Heads-up: SpaceStation keyboard amp is apparently back

[Aspen]

How can anyone seriously interested in purchasing a piece of gear like that, make an intelligent judgement on the quality of sound, and all that's been said about it, "stereo sweet spot heard everywhere", etc., by listening/watching youtube video demos, which have mostly low fidelity sound, especially heard on most computer speakers? Not having the chance to go to a music store and actually trying/hearing it for your self, better yet on one's own keyboard, before one decides to buy it. Am intrigued by it though, just don't like to have to purchase the tools of my trade that way, even if I want something unique/different, like the SSV3.

 

I hear you loud and clear Agitato (is that Italian for agitator?), and I truly apologize to you and others who may feel this way. I can't blame you if you decide to wait and hear one for yourself....it does sound far fetched that you can hear stereo in every corner of a room from one speaker.

Maybe someday CPS could be in most brick and mortar stores, but for now I am limited in my options as some may recall from my earlier explanations.

And, I agree in a perfect world I would love to have CPS in a dozen shapes and sizes and in every corner music store...CPS is certainly a great transmission for a wide range of stereo engines out there. However, these are the cards I am dealt, so I am "Making Lemonade".

FYI, this distribution method was my "last resort" to get the SS V.3 back on the market. I could not get back into running a traditional company with 1,000 of dealers and dozens of employees again, (doctor's orders that the wife enforces!).

I spent 3 years approaching every large PA, keyboard, and amp company that shows at NAMM (NOTE: I have attended and/or exhibited at over 100 NAMM shows since 1967...so I am well known in this arena), and I sent out dozens of sample MK2 amps...we got close a few times...but I could not convince ONE company to "take the risk" and put this unusual product back on the market.

After all there really was no "shelf" that CPS fit on, V.3 is certainly not an "Elvis Impersonator" product, it is a new and original composition. Sad fact is that today, most companies "play it safe" when it comes to new technology (unless it is their own), too many dead pioneers. For some reason, it was accepted industry wide that all keyboard amps would be mono, even though all (OK, 99%) of keyboards today are heavily stereo modeled! Probably because the one or two companies who dominated that market sector "said so"....again playing it safe and following the "norm", trading shelf spaces.

FYI: When I sold GT back in 2008 to Fender, they bought the product the rights to the MK2, but not the CPS patent. They initially intended to continue production, but upon review they did not feel they were in the "keyboard amp" business. And a powered stereo monitor didn't fit anywhere in their catalog. Understandable. Certainly they would make more $ from a new floor pedal or a new color of Stratocaster. Remember this is the company that discontinued the Rhodes piano (and the carpet covered 3 channel Fender SFX/CPS Keyboard amp) for lack of sales volume. So while disappointed, I understood why they didn't make the SS V.3.

But I am so thankful Fender had the good sense and kind regards to give permission to do it. (same goes for my wife actually!).

However, and speaking to the physics of my new business model of a single distribution step, there is one clear advantage for YOU the end user; price!

If I would "go the norm" with this product, it would cost at least 50% more to your stage...trust me on that. A single distribution partner allows me to minimize my marketing expenses, and other overhead expenses, and obviously one less mouth in the food chain to feed means "less markup" for you. This has been duly noted by others here already, but I wanted to confirm their speculations; show me any STEREO amp and STEREO speaker system, applicable for professional keyboards, that you can buy for $600, much less one that creates a 300 degree stereo image everywhere in the room.

So life is full of trade offs, this was mine. It is a far slower introduction process, and I know I lose a lot of skeptics who rightfully want to hear for them selves...but it is a sure process. And we are already selling everything we can make as fast (and as safely) as I can increase production. I think eventually you will hear one, from a pal who took the leap of faith. And once you do, you may become a believer yourself....at least I hope so.

