Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

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LaxSlash1993
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Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by LaxSlash1993 » Sun Jan 12, 2014 5:07 am

Anyone have any recent information on Mike Bucki? Need to start looking around for some repair guys... was wondering if he's back in business or still MIA so to speak. I had his phone number, but think I lost it from an accidental contacts wipe.

Trigger
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by Trigger » Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:15 am

If you haven't seen these before, you might want to check them out...

http://forum.moogmusic.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16031
or
http://forum.moogmusic.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8210
or
http://forum.moogmusic.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10041

I called the last number I had on him about 6 months ago on a whim. I asked to speak to Mike, and the voice said he wasn't there--not a wrong number, just not there.
So I have to think he's still around, but laying very low. Personally, I wouldn't send him anything I wanted back. He's not a good guy.

Mitchell Chastain
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by Mitchell Chastain » Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:42 am

If anyone does have a recent contact please pm me.
Last edited by Mitchell Chastain on Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

EricK
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by EricK » Sun Jan 12, 2014 9:21 pm

The last time I spoke with his former business partner, he said that Mike had a stack of unpaid invoices on his desk for products that had been repaired and were waiting for the customers to finish paying for them. He also explained to me that he was working on synths because there were still several on his bench. This can all be researched in those threads, as this isn't recent info. But the statute of limitations has probably long since run out on filing a claim against him for those unfortunate enough to have been screwed over by him.

The best advice is to not ever assume that he will be in business again and to seek repair from someone else. I have dealt with Tim Warneck at Retrolinear and he is fantastic. He did a great job on my Rhodes preamp. He does analog synths also and has a degree in engineering and a love for the synths so you might try him.
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LaxSlash1993
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by LaxSlash1993 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:58 am

Yeah, I asked because those threads were over a year ago. Thought that maybe there was a chance that somebody had some sort of contact with him since then, guess not though :/

I looked into Retrolinear... Analogics is closer for me (2-3 hours as opposed to about 5-6 hours), so I'd probably go there. Not too out of the way to drive down there I guess. Unless there's someone else in the WNY area?

Really hesitant about shipping it.

Just Me
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by Just Me » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:32 pm

EricK wrote:The last time I spoke with his former business partner, he said that Mike had a stack of unpaid invoices on his desk for products that had been repaired and were waiting for the customers to finish paying for them.
Sounds like pure bull provided fertilizer to me. If I had a "stack" of invoices unpaid on my desk I would be calling those people weeklt or daily to get my money and get the stuff out the door. I liken mike b. to joshua jackson. Just a thief and a liar.
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Mitchell Chastain
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by Mitchell Chastain » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:19 pm

I remember about two weeks after he had my Taurus pedals he called with an estimate and asked fro a $500 deposit... there was a lot of urgency in his voice, like the money really needed to go out that day. So I sent it next day from Atlanta. Seems like about $25 to get it there. We chatted another time after that and he gave me a progress report. I remember one of the main reasons I sent Them was for him to build me a new window for the sliders, and that was the one thing he still hadn't done.... actually there was very little wrong with them... broken slider and a tune up. Thought $500 was a little steep considering he quoted the window at $200 which wasn't done yet. So after this I lost contact with him for about a year...phone turned off and emails returned to me.
Then out of the blue I got an email with an invoice in it for the balance of $285.... by now I was skeptical about sending him any more money. I emailed him back and asked him if he would mind sending them to me COD considering I didn't trust him. I told him I'd cover the COD amount too. His reply was he didn't do COD and only wanted a postal money order... which is what he requested when I sent the initial $500 deposit.
I went back and forth with him trying to explain that I felt uncomfortable sending him any more money, but had almost decided to do it anyway and take a chance. I was desperate to get them back and willing to gamble I guess.
That didn't happen either because all contacts disappeared again. It was obvious to me then that he was desperate for cash and thought he could get some more out of me. I'd be surprised if he had ever looked at my pedals.
So that was the end of it. Never heard from him again..... this all started in 2009.
I researched my options and legal action would have cost me way more than the pedals were worth... and upstate New York is a long drive from Atlanta....

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Kevin Lightner
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by Kevin Lightner » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:45 pm

I get to pull the "experience card" on this one: unpaid service invoices.
Sure, some people are late in paying.
It happens all the time in all businesses.

But a stack of invoices??
No way... UNLESS... you happen to be a tech who doesn't answer emails, their phone, moves around a lot, etc.
How can someone pay if they can't even contact their tech?

From all I can gather, this has been Mike's situation.
Like the previous post alluded, when you have people not paying, you hustle, you contact them.
You at least try to stay in communications with them.
Hell, I had a client *die* while I had his unit.
I brought it to his funeral for his brother to take care of and he did.

I myself have units belonging to two clients here for a long time (hello voltor), but I reply to their emails the first chance I'm able.
I try and make amends by giving them something else for free or discounting their bill. Whatever I can.

