Renaissance/Turner Basses Club

[Jeff Scott]

Happy 2026 to the Turner Talkbass crowd!

Didn't get your Christmas Wish? Slide on over to Carter Vintage in NashVegas... they've got one of John McVie's tour-tested Electroline basses on consignment.

Carter Vintage - Rick Turner John McVie "Destiny Rules" Electroline 2001, Natural

View the listing for Rick Turner John McVie "Destiny Rules" Electroline 2001, Natural at Carter Vintage Guitar

cartervintage.com

(hat-tip @RVBASS for the ping...)

It's memorabilia pricing... but it isn't over the moon either when you consider what a new one costs. And it's the real thing too. Johnny-Mac actually played this one, quite a bit.

And with that, I'll wish you all Peace On Earth and Goodwill Towards Drummers. Wait... that can't possibly work!

Happy New Year one and all. Let's hope this is a more sane year.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

And here is its fretless companion- https://reverb.com/item/89964752?

 

[RVBASS]

He apparently had another fretless Electroline too, this one sold a while back.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

He apparently had another fretless Electroline too, this one sold a while back.

Invalid Link Removed

Huh. I thought that was it at LowEnd. I see the matching "two-tone" headstock now. What can I say... the Ol' Chap knew what he liked to play, and Rick Turner knew how to make it.

*note also, how the one I posted from LowEnd is clearly an earlier model, with the squared-off fingerboard and truss-rod pocket in the body. Like my black fretless. Interesting! Wonder what the story was?

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Ah, but the one I would have chosen- Invalid Link Removed

 

[Ren909]

Looking for a Renaissance or Electroline 4 or 5 lined Fretless to pair up with my Ren 4 and Electroline 5
(both fretted) Please let me know if you have one to sell or know of one for sale
Thanks!

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Looking for a Renaissance or Electroline 4 or 5 lined Fretless to pair up with my Ren 4 and Electroline 5
(both fretted) Please let me know if you have one to sell or know of one for sale
Thanks!

Too bad you're covered on fretted ones... I know of a couple available. I'm pretty happy with my fretless Turner basses. Each has their place.

Welcome to the Club here... we like pictures if you care to share.

 

[Ren909]

 

[Ren909]

My ‘2004 Custom Renaissance 4

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

View attachment 7453350View attachment 7453351

Woah, lookit that! Flame maple back on a Ren 4. Nice!

Got wall-to-wall flame maple on my Ren 5...

Could be the same planks!

 

[littlebun]

E of H asked me to post about 2 new McVie model Electrolines... Each with: Master volume, pickup pan, piezo/pickup pan, concentric passive tone controls for piezo and pickups singly.

The Red 32" scale has the pickups moved closer to the bridge than a stock Fender Jazz. It immediately felt smaller and had a Jazz narrow nut making it feel compact. It has a more treble-leaning stock tone with no piezo added. With the piezo tone control rolled back a good bit and the piezo blended in with the pickups, the piezo added bottom but the treble of the pickups still presented forward and not as natural as a Fender style, but the magnetic pickups have the passive tone to roll off for that and more. A clear and articulate tone.

The Maple neck 34" scale also with Jazz narrow nut feels nicer in hand while playing; it sounds better overall IMO, more powerful at the same settings, and it is a truly great sounding bass. It has an edited low end because of the pickup positions being closer to the bridge than a Jazz bass. A balanced tone with tons of adjustability, the bass is all there for someone who can live with the pickup positions, and is ok with adding the piezo to the mix to make up for the low end that seems lacking IMO when not using the piezo. It has an articulate, even and ballsy clear sound overall.

I asked Turner about making a set of pickups with the coils set just like a P Bass instead of the way they have them with E and A coils being closer to the bridge and the d and g coils closest to the neck. But, I'm on the fence about changing the pickups... and the possibility, after installing them, of finding myself still wanting the natural low end punch of the time and tone proven Fender positions, and then stuck with an 8K bass I'm not truly loving. I returned them for refund.

 

[littlebun]

The basses are headed back to Willcutt Guitars in KY.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

E of H asked me to post about 2 new McVie model Electrolines... Each with: Master volume, pickup pan, piezo/pickup pan, concentric passive tone controls for piezo and pickups singly.

The Red 32" scale has the pickups moved closer to the bridge than a stock Fender Jazz. It immediately felt smaller and had a Jazz narrow nut making it feel compact. It has a more treble-leaning stock tone with no piezo added. With the piezo tone control rolled back a good bit and the piezo blended in with the pickups, the piezo added bottom but the treble of the pickups still presented forward and not as natural as a Fender style, but the magnetic pickups have the passive tone to roll off for that and more. A clear and articulate tone.

The Maple neck 34" scale also with Jazz narrow nut feels nicer in hand while playing; it sounds better overall IMO, more powerful at the same settings, and it is a truly great sounding bass. It has an edited low end because of the pickup positions being closer to the bridge than a Jazz bass. A balanced tone with tons of adjustability, the bass is all there for someone who can live with the pickup positions, and is ok with adding the piezo to the mix to make up for the low end that seems lacking IMO when not using the piezo. It has an articulate, even and ballsy clear sound overall.