PS: I might suggest you listen to some of these videos again with a decent set of headphones, the recording you are hearing is as close as we could come to capturing the "being there" sound of CPS. We used an MS stereo room mic, set in our big room (50x26x14) about middle of the room and 20' away from the V.3. This stereo mic was then run thru a GT SuPRE stereo tube preamp and went direct to Protools...no EQ, no comp, no FX added...just a faithful stereo room mic listening to a speaker that produces a faithful stereo image. But it will not translate on "computer speakers".

Of course, as Jazzmammal commented, being there and hearing for yourself is more impressive. And, it's had to imagine how loud is it without being there. So it is usually a pleasant surprise to hear it and realize that it may just be loud enough without any support cast!

[ChrisDespo]

I was one of the lucky ones that just received my SSV3 a couple days ago in the shipment from Sweetwater ... (that along with my new PX-5S - yeah xmas came early this year lol) ...

 

(sorry this might get long winded ... )

 

Anyway, so far I've only hooked it up in my living room and A/B'd it with my studio monitors that I was using while practicing at home (they are an old pair of Yamaha MP5's that I got in 1999 but sound surprisingly good for their size) ... I gotta tell you that pretty much everything you've read so far about the 'stereo everywhere' coming from the SS is true from what my non-professional ears can tell. I've gone through my sounds ranging from acoustic pianos, strings, organs, and pretty much any other sound that I need for playing my live sets and can tell you they sound MUCH better in stereo than in mono, which is how I'm used to hearing them on stage. It gets loud too, and maintains some really descent bottom end too (I'm getting a subwoofer to go with it though for bigger rooms). I'm not a B3 expert by any means but this thing makes my PC361 organ sounds really come alive (never had a real B3 or Leslie so can't comment on how close to the original it sounds but comparing to how I've been used to hearing it all i can say is "wow!").

 

I know I'm sounding like a "fanboy" but for those of you who are on the fence about getting one of these from Sweetwater - just do it! You won't be disappointed .. and with support from Aspen here as impressive as any tech support you'll find anywhere (Mike Martin of Casio comes to mind) you can't lose ...

 

Playing my PX5S along with my Kurz PC361 through it has really gotten me excited to see how good they are going to sound on stage this weekend in stereo. I've been playing as a "weekend warrior" as probably some of you have since the 80's and i've always played live in MONO ... starting tomorrow nevermore!

 

If anybody lives in the Baltimore area and wants to hear how this thing sounds in a live situation, I'd be happy to demo it at one of my gigs ... (not sure about the policy of this forum to give out my band info, etc so PM me and we can chat) ...

 

Thanks Aspen for a great product and I wish you the best with your new company ... you have a winner on your hands!

[Dglavko]

So I had my first rehearsal with the SS last night. I brought the Nord Stage 2 and vent along with a small Rolls mixer.

 

This particular group routinely plays too loud, and the room is very small, so it is not the best place to test this out. Usually I bring either an Acoustic Image Corus (400 watts solid state) or QSC K10.

 

The AI is usually overpowered by the rest of the group and I have troubles hearing it in that environment. But it is light and should do the job (except with a band like this that plays too loud).

 

The QSC weighs 12 pounds more, and is plenty loud usually, but with such a small crowded room and its size, and my reluctance to drown out the others with more volume, I am usually lest than satisfied with it too.

 

The SS delivered quite well under these circumstances and is definitely my first choice of the three. No problems hearing it at all, even when standing (I had it placed on the floor.)

 

It was plenty loud, but with its unique dispersion, I didn't need to get as loud to be heard as I would with the QSC.

 

So I am very very pleased with this product.

 

PS I bought it from SW unseen/unheard, based on the reviews of others on this forum. If it was priced much higher (like the AI or QSC), I wouldn't have done that. But for $600, it was a no brainer to me.

 

I didn't bother to go to Utube for reasons others have articulated.

 

Shipping box was great by the way Aspen, which is more than I can say for the Nord C1 UP shipped to me years ago. (Nord's packaging was pretty skimpy imo, and did not prevent UPS from cracking the Nord's wooden side cheek in two places.

