• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Beware Turner Basses.

Status
Not open for further replies.
#101
I'd like to say that this thread is unbelievable, but I tend to feel otherwise. Believe it or not about 6 months ago I was playing a Turner at a dealer, just for kicks. Then the little sales person guy (most likely on commission) comes up and says "I wouldn't buy that thing, I hear nightmare stories all the time about crummy service from those guys."

Let's just say any inclination of purchasing that bass went out the window right there..........now I read all this. Wow.
 
#103
fretlessrock said:
I feel for mojo-man and others who have had these issues with Rick. One thing I know, this is not something new. I know at least one major dealer who bailed on Turner Guitars because of customer service and dealer service issues. All of which is a shame because I count the Electroline I own and the Ren I used to own as some of the best instruments I have ever played. I shipped my Ren to him for a preamp upgrade and it was like my bass fell into a black hole. It took me a month to confirm that they had received it. Upside: The upgrade was virtually free, and the bass came back looking like new. He fixed stuff I hadn't even thought of. I have never had an issue with Rick's workmanship or his basses. But my feeling is that Rick is one of those guys who is in *another world*. When I have spoken with him he has been nothing short of a prince. But, and I might be on a limb here, he seems like a hippy at heart and time is not of the essence for the most part. I don't mean a drug user, I mean it in a very laid-back natural manner. Like you were asking him to build a tree! He plants the seed and eventually you get your tree.

Push comes to shove the guy is a genius and the majority of custom builers on the planet owe him a debt as a trailblazer in all aspects of lutherie. Whether you want to do business with him is another matter entirely.

FWIW, I'd order a bass from him knowing that it gets done when it gets done.
Click to expand...

Wow! If that's the biggest load of hogwash I've read in a long time then I don't know what is!:rollno:

We're not talking about his intelligence.
We're not talking about the debt that you think others owe him.
We're not tlaking about his creativity or innovativeness.

We're talking about the simple matter that the Truner took the guys money, said he'd do something in a certain timeframe, and has not (and apparently will not) do what he says. So quit making excuses for behavior for which there is no excuse!

...a tree from a seed? For crying out loud! Come on man!
 
#104
jgsbass said:
The BBB can close him down if he is taking money from customers and not providing services. They also tend to investigate everything about a business ( labor practices, taxes) when a complaint is made. If they were to investigate the case and found that he hadn't even started hacking a piece of wood with the customers name on it, but implied that the bass was " being built" it would constitute fraud. They fine businesses all the time for failing to live up to their responsibilities. A lawsuit would demand his presence in court and he can't make money when he's sitting as a defendant in court. He wouldn't even be able to make his schedule as the courts demand you show up or you're in contempt of court ( fines or jail time). Even a letter written by a lawyer friend on stationary with a law firms name on it will sometimes shock the system and maybe open up a clearer path to reality. Just start assembling your paper trail of dates, communications and responses.
Click to expand...

This just bad advice, but I've already explained my position. If this was a contract involving several million dollars, or even a few hundred thousand, you bet-- get all those facts, get a good lawyer and go for it. For a few thousand... no way, doen't make sense.
 
#105
Mojo-Man said:
:cool:
I worked that out with Ric in March of 2005.
I have not had the bass since then.
Click to expand...

Confirming that fact makes the story all the more incredible.
You actually don't even have Anything in hand, yet they have your money.

Well, you have lots of people interested now, and today is supposed to be the day that the sales manager is going to call back. Please keep us posted today.
 
#106
PilbaraBass said:
I'm sorry but this whole thread is UNBELIEVABLE!

The man (Turner) builds "custom basses", right?
And he doesn't communicate with his CUSTOMERS?????

I don't care if the man's products are solid gold...it doesn't do much good if you can't get what you paid for...

This whole thing about "we'll get back to you", that's just such a typical CROCK-O'-POO-POO!!!

There are plenty of awesome luthiers out there who are actually CONSCIENTOUS...

contact Barry again, tell him that after 1.5 years and NO BASS..you want a refund deposited in your bank account within 24 hours! PERIOD!
Click to expand...

+1

I feel ya dog. It's really hard to believe that there are people out there who actually swallow that STUFF about him being a genius and all that, and are willing to make excuses for bad behavior.
 
#107
dunamis said:
Wow! If that's the biggest load of hogwash I've read in a long time then I don't know what is!:rollno:

We're not talking about his intelligence.
We're not talking about the debt that you think others owe him.
We're not tlaking about his creativity or innovativeness.

We're talking about the simple matter that the Truner took the guys money, said he'd do something in a certain timeframe, and has not (and apparently will not) do what he says. So quit making excuses for behavior for which there is no excuse!

...a tree from a seed? For crying out loud! Come on man!
Click to expand...

He wasn't making excuses, he was saying how it is with Rick. He even said "Whether you want to do business with him is another matter entirely."
 
#108
Exactly--dunamis, you seem really eager to run Turner down. It's not your money, you've made your point--I think you've posted way more times than anyone else in this thread

There's no question Mojoman has a legitimate, serious greivance, and there's no question in my mind that Turner is not a good businessman, as other have suggested

Myself and others have just suggested that it's wrong to keep trashing him over and over, and that like all of us, he's a complicated package. Turner may indeed be a genius--he's not just turning out j-bass copies with fancy wood, he's actually exploring what the instrument can do and how to do it. He does really interesting design work with electronics and with wood and graphite. He's a luthier in every sense of the word. The Ren bass is an amazing thing--Rob Allen has copied it (allen used to work for Turner) Godin copies it: it's a complete rethinking of the bass guitar. As I said before, Leo Fender was a lousy businessman, but he changed the music is made

If anyone wants to see some details about Turner's shop and a few of the projects he's into, look here

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Why do you keep flaying the guy? The point has been made
 
#110
I think some are repeating their view on how bad this is - because others are implying Turner deserves some break because of his contributions to basskind. Some of us find that amazing and ludicrous.

