Zythum Studios Destroyed in Flood - I am wiped out!

[Mad John]

I have no strength to make a long story about this.

Saturday night was a horrible storm with over 50 mph winds here in New York! Our power went out about 5:30 PM and just came on five minutes ago, 8:00 PM Sunday.

My wife was out working and I was watching my young children. We had no power lights or heat. My wife got back a couple of hours early and I ended up going down to my studio on the first floor to do something..it was about 1:00 am. I shot my flashlight down the hallway of the studio and noticed a glare? I did not know what that was until I got closer. It was WATER!! 6 INCHES OF WATER IN EVERY ROOM OF THE STUDIO!

I walked into the control room and my REDDI was submerged underwater..I screamed in panic as I reached for it, picked it up and watched all the water pour out of it's vents. I had a tube REPLEX also swimming near by. All of my precious guitar pedals were in the same situation. All my cables, Tripp power conditioners, power amp to my Trident 65 console, Magomi cables, brand new DW drum set, 10 guitars including my best guitar, 1969 Les Paul Black Beauty, 1954 Gibson 175 , 1947 Martin 00-17 , 1976 Martin 12 string, strats, Tele, two Fender P Bass's, etc.

I am so depressed, I can barley get these words out my friends..I have not really sleeped since last night and there is still so much to do.

This is a one man run studio that took me the last 12 years to slowly build with money that my wife and I had to truly scrape for all destroyed in a matter of a few hours.

We have a sump pump that failed and that is what caused the problem. We were able to use the power from the other side of the house with an extension chord we got the pump to work this mourning and it got 6 inches of water out from the floors in about 28 minutes! However the damage is done and I have to take in account what the damages are. We have no insurance so we are really in the hole!

Any help with information of equipment that has been exposed to water like this would be appreciated!

I do not know if I will be around much here for a while, but I wanted to thank you all for the great help and info all the years that I have been here! I really love you guys from the bottom of my heart!!

[sound_music]

aw man that's brutal! really sorry to read this, hope your house insurance covers some of your losses even if you didn't have insurance specifically on the equipment... i'm sure you can make a convincing arguement!

best of luck bro, that's a giant bummer.

[RawBeanZen]

John, please check your Private Messages now.

RBZ

[Fletcher]

If the power went out and the water didn't hit the gear while the power was on chances are VERY good that it can come back to life with a washing in distilled water and a chance to dry.

I don't know how the guitars were stored, but if you dry them properly chances are very good they will be OK.

The key here is not to panic [!!], assess the damage and go through a methodical cleanup.

If you have home-owners or renters insurance that should cover the water damage to the physical space [floors, etc.]... and as the water was only 6 inches deep [I know it seems like a lot, but its not] you're probably going to come out of this in not quite as bad shape as you're imagining at the moment.

Just breathe, and while you will have sustained some loss, its not going to be a total loss. While I know it seems bleak at the moment, try to keep a positive attitude, work through each item next week, and be thankful that your kids are OK and that it was only "stuff" that might have been lost [I had a very dear friend die in Katrina... and not to minimize your plight, the fact of the matter is that you and your family are and will be OK].

Feel free to PM if you think I might be able to help you with any advice on how to figure out your losses and/or get yourself up and running again.

There was a similar [less damage] thread running - Rack Gear + Water = ? I posted some "cleaning" suggestions that might help in your situation.

Peace.

[dpianomn]

That's just awful John! I hope you can save most of it...

[Knox]

I sincerely hate to hear about your studio. I would gladly help you if I were close by.

[Space Station]

Wow. Good news is as fletcher said after the electronics are left to thoroughly dry out they should be fine, as long as they werent switched on when they got wet. I've actually put electronic pcb's in the dishwasher to clean them in the past.

[ray_subsonic]

John

My heart goes out to you in what must be a dreaded and difficult situation.

I hope you do not stay depressed too long my friend.

Hopefully, it will not take you too long to reach that point where you realize that no loss is more important than the beauty of your own life itself ..

Hopefully you will begin to rebuild your dream ..

[Mark Kaufman]

Mad John, hang in there, friend! I agree that you may not have nearly as much damage as you fear...and I know for a fact you will find help from this community.

Chin up!

[axisdreamer]

If your home owners insurance is going to cover any damage because the pump failed then I would try to include any gear or instruments that are damaged beyond repair if there is any.If you report any income from your studio then the insurance will use that as a way out of covering any studio stuff(this happened to me years ago with a fire in a make shift studio practice room)the home owners insurance said our band was a buisness and wouldn't cover any of our music gear.so we lost it all. I spent a year trying to clean and save a fostex 16 track 1/2 inch deck,a A&H system 8 console that I was trying out and didn't even own plus a few cheap rack gear things. I was able to clean it up and get some of it working but in the long run none of it ever worked right and I had to sell it cheap and start over.

