Voyager in UK (Preferably Minus Turnkey)

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kron787
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Voyager in UK (Preferably Minus Turnkey)

Post by kron787 » Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:38 pm

Hi Everyone,

I am looking to buy a Voyager in the UK.

The problem is I would rather not deal with Turnkey. I wish Moog would choose a better distributor - Turnkey is absolutely awful.

But barring that...

1) Does anyone have one for sale, preferably in London?

2) For those that bought from Europe, was there VAT/duty involved?

3) For those that have imported from the States, how much VAT/duty did you
end up paying? If you don't want to make this info public, please pm me.

Thanks in advance for any info.

...

As a sidenote - I know the UK is a tiny market for Moog, yielding little extra profit.

But it does no credit to the truly iconic Moog brand to be associated with the likes of Turnkey.

Not only are they clueless about selling Moog stuff, I have never experienced worse service anywhere in my life.

Please Moog, consider switching; you're losing out from this ill-considered relationship. It is hurting your brand equity and losing you potential sales.

kron787
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Post by kron787 » Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:41 pm

Oh yah - one more question.

Why is it that I can get a Voyager in the States for about $2500, but for not less than $4000 in Europe?

Let's say taxes amount to 20% of $2500. That raises the price to $3k. Let's say transport costs and duty are another $250. That's still only $3250.

What am I missing here? Is it a simple case of enormous profit margins for distributors at the expense of Moog fans in Europe?

industrial_gypsy
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Post by industrial_gypsy » Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:09 pm

Sound Control are now official UK distributors apparently, but they're clueless as well! You'll also still get ripped off, £900 for an LP Tribute.

A word of advice though, wherever you end up buying your Moog from will be the place you have to use for any repairs. There is no worldwide warranty, so if you import one, be prepared to export it for any work that needs doing. I find this a bit of a joke to be honest, God help anyone who takes a Voyager to Sound Control for repairs.

kron787
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Post by kron787 » Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:32 pm

Hmm, that's absurd.

I love Moog but I refuse to be forced to invest in Sound Control or Turnkey at the same time.

It's kind of like an inverse warranty - you know with a fair degree of certainty that if something does go wrong, those jokers will only make your problems even worse :)

I hope you guys at Moog get your act together in the UK - looks like I will be spending my pocket money on an Omega 8 instead of a Voyager.

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goldphinga
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Post by goldphinga » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:27 pm

Dont blame Moog.

Turnkey aint that bad AND Moog cant be held responsible for their actions. Sound control and turnkey can give moog the floor space that is essential for them to get to the masses.

fyi sound control is the same company as turnkey anyway.

Youd be stupid not to buy a voyager just because you dont like turnkey. My mate just bought a phatty over here in the uk from them,and he had no problems afaik.
Moog Gear: Voyager AE,LP Stage 2+CV outs (Blue LED's/Wheels, MF104SD, MF101 Filter, MF103 Phaser, Source, Memorymoog+, Minitaur.

kron787
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Post by kron787 » Sat Feb 03, 2007 5:31 am

hey gp,

i'm happy for your friend.

nearly everyone i know who's dealt with turnkey has

1) found it rather painful in round 1 (ie, buying)
2) found it incredibly painful if there's a round 2 (ie, service)

even walking in the shop is painful - it's clear no one there has a clue about anything but a hard sell.

as for blaming moog - c'mon, who else chose the UK distributor? brand owners hold distributors responsible for good or bad service all the time - it's an essential part of what they do.

it was moog's decision, and they should...change it :)

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goldphinga
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Post by goldphinga » Sat Feb 03, 2007 6:05 am

so whats YOUR experience of turnkey??? hearsay is a dangerous thing that can be blown out of proportion. im not defending them but if you have a problem with them speak to them or moog and sort it out.

simple.

Its not rocket science to buy a voyager is it? ring them up, order and it gets delivered.If there are problems take issue with it, like you would any other company.

OR Buy direct from moog like i did and itll still come in cheaper than uk prices.

Bottom line tho,Just buy a voyager and be done with it. you are wasting valuable playing time. Youd be a very stupid person not to buy a voyager just because you heard that turnkey are a bit flaky.

If you are unhappy with moogs choice of distributor at least have the balls to speak to them directly.
Moog Gear: Voyager AE,LP Stage 2+CV outs (Blue LED's/Wheels, MF104SD, MF101 Filter, MF103 Phaser, Source, Memorymoog+, Minitaur.

kron787
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Post by kron787 » Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:58 pm

dude - i *am* taking issue with it. that's why i started this thread :)

let me try and put it more clearly - having bought gear all over the world, i can safely say turnkey is the absolute worst. perhaps not if you're justin timberlake, but definitely if you're just the average gearhead.

as for my experience with turnkey, i've tried quite a few times to buy various bits of gear from them. luckily, i haven't because of:

1) nothing ever being "in stock" (not that that stopped them from asking for my credit card)
2) an almost total lack of knowledge by salespeople
3) general lameness (viz, when i went in to ask if little phatty tributes were in stock, two of the salesguys started laughing...at me!!)
4) experiences of friends who've had nothing but trouble (delays, arguments, etc).

is it rocket science to buy a voyager? in the UK, it's tough. i can either:

1) buy from turnkey, and subsidize a crap business whose service i can't rely on (not to mention getting ripped off in the process)
2) import from the states...which isn't exactly fun and games either.

but let's stop bickering and try and be productive...if you bought direct, can i ask how much you ended up paying in VAT/duty?