[AnotherScott]

I might suggest you listen to some of these videos again with a decent set of headphones, the recording you are hearing is as close as we could come to capturing the "being there" sound of CPS. We used an MS stereo room mic, set in our big room (50x26x14) about middle of the room and 20' away from the V.3. This stereo mic was then run thru a GT SuPRE stereo tube preamp and went direct to Protools...no EQ, no comp, no FX added...just a faithful stereo room mic listening to a speaker that produces a faithful stereo image. But it will not translate on "computer speakers".

Since the demos are really mean to me heard through headphones anyway,maybe you could do some binaural recording? Wouldn't that provide us with much more of a sense of being in that room?

[AndyW]

If you want to hear it in Wilmington NC I'm playing Friday the 24th from 6-10 at St. Thomas Preservation hall for a fundraiser--dress nice. Saturday the 25th from 10-1:30 at the Duck and Dive--drink beer.

[M_G]

Hi folks,

 

I think most users said everything but just few comments on the first unit that reached europe/germany three weeks ago....

 

All I have to say is that this thing sounds amazing!

The Leslie Sims come to live, the Epianos too.

Akustikpiano sounds well balanced, warm and clear, great.

It can be surprisingly loud and he bass response is better than thought.

 

Congrats to Aspen, never heard a better keyboard amp/monitor (and I had a lot of different models the last 25 years!).

Customer support is top notch too.

My unit has a minor glitch, but we already found a way to handle this problem even I am over the pond.....

 

Highly Recommended !

 

bye

Markus

 

 

[Jazzmammal]

Here's my gig report from last night. It's a loud sports bar gig with a max room capacity of 140. The room didn't hit the max, I would guess more or less 100. The walls are lined with TV's and they turn the sound off when we're playing but just the people talking is pretty loud in that place. I brought my EV ELX112P along with the SS. I'm looking at the EV in my car thinking will I really need this and I decided to not bring it in. I figured if the SS wasn't strong enough it would still get me through the first set and I could always bring in the EV on the break. My comment on that is WOW! The SS was not only loud enough, I actually never got close to where I set the master volume. I used a new $49 mini Alto mixer I just bought for this setup. I had the two stereo channels volume set at 12 o'clock and the master volume knob also at 12 o'clock with the master volume on the SS set at 1 o'clock and the width at about 2 o'clock.

 

During the first set I actually turned down the mixer a bit because it was too loud! This is with me sitting with my back to the wall close to the drummers left. I'm forced to sit to the side of whatever speaker I'm using in that place so with the EV I always sound muffled on stage but people tell me it sounds very good out front. The first song with the SS was Chicken Shack, I play organ on that and in 5 seconds I knew I have a game changer amp here. I heard a full range stereo leslie sound clean and crisp, and I already knew from the amp show and being in Apsens studio it's the same sound going away from me to the far side of the stage. it was absolutely awesome. We had friends sitting along the wall about 25 feet out and they heard me clearly.

 

Later in the first set I played piano on several tunes with the girl vocalist and it was full and rich. As an aside the SK1 acoustic sounded better than the FA06 patch #1 acoustic did. The FA wasn't bad but I thought the SK1 was better through this amp. During the break the bass player said I sounded great, he could hear everything and the drummer was even more enthusiastic than that because he's basically sitting right on top of the SS and never heard me well on that stage before. He could not believe the sound this small amp puts out. And this drummer is not shy with his playing. He can get loud. Btw, it was sitting on a 4-5" high plastic container thingy I found next to the dumpster at a liquor store a few years ago. It's perfect for sitting a speaker on. We had a guitarist sit in for the second set and of course he was too loud. I turned the volume knob on the mixer to 3 o'clock and I could still be heard just fine.