If a luthier wants to be an artiste who doesn't communicate, then he should set up shop in a forest and live off the land - without selling anything. But, if you open a business, and take people's money, Lots of responsibility comes with that.

The time that has elapsed is Unbelievable, and the poor guy waiting sounds like he has been a saint.
[By now, some people would have forgotten the money, spent more money to get on a plane, and visit the builder's door - to make a point and to bring on justice]

Somehow, the company doesn't seem to have any trouble Remembering To Collect The Money. To not refund the money and bring this to an end - about 6 months ago - is unfathomable.
 
#111
PB+J said:
Why do you keep flaying the guy? The point has been made
Click to expand...

Good question. I should have brought it up sooner.

We vote with our dollars. Continuing to support bad businesses will result in the continuation of bad business practice. Look at the discussion, call it excuses or not, it sounds like there are posters to this thread who think it's ok what he's doing ("hey it's THE *Ric Turner* man, you have understand he's on a different plane...").

Since (as I contend) there really is little legal recourse that'll actually get mojo what he wants (either the bass or the money back) this discussion might be one of effective means of helping him (and others who fall unsuspectingly into the same trap). This thread has what... 3500 + hits? TB'ers represent a large collection of the bass buying market. They deserve to know.

I'd like to see this thread stay on top until Mojo gets either the bass or the money.

So there ya go-- that's why I've posted the most in this thread.
 
#112
I think he DOES deserve a break because of who he is and what he's done. Absolutely. If you knew much about luthiery or the history of the instrument, it'd be clear why.

That being said, it also seems like, from what we can tell here, that he's had that break and more, and he owes mojoman his money back or a bass or both.

Buying a bass from a guy like turner isn't like going to wal-mart. And it's not like buying a Sadowsky. Sadowsky makes nice j-bass copies, Turner's a true American original in every sense, which is what a few people have been trying to say.

It would be great if he were a good businessman, but he's not. It's a shame the way Mojo Man seems to have been treated. How many more times does that need to be said?

I'm skeptical that you're on a personal crusade to get Mojo Man his money back. I think Turner irritates you, and you want to tear him down.
 
#113
PB+J said:
I think he DOES deserve a break because of who he is and what he's done. Absolutely. If you knew much about luthiery of the history of the instrument, it'd be clear why.


**Snip**


It would be great if he were a good businessman. It's a shame the way Mojo Man seems to have been treated. How many more times does that need to be said?
Click to expand...

You don't even know me man. How can say what I do or don't know about the hsitory of luthiery (or anything else for that matter). Frankly, I don't care if it was Leo Fender himself, IMO no one, regardless of what they've done in the past, should accept someone's money upfront and them jerk them around for *YEARS*. As I've said before, this should be a matter of plain common sense.

On the second point, I'm not on a crusade, or irritated with him. I wouldn't know Ric Turner if sat down next to me. Here's my answer-- it needs to be said until it changes.
 
#115
No and you don't know me, and neither of us know Mojo Man, and none of us knows Turner, except I know him very slightly. That's part of the point--it seems really petulant, childish and harsh to keep trashing someone you don't know, especially when you only know one person's side of the issue.

How hard is this to understand? No one in this thread thinks Turner is in the right, no one thinks it's ok for Turner to take money and not deliver a bass, no one thinks his being possibly "a genius" makes it "OK."

I would just like to point out that there's more to turner than just going to Wal-Mart, and to trash someone's career and experience this way is unbalanced and a little creepy
 
#117
PB+J said:
88 snip**...no one thinks his being possibly "a genius" makes it "OK."
Click to expand...


PB+J said:
I think he DOES deserve a break because of who he is and what he's done.
Click to expand...


OK-- we differ on this. Sorry to creep you out. That's not my intent. Please just put me on your ignore list.

Hey, BTW, that's twice now with Wal-Mart comments. What do have against Wal-Mart... creepy...:p
 
#118
Yes, we differ. In a world full of mediocrity and imitation, I'm perfectly happy to extend "a break" to people who are genuinely original, masters of their craft. Charlie Parker missed a lot of gigs, and club owners rightly stopped booking him. Nobody listens to recordings or studies the work of the Parker imitators who showed up on time though.

I guess he was a bad artist because he missed gigs?

Turner's an artist, a true original. If you play music, play bass, and you aren't willing to extend a break to someone like that, who ARE you willing to extend it to?

Like I said, MojoMan should have either his bass or his money back, Turner has had his break, the point has been made
 
#119
After reaing all these posts, I felt it was only right to contact Mr. Turner and encourage him to weigh in on this thread. I PM'd him, and he responded:

Originally Posted by NicJimBass
Mr. Turner,

I just read a thread sterted by someone who apparently ordered a bass from you over a year ago, and is still waiting for it. There is a lot of pull in these forums, and alot of people are getting a bad taste for you and your instruments, simply because of one person's experience. May I suggest going to the thread (found http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=227023 ")and possibly diffusing the situation? Thanks for your time.

Nick

Mr. Turner's Response:

I think my partner, Barry Pearlman, has taken care of that. One of the problems there is that we've put in a new computer system here, and it's filtered out a whole lot of email...correctly as well as incorrectly. It this guy had simply used the telephone...all would be well.

From what I've read, mojo-man has called him several times, so I have to call bullcrap. Why is it that he can PM me personally, but can't take the time to diffuse this situation? I replied to his PM and encouraged him to reply to this thead, but so far, nothing. Chalk me up as one of the people who won't ever buy from this company. Ridiculous.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back