They gotta be kidding...

[abn556]

The Audio Technica LP-120 and the Denon DP-300 are both turntables I have used that are decent lower cost units. The Audio Technica looks like a reproduction of my old Technics SL-1200 turntable that I unfortunately threw away in the mid 90s because I never thought I would use it again. I did the same thing with a Nakamichi CR7 tape deck that I wish I had back.

[AMW]

Of a few minds on this one...

I have a first generation U-Turn, I participated in their Kickstarter and I think it was less than $250 to pre-order, maybe 7-8 years ago. It's fine, a pretty bare-bones deck that I upgraded the cartridge on, it works for me. One belt replacement in that time, not bad.

I think everyone is bristling at the "lifestyle company" implications that come with this kind of thing, and I ABSOLUTELY wish Martin would divert a few resources to the ongoing binding adhesion issues... but "collabs" between recognized brands are a thing nowadays, they're everywhere. The idea is, of course, to cross audiences and create buzz.

I kind of figured that U-Turn had become a big success because they're on offer in pretty much every record store in town now. More than doubling the price because the base is made of Martin mahogany is... whatever. They'll sell out, certainly, but I don't think they will appreciate in value or anything. Somebody smart might start buying up the standard U-Turn and moving the guts to exotic slabs of wood, charge $750, make a tidy little profit for an hour's work!

[Dwight]

Taylor has an analogue watch, Does Harley-Davidson even sell motorcycles anymore?

[Corndog]

Originally Posted by EllenGtrGrl

Ah yes! Martin decides to go the route that Gibson, Fender and Harley are going - become a lifestyle brand!

Or Jeep, Ford-Chevy, Starbucks, Taylor Swift, American political parties, In 'n Out, Football, Baseball, etc etc...

I blame Thomas Ripsam. Things have gotten a lot cheesier under his tutelage.
Although, last I know of, the Martin family still owns the company and Chris could probably draw a line for this stuff.

[CodeBlueEMT]

I'd buy a Martin t-shirt, but only if I could try it on first.

[Br1ck]

Why anyone should be surprised or offended Martin would license their trademark logo is beyond me. If people buy the product, it is not overpriced.

Guitars aren't the only things people will shell out for.

[GGNJ]

Originally Posted by CodeBlueEMT

I'd buy a Martin t-shirt, but only if I could try it on first.

I bought one for my son and after a couple of washes it shrunk!

[Dr356]

I bought one and after one wash, the seams started separating....

[frankmcr]

They're gambling that there's 25 people on this planet willing to pay $1199 for an okay turntable that's pretty cool looking and has the Martin logo on it. They'll probably sell them all.

Gotta love the people who think making fun of such silliness is an attack on the US economic system. "Slippery slope" I guess .

[Osage]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

Is there any turntable you would recommend for someone who doesn’t want to spend more than a couple hundred bucks? We have a good old McIntosh amp from 1968, but our turntable is kaput.

Fluance RT82. It's $300 brand new and is a good solid turntable. You can upgrade the stylus but you can't easily upgrade parts like the arm etc so many audiophiles don't care for them. I'm assuming you don't care about this and just want something that sounds good, is well built, and won't break the bank. If that's the case, it'll work really well. I have a fancier turntable at home but have a Fluance at my shop and I'm 100% happy with it.

[edward993]

Frankly, it's kind of a mundane offering from a premium builder. I'm waiting for the Authentic version. I hear that pre-war turntable is the most authentic!

Edward

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

Is there any turntable you would recommend for someone who doesn’t want to spend more than a couple hundred bucks? We have a good old McIntosh amp from 1968, but our turntable is kaput.

The Audio Technica turntables are pretty good. I have the LP120 and it's a nice enough turntable. They do occasionally have switch issues, and mine does too, but they are fairly highly regarded.

[rounder]

When I first started reading this thread about the turntable, I thought it was a joke, and responded accordingly. I have a Martin sinker mahogany guitar and love it.

I know that if you want to continue to make good guitars, you must first stay in business. For Harley Davidson and some good guitar companies, it means you need to expand your operation to include selling things that your followers would like to have (I have a Martin tee shirt and ashtray that I like). It sounds like the Martin turntable is half-way decent, but not state of the art. If people want to buy them, that is ok with me. I wonder though if Chris Martin were still running the company, whether he would have approved of a turntable like that.

[Steve-arino]

The Fluance RT82 looks great. And it comes with a nice cartridge. Looks really amazing for not too much $$. I never heard of Fluance. Better than a used turntable for sure.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by truckgoodbar

Why waste Sinker on a turntable?

They probably had a few scraps lying around, and instead of throwing them in the Jøtul, they figured they could make some money with them.

The twenty-five should sell fast. Mission accomplished.

-----------

PS -

I used to work at an antique store in Massachusetts that also made and sold antique reproductions. There was a stack of boards out back lying in the weeds, and one day when I didn't have much to do, I decided to restack them so they weren't lying right on the ground rotting.

My boss showed up when I was about halfway done and said, no no no, put the back on the ground. While I did, he explained:

He'd been driving down a road in England and saw an old — I mean old — church getting torn down. He pulled over, bought a bunch of planks on the spot, and had 'em shipped home to Massachusetts.

His plan was to make tables and sell them, talking up the wood's historic British provenence for his Anglophile customers. The problem was that the wood was too clean. It needed some rot and worm holes to look authentic. And the wood wasn't quite there yet.

Likewise, some audiophiles will love that the turntables are sinker mahogany. And what do you get? Alchemy: Twenty-five pieces of trash turned into gold: