Rick Turner?

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good_uke_boy

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I've not met or spoken with Rick Turner, but I've enjoyed reading his posts and learning from them. I bought one of his instruments from a UU member. It's great.

He took a bit of a beating recently both here and on other forums. Perhaps because of that, he hasn't posted on UU recently.

I hope he decides eventually to become active on the UU forums again.
 
I've not met or spoken with Rick Turner, but I've enjoyed reading his posts and learning from them. I bought one of his instruments from a UU member. It's great.

He took a bit of a beating recently both here and on other forums. Perhaps because of that, he hasn't posted on UU recently.

I hope he decides eventually to become active on the UU forums again.

I read the threads on both sites. I hold no judgements and would love to have one of his guitars or ukes. They are just out of my price range. I have never had a chance to play one of his instruments.
 
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I've come to enjoy Mr. Turner's contributions to the forums and I appreciate the wealth of knowledge he shares with us here. I was sorry to read that he was having problems with his operations and I'm hopeful he will get things on a sound footing again.
 
Can't speak for his guitars, but as far as CR ukes go, I have played 3 and been very unimpressed. Heavy builds, muted sound, clunky neck profiles and poor weight distribution. Like you fellas, I also hope the ongoing issues with the company are sorted.
 
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Rick is just being nice.......but there may be hidden answers. You just have to look for them in his past posts... ;)

So... Put on your damned glasses and read: as he advised Dick and search for them in this link:

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/search.php?searchid=6830993

12-06-2014, 01:46 AM
Thread: Pegheds on a Vintage Martin?
by Rick Turner Replies 68
Views 1,869

UpDown Dick, Come on now. Put on your damned glasses and read:

11-18-2014, 11:36 AM #18
Rick Turner
Senior Member Join Date Jul 2009
Location Santa Cruz, CA
Posts 2,694

That's right, Jenny, some here prefer to let misinformation stand because it's just not nice to correct people, right?

and.......

11-14-2014, 11:25 AM #2
Rick Turner is offline
Senior Member Join Date Jul 2009
Location Santa Cruz, CA
Posts 2,694
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This is kind of "Deja vu all over again". Check the archives for pages of this stuff.

And D3B7 if you think his Ukuleles are expensive don't try to hire a guy to leaf blow in Florida or in California then!

12-03-2014, 01:17 AM
Thread: I have a new luthier/repair guy!
by Rick Turner Replies 9
Views 323

Luthiers in Florida or California make about as much as that guy down the street with the leaf blower.

They just have real high overhead I guess..... :confused:
 
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Can't speak for his guitars, but as far as CR ukes go, I have played 3 and been very unimpressed. Heavy builds, muted sound, clunky neck profiles and poor weight distribution.

While everyone is entitled to an opinion, I have to say my perspective on CR ukes is completely different. I have played 5 or 6 and have owned two (including my walnut one which is a keeper). I have found them to be some of the liveliest and loudest ukes I've ever played.
 
While everyone is entitled to an opinion, I have to say my perspective on CR ukes is completely different. I have played 5 or 6 and have owned two (including my walnut one which is a keeper). I have found them to be some of the liveliest and loudest ukes I've ever played.

I agree with Rich. My CR is lively and loud (in a good way). My cherrywood CR is one of my top ukes, a life-time keeper. Mine is a flamed cherry, made in 2010.

BTW Saw on FB Rick is really busy finishing up a batch of guitars. So, probably he hasn't time to comment and post right now.
 
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Yep, I realise my opinion is not in the majority here, nonetheless I still wanted to express it honestly. Perhaps it was the strings. Perhaps it's just a personal preference in terms of feel and tone. No doubting the experience of the builder or the aesthetic quality of the instruments. Just not for me. Cheers fellas.
 
I am a fan of Compass Rose ukes as well.
I have a tenor in Stanford Fence Redwood and figured Bubinga, a satin flamed Koa tenor, a 12 fret tenor in Walnut and Cedar with Rick's great pickup /preamp system, that I bought used here on UU forums, and my sunburst Red Spruce and Cocobolo Jumbo tenor, (my avatar).

