Santa Cruz, CA, June 4, 2009 - The Rick Turner Guitar Company, builders of Rick Turner, Renaissance and Compass Rose hand-made instruments, announced the addition of bassist and businessman Lane Baldwin to their staff as Ambassador-at-Large. A long-term associate and avid promoter of the company, as well as a business advisor, Baldwin will assist company president Barry Pearlman with all levels of sales operations, including dealers, professional artists and custom instrument collectors.

"This is an excellent move for the company," Pearlman said. "Lane has been an enthusiastic promoter of the brand for many years, as well as a trusted advisor and close friend. We're all very excited about the opportunities ahead."

Barry met Lane just days after his own start with the company in 2004. Baldwin already had a well-established relationship with founder Rick Turner. The two quickly found common ground and began to seek ways to work together.

"For me, business is all about strong relationships," Lane said. "Barry and Rick agree. This is a wonderful chance to work with two close friends, both of whom I admire and respect a great deal. I'm really looking forward to being a part of the team."

Lane Baldwin, Ambassador-at-Large for the Rick Turner Guitar Company. Shown here with his
Renaissance RS-6B baritone guitar, one of several Turner-built instruments he owns.

In addition to his duties interacting with new and existing dealers, Baldwin will also assist with artist and custom collector sales, assist with content for the company's web site, and expand the company's consumer outreach. "The new web site is an excellent vehicle for reaching out to the public, and there are many ways we plan to leverage the site," Pearlman said. "Lane has a wealth of experience and we intend to make use of it."

Baldwin is looking forward to working with custom collectors, those who, like Lane himself, collect several matching instruments. "The Smoked Glass collection is the centerpiece of my overall collection of instruments," said Lane. "As a collector of highly customized instruments, I understand how important it is to make certain each instrument is built to exact specifications, even if they are purchased over a period of years."

Contrary to current economic trends, the boutique guitar company has enjoyed significant health over the last year and a half, with strong prospects for continued growth for the foreseeable future. "Our future outlook is very positive," said Pearlman. "It's important we have the right people on our team. Rick and I both feel strongly that Lane is the right person at the right time."

For more than twenty-five years, Lane Baldwin has pursued interwoven careers in music and business. As a musician, songwriter, band leader and producer, he has toured the world and recorded with dozens of artists. Dig the Hole, the first release from his band Deeper Blues has been hailed as the best new Blues in decades. As a business consultant, Lane promotes servant-leadership and humanistic management practices to others while using them to guide his own companies. He lives in Tilton, IL, with his wife Glenda Ford-Baldwin.

Located in Santa Cruz, the Rick Turner Guitar Company hand-builds and markets guitars, basses and ukuleles under the Turner, Renaissance, and Compass Rose brands. Turner is an icon in the industry, and is recognized as one the world's premier luthiers and guitar electronics designers. For further information on this and other news, visit renaissanceguitars.com.