Sax on the Web Forum banner
Cancel

WARNING: Lance Burton At MartinMods Will Not Finish Or Return Our Saxophones

122690 Views 237 Replies 72 Participants Last post by  SAXISMYAXE, 
CONN-hunter
Re: MartinMods - The Martin Baritone Mouthpiece Matching

That's are great news lance.

Sorry for writing from the exile in Africa but... how about the horns you got to modify them???

There are some horns there in your custody waiting for longer than 1 1/2 year to be completed and you are collecting more work from customers whereas others are still waiting ages for paid work.
The customer to whom I transferred the rights on my Conn Chu Berry Tenor got a promise from you ... the horn would be finished by End December 2010.
The same game you did with me, always postponing finishing,:tsk:

in the meantime you lost parts of the horn which has been intact for over 80 years.

Now, you are doing extra work and don't finish the bunch of horns you've been keeping.
Honor your word first, honor the money paid in advance.
Honor the confidence people put on you man.

**NOTE:
 I've merged the two ongoing threads about this into one. Sorry if it reads a bit less elegantly as a result, but it is necessary to keep this matter in one confined conversation for continuity. SAXISMYAXE**
Save
Like
Status
Not open for further replies.
1 - 7 of 238 Posts
maddenma
Let me step up and either add fuel to the fire or a defense.

Lance worked on a custom bari part for me. I had no issues what-so-ever. Part was finished in a perfectly appropriate period of time (a week) and we were done.

I see the controversy, but I don't have anything but good things to say about him personally, and will do business with him again if the occasion arises.
Save
Like
maddenma
CONN-hunter said:
maddenma... would you have sent your bari to him, you'd be now joining us here as complainer.
Click to expand...
Well, no, actually. The horn he supplied a custom pants guard to has actually been out for restoration for 9 months in the hands of a couple other well-respected techs on this site.

I have 2 other baris, not to mention a small gaggle of other horns, so it was understood from go that I'd prefer things were done carefully over quickly. Given the amount of work that was going to be required to restore this old girl, I knew it would take a back seat to more pressing tactical problems that kept the lights on for the tech.

Lance met my need and in a timely manner, as did 2 of the other 3 people that have been working on my project bari. I'm not expecting this horn back before a year is up, so perhaps it's possible the issue here is expectations that weren't properly communicated bilaterally, rather than the vitriol that's going on.
Save
Like
maddenma
Kontra said:
This isn't really my fight, but to me this seems kinda sketchy. I think Connhunter atleast has a right to know what is going on. Have you proven that this is the case? If so I retract my comment.
Click to expand...
From the thread, it seems to me that Conn-hunter, for better or for worse, doesn't have a financial interest in this instrument any more, and hasn't for quite some time. Not intending to address anyone elses grievences, but Conn-hunter has NO RIGHTS regarding the status of an instrument he no longer owns, and while I'm expecting to take a little flack for this, he doesn't seem to have had any business opening this thread to begin with.
Save
Like
maddenma
I'm sorry, but this doesn't pass any kind of a legal sniff test with regards to the OP. An accusation based on hearsay is nothing more than an unfounded accusation. 90% of what we're seeing here in this thread is people "piling on" with opinions on circumstances they have no direct knowledge of.

Rakety, are you just piling on with this, or do you have direct experience with Lance? If not, I suggest you contain your comments to that which you actually have direct knowledge of, rather than waxing philosophic with an emotional response to something you heard about somewhere.

Facts are important. Conjecture is pretty much worthless and adds nothing to the discussion.
Save
Like
maddenma
So I just did a count of the people with apparently real concerns vs. those that are just talking without any knowledge of the circumstances.

Enviroguy and bbbouklas seem to have some some issues that need to be resolved. The OP has no legal basis for, or direct current knowledge to support the complaint, and 36 other posters (sadly including an admin) have piled on without any direct information about the circumstances.

Pretty sad showing, folks. Has no one ever had a disagreement or missed expectations with a tech before? Has anyone had these mods done by someone else and thinks they're akin to replacing a neck cork and should be done on the spot?

There was another thread here lately about people bashing each other and making this an unfriendly place to be. I dissed it at the time, but I can certainly see how one could get that impression now.
Save
Like
maddenma
Actually, Mike. I included myself in the 36 others. Ya know, I've been here little more than a year, so the history is missing for me, but something seems fundamentally wrong based on this particular thread. While I may lack knowledge of the history, as someone that continues to have an interest in non-standard modifications to an instrument with few others willing to take this on, I do have a valid interest and few alternative options to pursue.

BTW, Sebastian, I didn't mean to disclude you from those that seem to have a valid concern. Wrote your name down on the envelope, and promptly missed typing it in.

BTW, it's VERY clear there are issues to resolve between Lance and some other members. That wasn't in question. Hopefully this can be done with a bit less public mud slinging than has been going on. This just can't be healthy over the long run.
Save
Like
maddenma
Enviroguy said:
I have a fairly large financial interest in all of this. So let me restate the problem in summary:

1. Lance has my horn and will not commit to a completion date even with a reduced scope of work.
2. Lance will not provide photos of my saxophone to demonstrate any ongoing work or to simply show he still had the sax.
3. The tactics he has used to pacify me over the last year and a half are the same ones reported by others. There is a strong pattern here.

All I want is proof Lance still has my sax, a finish date and my sax back in my hands by that finish date. I don't want diversions and photos of other people's saxes. And I don't want descriptions of work being done on other saxophones when mine goes untouched and unfinished. And conversely, I don't want this thread to be about accusing Lance of drug use or anything else that is just pure speculation. He could be a saint or a devil and I have know idea which and may never know. But he does have my sax, and I would love to get it back. I believe the others involved probably feel similar to this too.
Click to expand...
... and I don't believe that's an unreasonable request on anyone's part.
Save
Like
1 - 7 of 238 Posts
Status
Not open for further replies.
Sax on the Web Forum
A forum community dedicated to saxophone players and enthusiasts originally founded by Harri Rautiainen. Come join the discussion about collections, care, displays, models, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Misc. Saxophone Discussion Word games Sax Repair, Maintenance and Modification Tenor mpc SOTW Member Recordings & Reviews
Top