There are companies that will help you fight for the top dollar that the insurance company should pay you if you need to go that route?A friend of mine works for such a company.

Good luck and don't give up. pm me if you need any help or info!

[DarkSky Media]

John. Stay strong. As others have said, this is something you *can* recover from. Heartbreaking though it is, you and your business and your family and your vision can survive this.

It is the ability to rise up and not be defeated by such setbacks that makes living our dreams attainable.

[ray_subsonic]

As per the above posts .. If the gear wasnt on .. A lot of it will be fine ..

A lot of the rack gear, power supplies, guitar pedals, etc:

Take them upstairs and open them up. Take a hairdryer and blow the excess moisture off of the circuit boards. You want to use mainly cold or warm air at best. Definitely focus air on any IC's or chips.

Also check that no residue/dirt/whatever has deposited itself on the boards creating shorts, etc. A large clean, dry paintbrush is good for dusting that crap off.

Hopefully, there are some experts around here on matters with regards to your guitar collection and your DW Kit.


Cheers

[GotGear?]

I'm very sorry to hear about your situation. I was caught in the floods of '93 near St. Louis and went through some of the same thing but I had about three feet of water in my basement. Most gear was up high though and loss was minimal. Lost my albums and other assorted music related items.

You will have to change the pots in the electrics if they were submerged, but if you keep the guitars in a moderately dry (30-35% humidity) room they should recover. You don't want them drying out too quickly popping the finish or bindings. If the finish was, for the most part intact on the submerged parts of the wood, you'll be in even better shape. Most or all of the wiring and the output jack will also have to be replaced. Corrosion can form under the insulation that you can't see.

You'll definitely need the services of a competant luthier to evaluate the acoustics to see if they can be returned to service. That's way out of my league.

[JoeyM]

Best to you & family Mad John -
Just think though, if the power would have gone on at the wrong time could have had a fire on top of possible electrocution - at least glad you're all in one piece.

I'd also entertain the idea that certain magazines may possibly cut you a check for your story, especially what equipment survived the best and what you'd advocate in studio design for those who live in flood-prone areas.

I'm sure all of our hearts are with you & your family.

[stagefright13]

ACK! That sux! I am near Philadelphia and that same storm knocked the power out in my whole town. I was shut down all day.

Fletcher is right. Water may not hurt your stuff as much as you imagine. And a flush with distilled water may help. Urie recommended cleaning 1176 boards with a mix of 50% rubbing alcohol and distilled water. Make sure ya mix with the rubbing alcohol tho. I find distilled water alone make solder joints corrode somewhat.

I also worked at a high tech chip place also that had a flood. They brought in GIANT fans to dry the place out. And this place had class 100, 1000, clean rooms etc. Everything was washed in DI water. And once dried out everything worked fine. Including all the megabuck testing equipment wich monitored particle count in the air.

I know it may look like a nightmare right now but you SHOULD be ok. Don't turn ANYTHING on 'till it is COMPLETELY dry. I have even had radio receivers with chokes and coils in them return to life after completely dried. This is the best advice I can give. And from actual experience. Sorry to hear about this.

Wish you the best!!!

John

[James Lugo]

Sorry to here that man, you should PM picksail, he went through Katrina and had some of his gear drenched.

[Dirty Halo]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

If the power went out and the water didn't hit the gear while the power was on chances are VERY good that it can come back to life with a washing in distilled water and a chance to dry.

I don't know how the guitars were stored, but if you dry them properly chances are very good they will be OK.

The key here is not to panic [!!], assess the damage and go through a methodical cleanup.

If you have home-owners or renters insurance that should cover the water damage to the physical space [floors, etc.]... and as the water was only 6 inches deep [I know it seems like a lot, but its not] you're probably going to come out of this in not quite as bad shape as you're imagining at the moment.

Just breathe, and while you will have sustained some loss, its not going to be a total loss. While I know it seems bleak at the moment, try to keep a positive attitude, work through each item next week, and be thankful that your kids are OK and that it was only "stuff" that might have been lost [I had a very dear friend die in Katrina... and not to minimize your plight, the fact of the matter is that you and your family are and will be OK].

Feel free to PM if you think I might be able to help you with any advice on how to figure out your losses and/or get yourself up and running again.

There was a similar [less damage] thread running - Rack Gear + Water = ? I posted some "cleaning" suggestions that might help in your situation.

Peace.

Just want to second the thoughts from Fletcher above.

