Originally posted by journeyman
I'm going to offer an opinion here, and for the record I am not associated with Gokce (whisperoftheoud) or Yildirim, who builds the ouds that Gokce
markets. To the best of my knowledge there was one incident where an oud was damaged in shipment and the issue appears to still not be resolved, BUT,
to my knowledge there is not one case other than that one where there has been a problem between Gokce and any buyer of one of Yildirim's ouds.
I myself bought an oud from a builder who is held in extremely high regard, and I also received it with a dislodged peg box due to poor packing. We
resolved the incident, which was really due to inexperience in shipping ouds overseas on the part of the builder and not any kind of bad ethics.
Basically I looked at the big picture, paid and axtra $35 bucks for the repair and enjoyed the oud with the builder's reputation and feelings intact.
<b>shoot</b> happens. If it had been major damage, I would have pursued the matter through the insurance and involver the builder more.
In the case of Gokce, perhaps his style is a bit too pushy for some, and I do believe that cultural differences and difficulty with English can
exaggerate the impression, but other than that one incident, I have not heard one complaint from anyone else. I can also say from my own experience
that Yildirim's ouds display a very, very high level of craftsmanship and are superior instruments in their playability and sound. What's more, his
designs are showing originality and innovation, in that he is not afraid to step away from the standard proportions associated with the great Turkish
tradition.
Having said my piece, I would now like to ask that the character assassination and general hostility being expressed in this thread simply stop, and
that the concerned parties try to resolve their differences outside of the forum. We are all aware of the previous incident between the parties in
question, so it should be up to each individual to decide if they want to put their trust in purchasing an oud from Gokce. It serves no purpose to
continue this public display of anger and hostility towards him. Some might disagree, but this is my opinion and my request. Thanks for reading.
Roy |