Great tone, playability and volume in my opinion; YMMV.
 
I would like to own a Compass Rose tenor again. Had a plain Koa 12-fret model a couple of years ago and let it go. I loved the neck shape and the overall design but it was on the heavier side compared with my other tenors and probably just needed time to open up.

I tried three beautiful CR tenors at Gryphon a couple of weeks ago but didn't feel the "mojo" from any of them that Hodge, Rich M, and GASguy describe. I will keep watching the three CR stores: Gryphon, Sylvan, and The Blue Guitar for future CR tenors. I particularly like the micro-jumbo design.
 
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Interesting...
...A while ago I posted about possibly getting a CR and was contacted by several people warning me that while theirs sounded nice, they did not project well.
 
I've only played four CR's. One was made about 4-6 years ago and sounded lovely. The other three were made more recently and were not nearly as impressive to my ear. Plus, there were material finish issues on each. Two of them were clearly subjected to extreme an environment by the dealer -- there were condensation stains on the Access gig bags. I would be reluctant to draw any conclusions given this. I did alert Rick to the situation.
 
Interesting...
...A while ago I posted about possibly getting a CR and was contacted by several people warning me that while theirs sounded nice, they did not project well.


Should have fitted a more powerful bulb......:biglaugh:




Stands by to be drubbed..................................:stop:
 
Yep, I realise my opinion is not in the majority here, nonetheless I still wanted to express it honestly. Perhaps it was the strings. Perhaps it's just a personal preference in terms of feel and tone. No doubting the experience of the builder or the aesthetic quality of the instruments. Just not for me. Cheers fellas.

Thanks for your honest opinion, even if it did seem to be in another thread, and not really related to topic of this one. (or at least I didn't see you bring it up here.)

But if the topic is the CR ukes does anyone know if they are built by Rick or ghost built by another company? If some of each, that could explain the difference in opinions

Edit : I somehow missed post 5
 
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But if the topic is the CR ukes does anyone know if they were they built by Rick or ghost built by another company? If some of each, that could explain the difference in opinions
\

They are built by Rick and/or his employees. He has said he touches some aspect of every instrument from his shop. One of his best luthiers branched out on his own and is doing amazing work (Jake McLay; Hive Ukuleles). As I understand it, his other highly experienced luthier had a very serious motorcycle accident and has been unable to work now for quite some time.
 
Thanks for your honest opinion, even if it did seem to be in another thread, and not really related to topic of this one. (or at least I didn't see you bring it up here.)

But if the topic is the CR ukes does anyone know if they are built by Rick or ghost built by another company? If some of each, that could explain the difference in opinions
My apologies Brian. I did post that remark here but deleted it thinking it may start a firestorm. Of course, as often happens, another member tagged it in a reply so the old adage "think before you post" applies here to me I'm afraid. One day I might learn that lesson. Anyway, I just re-instated it.

As to your question. I believe Rick himself handles the builds with a small team and the work is not farmed out to others.
 
Thanks Eddie, I've heard that guitar companies a few years ago (many of them) sub contracted out their ukuleles and often ukes built to look like little brothers to a guitar were popular for a while, but many were made by an entirely different company. (didn't know if Rick Turners were the same)
 
The first couple of Compass Road ukes I played at Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz didn't do much for me - they had a very "guitar"-like feel to them, and I just put them back.

One year, and a lot more experience with the ukulele, and I played a couple of different Compass Rose ukes, and was impressed.

Fast forward a bit more, and I met Rick, toured the manufacturing facility, and spent some time playing two of his personal ukes - one Cherry, and one Koa.

I didn't want to put either of them down.

Yes, Rick can be a curmudgeon. So can I, but I haven't earned the right as much as he has. I would not hesitate to buy one of his instruments if I had the money, and it felt/sounded right to me.

-Kurt​

Besides - my wife (who is a great judge of character) also likes Rick, after meeting him.
 
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