I want to also add that this place is an amazing resource and I encourage you to call and talk with any of the many MANY great gear designers here to get advice on repairing your gear... heck, maybe some good souls may help you!


My best wishes are with you.

-Andrews

[Croaker]

WOW,
thats a real bummer. Keep your head up and these guys are right, take a deep breath and see how it all pans out. I had a keyboard that got drenched from a broken pipe in my studio and I let it dry out over time and it works perfectly!

That being said, if the insurance doesn't cover it, or it takes time to get you up and running I am sure if I looked around my studio I would have something I could live without that I would be more than willing to donate to the cause to help keep you working. Its only gear after all.

PM me if you need help.

Aloha

[in the red]

man, i feel for you! this sucks big time! BUT, i am sure you will be up and running again soon! just keep your head up!

[narcoman]

Oh thats horrible for you. Listen to Fletcher - he's probably on it... hopefully most things are okay and just need a bit of TLC.

[Hannes_F]

All the best to you and your family and I hope your equipment will be OK soon!

[Marogru]

I'm very sorry to hear that. If you need any help we can repair you some electronic stuff, but I think you will find some fellow slutz closer to you that will help.

Cheer up and be possitive, sometimes you have to take 1 step back...

[pashatom]

Sorry to hear your disaster especially the guitars as I am a guitarist. You may even find that, once they're dried-out, some guitars play even better.

[Silvertone]

John,

Please tell me you had those guitars insured! Ooops I just went back and read that you did not. However if they are your personal guitars and not part of your business (which they are not... right???... right), then they WILL be covered by your homeowners insurance. Make sure that you are specific about that. Same with the drums... personal but you were "storing" them in the studio area.

Most of the electronic gear will be fine... especially with only water damage, you would not believe what we saved from the Black Dog fire... especially the B3 Organ, burned right over but now she is up and running and playing great... they were ready to throw her in the dumpster when I said we could restore her. She has a great (one of a kind) flamed finish now!

As for the drums, they will probably swell and shrink back down up it may break the finish off (depending on what's on them)... that said I bet DW would give you a break on refinishing them. If not I know one of the best drum refurbers works right at Parkway Music in Clifton Park NY. Just had him do 2 vintage Gretsch sets for Jerry Marotta. He is extremely reasonably priced.

If you need some equipment to help you through the hump... let me know and I may be able to help depending on what you need.

Best of luck... Personally, I've been through a studio robbery, earthquake damage, fire damage and flood damage and I'm still here... this is all doable. It seems bleak when it happens... however, I've pretty much come out the better in the long run.

Things like this also shows you the value of good studio insurance coverage!

[yass]

Oh man...Iam so sorry for you.Something similar happened to a studio in Paris one year ago.one day they arrived and there was 1 meter water all around the studio.the good news is all the stuffs were able to get dry and there was no loss.(ssl console, many many outboard pieces, many many cables...)
I hope it's gonna be fine.really sorry for you

[nobtwiddler]

Hey John;
Looks like you are located in Bedford, NY, if that's correct, then we aren't to far from each other.
If you need a place to finish up some work, for yourself, clients or whatever, just drop me a line!

[Jamz]

Very sorry to hear this.
Before going crazy follow Axisdreamers advice. Call a company that will represent the claim to your insurance company. They are not emotionally attached and can be a tremendous help logging your loses. They take a % but will take a lot of stress off your shoulders.

[ddageek]

John sorry to hear your situation a d Fletcher and everybody is right about pretty much everything except that home owners policies will not cover flood damage! Some renters policies will but for home owners you need flood insurance !
Now after you get the water go and cut out all the drywall a couple of inches above the flood line remove any insulation up to this level let it dry out and clean it with something that kills mold! Trust me you don't want to deal with mold
John look at it this way 6 inches is nothing, the 37 inches from Ike was a total PITA . Did anybody know that a fridge can float ?

[Bob Vinsick]

In 1988, I had a studio in my house that had a fire and I was surprised how much of the gear was salvageable.

In 2004 or 2005 I had a flood and although my studio was ok, a lot of the equipment I used to used for gigging was underwater. The mud was so bad I thought the stuff would never work. I rinsed everything out and let it dry for a week. Everything worked perfectly.

Electric guitars should be fine. Acoustics may need some extra attention.

[matt thomas]

In addition to the above comments

Do NOT be tempted to turn things on before they are cleaned and COMPLETELY dry.

I realise oversights happen, and I feel for your loss, so don't take this the wrong way, but this should be a strong piece of advice to anyone who lives in an area prone to flooding, especially someone who has a sump pump installed, not to leave gear (especially classic guitars!) at ground level.

Good luck getting it all sorted out.

matt