer her to someone that could advise her on disposing of the instruments. 

this subject is kinda near and dear to my heart as im 70 next month, live by myself, already had a coupla pretty serious health scares and own 4 alembics (from essence to series II) along with the ecosystem to practice and perform with them, which i do regularly.
i've made a will (and DNR and medical directive and yadda yadda) where i've specifically bequeathed my musical instruments to the one person who is a musician (not bass) upon my passing.  what happens after that is probably beyond my concern.  i doubt they'll sell thru this community, they'll probably all go up for sale at wherever offers the quickest cash.  so if ya'll see my stuff on ebay or at GC, you'll know what happened.  i figger i got many ,many hours of pleasure outta them, but they're just another one of my assets to my beneficiaries so they can dispose of them as they see fit.

cheers!

I had a plan to sell my gear through a shop in Seattle called The Bass Shop.  One of the owners used to be co-owner of Bass NW in the past.   That was where I bought 80% of my collection...about 45 basses.  I see in 2025 they changed their polices.  They no longer consign bass cabinets (too heavy) or used basses (not enough profit margins)  I'm sure they would take on my Alembics and limited edition basses (they occasionally do sell used Alembics)  I was planning to leave notes for my surviving brothers where to send the instruments off for consignment.  I got the vibe my sis-in-law was just going to contact Goodwill to get rid of my belongings.  So, yes, I'm in the same boat.....if I pass unexpectedly.  I DO have cancer now.  I was going to hold off selling until the last minute.....I do enjoy owning my collection.  I'll probably unload most of them here in the club.  But.....where I'm eventually headed......I'm not to worried about "stuff" as I cant take it with me.  I've no musical decedents so "in the family" is not an option.

Noo problem, just leave them all to me!!!
Actually, I don't have any kind of answer to this, but would like to get one.

Seeing as I have no spouse or kids, I guess my siblings will get to sell all my stuff as none are players but one, who's taste in instruments is different from mine...and in bicycles, of which I have two worth a small fortune; a Cook Bros. cruiser that is probably in the $20k US range, and a Cook Bros. Bonzo Fury mtn bike that is super rare; they only made 20, so I have no idea of it's worth, but '80's mtn bikes are quite collectible these days...and other bikes like vintage road bikes...

I think the easiest thing to do is just live forever...


I have no heirs, so I kinda' don't care what my current executrix does with them. I do have one buddy; we generally know the value of each others' guitars, should something untimely happen, so at least she would have some idea what they are worth. I plan to out-live her outta' sheer orneriness anyway.


Yeah, I got no plan. Having a few guitars is like having hard assets as a hedge fund. Somebody else will either get 'em and hold 'em, or liquidate 'em. Not my problem. I got other problems. Like stayin' alive. 😄

one final note on this (from me anyways) - the last thing ya wants do is die intestate (and that's not minus yer cojones, btw) and let the courts decide what yer stuffs worth.  wills are cheap.  elsewise it could be tied up for years by the state.  i'm not on good terms with my surviving family but i'm not gonna take it to the grave.

Seems a lot of us are in similar boats, some with health scares (and realities) that i guess come along with living and making music long enough for this to be an issue. I've considered the "screw it, i'll be dead" path, but I completely agree with BeenDown's comment about leaving it up to the state - just a bad idea overall. And Gary's comment that music stores can change policies whenever they like makes consignment unappealing as an option. At least to me.
Definitely worth thinking about and planning this as much in advance as possible.
I'm going to reach out to 2 friends from my college band - one is a (now retired) lawyer with ~ $1M of vintage guitars, the other is a (retired) ex-president of a bank with a similar collection of instruments and equipment... (I guess my dad was right and I should have become a doctor instead of bass player. Sigh). They may have thought about this or have some ideas - I'll let you all know what they've got to say.
And if anyone else has a plan or thoughts, please keep posting!

In my will, anything that's here in terms of instruments is going to the public magnet school here for music in Nashville.

Quote from: bigredbass on February 03, 2026, 06:36:22 PM
In my will, anything that's here in terms of instruments is going to the public magnet school here for music in Nashville.

You da man!

Peter

And how!

Quote from: cozmik_cowboy on February 03, 2026, 07:49:22 PM

Quote from: bigredbass on February 03, 2026, 06:36:22 PM
In my will, anything that's here in terms of instruments is going to the public magnet school here for music in Nashville.

You da man!

Peter