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Post by Sweep » Sat Feb 03, 2007 7:38 pm

Here are my experiences as a Turnkey customer on several occasions, ordering by phone for delivery to a part of Britain distant from London.

I bought my Voyager from Turnkey. It arrived very quickly and in perfect condition.

I've also bought other gear from them, both hardware and software.

I've not had any problems ordering, and the delivery has sometimes been so fast it's awesome.

I haven't ever had to return anything to them for servicing, though.

Having spoken by phone to several Turnkey staff I wouldn't say they're clueless, though in most cases I've known exactly what I was ordering and didn't need to ask any technical questions. On one occasion I asked a question the staff member couldn't answer, but he was perfectly upfront about that, and went to check the item. He then phoned me back a few minutes later and gave me the technical specs straight from the box.

There's only been one questionable matter. I bought a soundcard that wasn't quite what I needed. It's debatable whether the staff member should have noticed the detail I missed, but on balance I don't think he was to blame. The manufacturer's write-up isn't clear. I fitted the soundcard and used it for a couple of weeks before spotting the problem, which meant Turnkey wouldn't give me a refund. I think that's reasonable, though it might have been better if they'd offered a partial refund and sold it as B stock.

I'd always do thorough research before ordering from Turnkey, unless any questions were straightforward ones. But I'd do that with any other supplier as well. I'd happily order again from them tomorrow, based on past experience. I do agree that servicing a Moog synth is a delicate area, though, whoever you buy it from. As far as I can see, the only real answer to that one is to live within driving distance of the Moog factory.

Sweep
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Post by Sweep » Sat Feb 03, 2007 7:41 pm

kron787 wrote:let me try and put it more clearly - having bought gear all over the world, i can safely say turnkey is the absolute worst. perhaps not if you're justin timberlake, but definitely if you're just the average gearhead.
As a supplement to the previous post, I'm not Justin Timberlake by the way. I thought I'd better settle that one. :D

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goldphinga
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Post by goldphinga » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:53 pm

yo- im not bickering, but ive never had a problem with turnkey. i got a very early voyager from them and it had a problems and it was promptly sorted by a manager.

my point is in all the time you have spent slagging them off you could have had one in your posession.

Its not much hassle importing from the states or europe to the uk, ive done it several times with no problems. so DUDE, just buy one like everyone else does and stop complaining! Its not as if there arent other ways to get a voyager if you hate turnkey so much.

If you really want a voyager then just get one! Its simple.

:idea:
Moog Gear: Voyager AE,LP Stage 2+CV outs (Blue LED's/Wheels, MF104SD, MF101 Filter, MF103 Phaser, Source, Memorymoog+, Minitaur.

industrial_gypsy
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Post by industrial_gypsy » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:23 pm

Its not much hassle importing from the states or europe to the uk
I'm sure it's not, but what about if the synth needs work? Have you had to send anything back to the States for repair/service work? That's what concerns me about importing one.

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goldphinga
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Post by goldphinga » Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:24 pm

im sure i heard cimple solutions are the only uk moog authorised service centre but dont quote me on that.... best ask moog.
Moog Gear: Voyager AE,LP Stage 2+CV outs (Blue LED's/Wheels, MF104SD, MF101 Filter, MF103 Phaser, Source, Memorymoog+, Minitaur.

industrial_gypsy
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Post by industrial_gypsy » Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:30 pm

best ask moog
I did.. Mike Adams in fact, and he told me a US sourced Moog would have to go back to the States for any servicing or warranty work.

The thought/cost of shipping a Voyager back and forth to the US for servicing/warranty work is ridiculous and risky. How hard can it be to organise a UK repair centre that could be re-imbursed for carrying out any work? To be honest, I'm sick of harping on about the state of Moog support in the UK, I'm boring myself, never mind anybody else. Bollocks to them and their half hearted effort, perhaps Alex Winter is to blame :twisted:

nigeynige
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It's not an easy choice

Post by nigeynige » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:49 am

I've written some reasonably nasty things about Turnkey in the past and I agree with all the comments. I have been kept waiting to be served, paid for something that's not in stock, had to wait for a delivery for weeks when I could have driven to London, picked it up, taken it to Japan for a vacation and got back in time to redecorate my studio....BUT( and I say this quite positively), Turnkey are only a bunch of guys who have probably been in their jobs for a matter of weeks before moving on to the next company. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BUY A MOOG, then this is your only option in the UK. Sound Control are basically-Turnkey and If you purchase a voyager from the States, you'll have to ship it back. I tune my Voyager up and carry out any necessary repairs(of which they haven't been except replacing upgrade boards). Alex Winter is only responsible for Moogs not being allowed to use the logo in the UK. He has nothing to do with Servicing.
THE CHOICE IS THIS......Want a Voyager....either buy from Turnkey/Sound Control, import from the US, buy one off a european company(I'd suggest getting in the car, driving over to France and then bringing the voyager back into the UK)...OR wait until the servicing issue has been resolved, but I wouldn't wait a minute longer....I'd be parting with my money right now...the Voyager is the dogs bollocks as far as a synth is concerned.
It's THE ONLY CHOICE.
Nige
And then there's

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