 

I've already talked in this thread about how good this amp is but now it's over the top. This was a pretty damn loud bar gig and I didn't have the SS maxed out! And NO SUB. Just the SS. Oh yeah, here's something else. At my age I've done so many tunes I can't remember them all. On the second break I was noodling around with the bass line for I Wish. I should have done that in the studio for Aspen's demo. The bass player immediately said I know that can you do this as an instrumental? I used to do exactly that for about 5 years many moons ago. I start it off by myself with that bass line. Using the manual bass on the SK1 it was distorting the SS at that volume so I turned that off and just used the standard upper manual drawbars with percussion and it just rocked! After 8 bars the bass player picks it up and we turned that song into a killer jam. I used organ, EP and later on during the guitarists solo the clav patch and it just rocked. I Wish was the hit of the night.

 

I don't think this amp was even close to being maxed out because at the peak last night there was no distortion at all, it was very clean so I know there was more left. Amazing unit and Aspen my friend I don't know how you did it but you sure did.

 

I tend to ramble but I needed to say all of this because in my 45 year musical career I've used every kind of amp system there is and this is the bottom line: Every keyboard player in the world needs one of these. That's it.

 

Bob

[ITGITC]

On the second break I was noodling around with the bass line for I Wish. I should have done that in the studio for Aspen's demo. The bass player immediately said I know that can you do this as an instrumental? I used to do exactly that for about 5 years many moons ago. I start it off by myself with that bass line. Using the manual bass on the SK1 it was distorting the SS at that volume so I turned that off and just used the standard upper manual drawbars with percussion and it just rocked! After 8 bars the bass player picks it up and we turned that song into a killer jam. I used organ, EP and later on during the guitarists solo the clav patch and it just rocked. I Wish was the hit of the night.

 

Bob

 

Great tune!

 

[Doerfler]

Btw, it was sitting on a 4-5" high plastic container thingy I found next to the dumpster at a liquor store a few years ago.

I thought I was the only one who rummaged through dumpsters at liquor stores.

[mak1457]

I tend to ramble but I needed to say all of this because in my 45 year musical career I've used every kind of amp system there is and this is the bottom line: Every keyboard player in the world needs one of these. That's it. Bob

 

Glad to hear you didn't need a sub. That was one of my biggest qualms. So in your opinion, is it safe to say little old ladies won't be complaining about their hearing aids if they have to listen to organ music through this speaker?

[agitato]

Would you say the acoustic pianos sound better or the same, through the ssv3, as through a high quality powered monitor, like the k10 or dxr10? Just asking.

[Jazzmammal]

I don't have either of those but I do have the EV ELX112P which is frequently mentioned here as being as good as those, of course we all have opinions on that. I think the SS V.3 is better but that is primarily due to the stereo dispersion effect. I know when I can sit in front of my EV it sounds very good too just not in stereo. I only have the one ELX but I have two of the older SXa 100 series and on larger stages I've use those for stereo and when I'm sitting in the sweet spot those sound very good.

 

I think as far as basic sound quality the SS is right up there with the best powered speakers available. Still, there's hundreds of opinions in many different threads on this forum about the different big name speakers. Everybody has their favorites. I'm partial to EV and Yamaha, others love QSC, RCF or the new Eons. They're all good, if someone gave me a pair of Eons I wouldn't toss them out. The big deal with the Spacestation is it's one speaker yet it throws the sound all over in stereo and the overall sound quality is certainly comparable to the others. One thing the new powered speakers have over the SS is the DSP EQ and multiple inputs. Aspen has given his reasons for not including those things earlier.

 

Look at the price of the SS and then look at the prices for the others. The Spacestation is a steal imho because to get stereo you have to have two of the others and a place to put them. Aspen said and I totally agree, if this was sitting at a Guitar Center the price would be $899-$999 and maybe it gets discounted to $749 or something.

 

And Mak1457 little old ladies will love this because it's not directional. How many times have we done quiet gigs with older folks and it's always the one with the most sensitive hearing who's sitting directly in front of the HF horn and keeps complaining about the volume? The SS sounds very full at low volume. I know this from me playing it in my living room.