I asked Turner about making a set of pickups with the coils set just like a P Bass instead of the way they have them with E and A coils being closer to the bridge and the d and g coils closest to the neck. But, I'm on the fence about changing the pickups... and the possibility, after installing them, of finding myself still wanting the natural low end punch of the time and tone proven Fender positions, and then stuck with an 8K bass I'm not truly loving. I returned them for refund.

Thanks for the review @littlebun ... I don't think anyone here has had one of these in-hand yet, as there are only 4 in the world. Hate they didn't work out for you, but I must say the medium-scale one sounds intriguing to me.

And I am quite tickled that Turner's shop is making a McVie pattern Electroline available.

I'm wondering about how they set the templates up for these, if there's any flexibility in the pickup location? Or if 'sliding' the scale one direction with the neck pocket and bridge location, giving up or adding some more frets is that much of a problem? Because I can envision a custom order that would be a combination of both here.

Little plug for Willcutt Guitars too... nice shop.

 

[littlebun]

The Turner shop is pretty flexible, I would bet. They are very nice basses, so they will be snatched up. It is nice to customize, and these basses show they are willing to do that. Pin router on these per the shop.

 

[RVBASS]

Too bad they didn’t work out for you, @littlebun, they look like nice basses. Could something like a low pass filter tame the highs for you? I would think they could position the pickups to your liking as well.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I went back and found the Julien's auction for the original special build Electroline bass Rick built for John McVie... if for no reason other than a better look at it than this screen capture I had.

JOHN MCVIE: "UNLEASHED" 2009 TOUR STAGE-PLAYED 1980S CUSTOM TURNER JMV 4-STRING ELECTRIC BASS GUITAR

www.juliensauctions.com

I'm a little bit curious about when Rick might have made this bass. It says 80's, so knowing the Electroline idea was a holdover from the Gibson R&D days, that'd be late 80's at the earliest. Granted, Fleetwood Mac wasn't working much at the time, but I can't remember John playing this bass before '04, and I'm not sure about that. I do remember the other Electroline basses, several actually. I remember the Renaissance basses from The Dance, back in '97. This one though... I'd remember.

It's quite clearly a modern approach to John's vintage Alembic bass from 1973. Symmetrical-horned body with point, figured maple laminates with some birdseye in them. And... if you zoom in on the nut, it's scalloped. Nice touch, Rick.

At any rate, it appears to be a general pattern that Turner Guitars will build for you having kept the template. There are at least 3 more examples in the world today.

 

[littlebun]

Good stuff right there.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I went back and found the Julien's auction for the original special build Electroline bass Rick built for John McVie... if for no reason other than a better look at it than this screen capture I had. View attachment 7462733

JOHN MCVIE: "UNLEASHED" 2009 TOUR STAGE-PLAYED 1980S CUSTOM TURNER JMV 4-STRING ELECTRIC BASS GUITAR

www.juliensauctions.com

I'm a little bit curious about when Rick might have made this bass. It says 80's, so knowing the Electroline idea was a holdover from the Gibson R&D days, that'd be late 80's at the earliest. Granted, Fleetwood Mac wasn't working much at the time, but I can't remember John playing this bass before '04, and I'm not sure about that. I do remember the other Electroline basses, several actually. I remember the Renaissance basses from The Dance, back in '97. This one though... I'd remember.
View attachment 7462734
View attachment 7462735
View attachment 7462736
View attachment 7462737
View attachment 7462738

It's quite clearly a modern approach to John's vintage Alembic bass from 1973. Symmetrical-horned body with point, figured maple laminates with some birdseye in them. And... if you zoom in on the nut, it's scalloped. Nice touch, Rick.

At any rate, it appears to be a general pattern that Turner Guitars will build for you having kept the template. There are at least 3 more examples in the world today.

Had I known that, that is the Electroline I would have wanted.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Had I known that, that is the Electroline I would have wanted.

Quite fetchin' ain't it? I'm in a downsizing mode, and let a bunch of guitars and basses go this past year, still a few to go. It was partly to pay some hella doctor bills, but also long-gamed it so that middle of next week my 30-year mortgage is paid off in 20. Which also helps cashflow hella bills when I get them. All part of living simple and debt-free on a pension and my shop income.

But if ever there comes a day when Ed of H orders another custom bass guitar... itsa' gonna' look a lot like that one!

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I'm just going to add, the first-run Electroline basses did not have that (I'll call it) 'swooping' neck pocket. I think they were mistaken about the timeframe in which that Custom was made.

The first Electroline basses had a somewhat Fender-ish neck pocket, and a squared-off fingerboard. John also had one of these, a fretless. Its currently for sale at LowEnd Bass Shop: Rick Tuner Electroline fretless built for John McVie - The LowEnd Bass Shop

This is the same construction and profile as my black 'Lancelot' bass... mine just has the single Bartolini pickup, and no piezo.


With that having been said, I really don't know when the change to the new necks happened. Could also be since John's bass was a one-off Custom until recently, that his used the same swooping neck as his Renaissance basses by choice.