One additional thing, if a client truly is ignoring paying his bill and you have his instrument, you can legally perform a "lien sale."
But the catch is: you have to make ALL possible attempts to first contact them before you sell their unit.
It takes time and effort, but it doesn't take years.
If someone didn't pay me for a job done 3 or 4 years ago, you'd see it on Ebay.
But I would first communicate with them and that's what Mike hasn't appeared to do.

Finally, I actually sympathize with Mike.
He was a good tech. He did lots of good work and should be respected for this.
I don't think he deliberately set out to rip anyone off.
Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime. - R. Pupkin

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thealien666
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by thealien666 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:04 pm

I agree with 99% of what you wrote Kevin...except the very last sentence.

No matter how bad things can turn out in someone's life, honesty should be paramount when doing business with anybody. It's a question of honor and principles, which he obviously lost somewhere along the way, if he had any to begin with...

I'm sure if he had explained his situation to his clients, not necessarily in details if he wanted to keep things private, most of them, if not all of them, would have understood. They most probably would have accepted to retrieve their items, not repaired, maybe even at their own shipping expenses (to help him out a bit in a bad financial situation) instead of loosing track of him and their instruments altogether.
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Ronny_Pudding
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by Ronny_Pudding » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:31 pm

"Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?"

He's still a total douchebag. :D

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Kevin Lightner
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by Kevin Lightner » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:36 pm

thealien666 wrote: No matter how bad things can turn out in someone's life, honesty should be paramount when doing business with anybody. It's a question of honor and principles, which he obviously lost somewhere along the way, if he had any to begin with...
With all due respect, if one is mentally ill, depressed or a heavy substance abuser, it's not always possible to communicate or be honest, even if they wanted to.
Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime. - R. Pupkin

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thealien666
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by thealien666 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:43 pm

Point well taken, sir... I hadn't thought of that. Hope it never happens to me...or maybe it has already, and that's why I couldn't conceive of such a thing ? :?
Nah, I'm just a dumb ass sometimes... :roll: :lol:
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Kevin Lightner
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by Kevin Lightner » Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:25 pm

No disrespect taken.
I used to think the same way.
Be grateful you aren't so afflicted. :)

Don't get me wrong though.
If Mike was holding on to MY synth that long or I paid money and got nothing, I'd be pissed too.

I think the largest questions here regard the gear and his honesty.

In other words, if he still has the gear and not sold it, he's honest, but has problems.
If he's sold off everyone's gear and hiding low, that's something else entirely.
I know all of the possible problems I stated before firsthand, but it never caused me to sell off someone's gear.
It's a morality issue.
No matter how bad things get, you don't sell client's gear without just cause or approval.

For me, that's the big question here: does he even still have the stuff??

PS: I'm a dumb ass too: I have three client's gear here, not two. I forgot about an Obx here.
BUT.. I ain't selling it either. :)
Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime. - R. Pupkin

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BrianK
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by BrianK » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:49 pm

Kevin Lightner wrote:
thealien666 wrote: No matter how bad things can turn out in someone's life, honesty should be paramount when doing business with anybody. It's a question of honor and principles, which he obviously lost somewhere along the way, if he had any to begin with...
With all due respect, if one is mentally ill, depressed or a heavy substance abuser, it's not always possible to communicate or be honest, even if they wanted to.
I think this is the issue - not that it makes things "better", it's still a horrible situation. People deserve their things back, but this is likely mental issues of depression etc etc. One could hire a private detective or police to solve it - but nothing will likely ever "turn around". Too much evidence of that. I would not expect things to change in the future. But you might get your gear back, broken or not, that's better than nothing...
Last edited by BrianK on Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

Trigger
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Re: Anyone know anything recent about Mike Bucki?

Post by Trigger » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:43 pm

For the record, Mike has fixed my stuff in the past. He did a great job, and I feel he charged me fairly. The fact that I seem to have escaped whatever happened after my dealings with him doesn't make me feel any better. I especially feel for Mitchell C and his Taurus pedals--if everything he says is true (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), he got royally screwed.

I seem to recollect that Mike had purchased the old NOS of Moog/Moog Custom hardware and inventory--parts unavailable anywhere else. He and I had conversations where he said he could not just repair, but fabricate, anything Moog. I think there's a SoCal ELP tribute band called Brain Salad. IIRC, their keyboard player had Mike build a complete System 55. As sad as it is that there are a number of folks who sent gear to him in good faith, only to be ripped off, think what he could be doing if he really has the means to fabricate authentic Moog modulars.

I hope Mike is still around. I hope he's reading this forum thread, maybe feeling remorse for past actions, and maybe, just maybe, does the right thing. All he has to do to be a hero to lots of people is make things right.

Mike, if you're out there, and you're reading this, how about it??

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