 

Bob

[jerrythek]

I'm so happy for you, Aspen, and congrats for sticking with it. I still remember you demoing your V1 (I believe) for me at a Summer NAMM in the Korg suite (many years ago!). And loaning you boards for various shows. But true to your skills and genius you've stuck with it and gotten it right. Much success to come!

 

Best regards,

 

Jerry Kovarsky

[Aspen]

I'm so happy for you, Aspen, and congrats for sticking with it. I still remember you demoing your V1 (I believe) for me at a Summer NAMM in the Korg suite (many years ago!). And loaning you boards for various shows. But true to your skills and genius you've stuck with it and gotten it right. Much success to come!

 

Best regards,

 

Jerry Kovarsky

Hey Jerry, thanks so much for the kind words, and "show support" over he years. Glad to see you are still kicking it! Be sure to stop by APR if you are ever in the Valley!

[Aspen]

Since the demos are really mean to me heard through headphones anyway,maybe you could do some binaural recording? Wouldn't that provide us with much more of a sense of being in that room?

 

Well, stereo recording is as subjective as...well for example as pianos.

Actually, MS just seems the obvious matching stereo tracking system as we are using a MS speaker (so MS in reverse just seemed right)

We do a lot of stereo tracking at APR. We use spaced Omni and MS along with individual drum mics for a drum set, and we had 3 MS mics on a recent Doyle Dykes session (so 6 out of 11 tracks for one guitar!), but we rarely use binaural. I guess we just like MS (a lot), so if it's not "broke" we aren't looking to fix it.

Bruce Botnick once told me he used MS on almost every track when working at Electra and engineering all the Doors albums, from Morrison's vocals to to Manzerik keys....and it just has the huge "being there" sound.

However, I will take your suggestions and give it a try on an upcoming session...and we'll see.

 

[John Tweed]

Over the last couple of days I've had the chance to just play through the SS3 and what a great experience it is. I have never heard my CP4 sound this good! Always mono on the gig, even at home the piano's location is not in the "sweet spot" of my studio monitors, so it's underwhelming. But through the SS3 it's just like the sound you experience when sitting at one of the Yamahas with built in speakers, eg Arius or P120, where you get the sensation of sitting behind the soundboard of a real piano.

 

Playing organ and piano together each instrument is very clear, seeming to sit in its own audio space, while at the same time the positional clues in the sound make it sound like there's a leslie sitting in the grand piano.

 

As luck would have it, I've just picked up a gig for tonight after a band cancellation at the local blues society jam, so I'm going to be able to put the SS3 through its paces live. I'm planning to use the SK1 with my PX3 piano. Hopefully there will be at least one keyboard jammer there so I can have a listen from the floor. Stay tuned.

[AndyW]

Last night I used the SS on top of a KT-80 (with a blown tweeter) at a bar gig and loved it!. Only organ sounds were used from my SK2; everyone was impressed with the sound. It was a trio (organ, alto sax, and drums-jazz/funk/groove). I was heard loud and clear; the high end screams and the V/C is so distinct. I noticed people looking towards the band when I would use the Leslie and three times more people commented on how sweet the Hammond sound was.

 

I guess the supertweeter and the use of three amps gives that incredible clarity. I'm as impressed with the clarity as I am with the stereo. The squabble was the best I've ever heard from a clonewheel. I love this amp!

[Aspen]

Hi guys, OK as promised; Brian has finished editing some (IMHO) excellent acoustic piano tracking thru the SS V.3,including one with our newly acquired Ivory software (thank you Michael Lehmann Boddicker and the Moog Foundation Charity auction) and played on our new Privia 5S (thank you Mike Martin and Casio for making a better piano):

 

Al Marotta 'Ballad For Now' in te Privia 5S with the Ivory piano plugin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztMj6HpBA10&feature=youtu.be

 

Al Marotta 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' on the Nord synth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3dz74_MvH0

 

Al Marotta 'Lament' on the Nord piano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC6mou0cL64

 

Please put on some phones, and listen to the very end of Ivory demo and the piano just rings and sustains...wow, very realistic and kinda sends chills up my spin!

 

As before, all recordings were done with a single MS stereo room mic about 20' from the SS V.3...no EQ, no FX, no Comp, or tricks of any kind...this sounds as close to "being there" as we can manage. Hope you enjoy it. Of course, being there (for Brian and I) was even better!

[AndyW]

Hi guys, OK as promised; Brian has finished editing some (IMHO) excellent acoustic piano tracking thru the SS V.3,including one with our newly acquired Ivory software (thank you Michael Lehmann Boddicker and the Moog Foundation Charity auction) and played on our new Privia 5S (thank you Mike Martin and Casio for making a better piano):

 

Al Marotta 'Ballad For Now' in te Privia 5S with the Ivory piano plugin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztMj6HpBA10&feature=youtu.be

 

Al Marotta 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' on the Nord synth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3dz74_MvH0

 

Al Marotta 'Lament' on the Nord piano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC6mou0cL64

 

Please put on some phones, and listen to the very end of Ivory demo and the piano just rings and sustains...wow, very realistic and kinda sends chills up my spin!

 

As before, all recordings were done with a single MS stereo room mic about 20' from the SS V.3...no EQ, no FX, no Comp, or tricks of any kind...this sounds as close to "being there" as we can manage. Hope you enjoy it. Of course, being there (for Brian and I) was even better!

 

Did you use the sub?

[DoverDave]

Hi Aspen -

 

I just wanted to say that although I haven't been able to try my idea of using 2 spacestations with a mixer and sub as a PA for my 8 piece band yet (life keeps getting in the way), I have gigged several times with it now, and I absolutely love it! All my nord sounds are great through it - and I just downloaded the largest Fazioli grand sample my old stage compact can hold, for a friend who's considering a nord to demo it... and I've been playing it for an hour, amazed at the beautiful ambience the V3 produces. I think I can safely say that when my friend hears the amp, he's going to want one. Also, my cousin is borrowing some of my equipment for his band's 20 year reunion (the V3 and nord C2D), and I'm betting he'll want one too.

 

You've really found your niche with this amp... every keyboard player needs one!

 

Dave

[Aspen]

Hi Aspen -

 

I just wanted to say that although I haven't been able to try my idea of using 2 spacestations with a mixer and sub as a PA for my 8 piece band yet (life keeps getting in the way), I have gigged several times with it now, and I absolutely love it! All my nord sounds are great through it - and I just downloaded the largest Fazioli grand sample my old stage compact can hold, for a friend who's considering a nord to demo it... and I've been playing it for an hour, amazed at the beautiful ambience the V3 produces. I think I can safely say that when my friend hears the amp, he's going to want one. Also, my cousin is borrowing some of my equipment for his band's 20 year reunion (the V3 and nord C2D), and I'm betting he'll want one too.

 

You've really found your niche with this amp... every keyboard player needs one!

 

Dave

Awesome report Dave, thanks so much for sharing!

 

Only one wrinkle now; getting more delivered! Sweetwater has a ton of backorders and have mostly bought out the entire 2nd run to fill it. Then today the factory informed me they are running a bit behind schedule and will most likely ship the next run November 21-25th. Then it's 3 week on the water and another week to Sweetwater...so the next V.3 units will not hit SW until December 16th...just in time for Christmas, but not soon enough for me!

Being over sold on a hit new product is what many tell me is a "premium problem", but it's a problem just the same!

[J. Dan]

I'm sorry to take this sort of OT, but this sort of thing really interests me as I'm currently involved with a new product release at the company I work for in my day job. This is a major corporation and a much larger global release, but with the same concerns. They want to do a "slow release". They're afraid everyone will rush out and place orders, they'll get inundated, have long lead times, and struggle to support. They're struggling with how to message this through the sales channel. They don't want people to be worried about the product, but don't want to be hit with 100,000 units in the first month, either. Their answer so far is to introduce with a high price, and lower it after they're comfortable,

[timwat]

Dan,

 

FWIW, this is generally the trajectory I've suggested, both teaching strategic management in business school and in a fairly active consultancy with early stage companies here in the Bay Area.

 

It's a given that signaling via price works with typical first adopters and "bleeding edgers", many times market position at the initial high price is mitigated by offering first wave purchasers some manner of present or future advantage (access, customization, exclusive next phase benefits, etc.) to mitigate the higher price.

[DanL]

Awesome report Dave, thanks so much for sharing!

 

Only one wrinkle now; getting more delivered! Sweetwater has a ton of backorders and have mostly bought out the entire 2nd run to fill it. Then today the factory informed me they are running a bit behind schedule and will most likely ship the next run November 21-25th. Then it's 3 week on the water and another week to Sweetwater...so the next V.3 units will not hit SW until December 16th...just in time for Christmas, but not soon enough for me!

Being over sold on a hit new product is what many tell me is a "premium problem", but it's a problem just the same!

 

So those of us who ordered early this month won't get one til mid December? Or is it the 3rd run that is behind schedule and the 2nd is on time?

[16251]

So those of us who ordered early this month won't get one til mid December? Or is it the 3rd run that is behind schedule and the 2nd is on time?

[HAMEGZ]

For once, I am glad I was an early adopter of a new release of a product.

 

Guys it IS worth the wait, if that's any consolation.

 

Mine continues to deliver and the other band guys cant stop talking about how GOOD it sounds plus they hear me now.In fact the last gig the drummer asked me to turn down !

[B. J. Love]

So those of us who ordered early this month won't get one til mid December?

Dis-ap-POINTED!!!

[drawback]

Awesome report Dave, thanks so much for sharing!

 

Only one wrinkle now; getting more delivered! Sweetwater has a ton of backorders and have mostly bought out the entire 2nd run to fill it. Then today the factory informed me they are running a bit behind schedule and will most likely ship the next run November 21-25th. Then it's 3 week on the water and another week to Sweetwater...so the next V.3 units will not hit SW until December 16th...just in time for Christmas, but not soon enough for me!

Being over sold on a hit new product is what many tell me is a "premium problem", but it's a problem just the same!

 

So those of us who ordered early this month won't get one til mid December? Or is it the 3rd run that is behind schedule and the 2nd is on time?

 

It must be the 3rd run that's later. I ordered mine on October 16, got a call from Sweetwater yesterday saying they were expecting to receive the next shipment in early-to-mid November.

[DanL]

Awesome report Dave, thanks so much for sharing!

 

Only one wrinkle now; getting more delivered! Sweetwater has a ton of backorders and have mostly bought out the entire 2nd run to fill it. Then today the factory informed me they are running a bit behind schedule and will most likely ship the next run November 21-25th. Then it's 3 week on the water and another week to Sweetwater...so the next V.3 units will not hit SW until December 16th...just in time for Christmas, but not soon enough for me!

Being over sold on a hit new product is what many tell me is a "premium problem", but it's a problem just the same!

 

So those of us who ordered early this month won't get one til mid December? Or is it the 3rd run that is behind schedule and the 2nd is on time?

 

It must be the 3rd run that's later. I ordered mine on October 16, got a call from Sweetwater yesterday saying they were expecting to receive the next shipment in early-to-mid November.

 

I hope so. I emailed my rep last week for a status but didn't hear from him. I ordered on the 8th.

[B. J. Love]

Ordered mine on the 15th. Spoke to my rep yesterday. He said they had expected them late October; now they were hoping for early-mid November, but they hadn't received tracking info from the shipper, so who knows? Sometimes they ship without forwarding the tracking numbers....