Six-string-man

No. I can't understand why it isn't. I'm not sure that I could keep my wallet in my pocket if it was. Surely it's not that difficult of an upgrade to implement? Or am I missing something? SSM

We seem to have a conflict of philosophies here. While I can respect Guido's views, surely it makes sense to give the customers what they want. It can't be that difficult to make a clav sound on a few extra low notes. And if makes people happy, why not? SSM

Can you give us more detail about when you added a sub Alan? Position, hook-up, sound etc. I thought I had a handle on this speaker, but since hearing that the "sub out" is actually "full sound spectrum out", I'm wondering if perhaps an EV or a DXR 10 might be a better match. Many thanks, SSM

LOL. SSM

A multi-timbral 73 key version would see me throwing my credit card at Crumar. I wouldn't even hesitate for a second! SSM

Sorry Dave, but I need to take issue here. VAT was introduced in 1973 in the UK. We had the free pre-natal care and maternity leave and reasonable transportation systems in place well before that, the money came from general taxation, and something called purchase tax. This is similar to the tax you pay when buying something, except where you pay 6%-9% (I believe), we paid 25%. These days, on top of income tax (20%) we pay national insurance for the health service (10%). These come off earnings. Then when we go to buy something, we pay VAT at 20%. It is estimated that the average Brit pays a total of 63% of their average annual income in taxes, due to the aforementioned, plus hidden costs such as fuel tax. Also, our universities are not free. My daughter left uni after doing a three year degree owing over £30,000 ($45,000) in tuition fees. SSM

That looks great! i really like the wood grain effect. SSM

I have been in a couple of " real" music shops in the UK (real as in they sell upright pianos, brass and woodwinds). In the keyboard section, they push KC amps. Apparently, they have "always sold them". Some Roland salesman must have done a great job back in the day. In one, I asked why they didn't think of nearfield monitors, or p/a. i was met with blank looks all round. SSM

Don't flame me for this, but a Pedal Train mini pedal board, a Harley Benton power supply, a Way Huge Echo Puss delay, a TC Electronic Polytune, and a Rockbox Baby Blues overdrive pedal. All ordered online yesterday. Needed a smaller pedal board for a new guitar teaching gig I picked up. I will add a chorus pedal that I had lying around, and I'm good to go. SSM

Thanks for keeping all your non-US fans involved here Aspen. I am assuming that any units you send out to Europe or Australia/NZ are given the patented "Aspen 20% check", (A) because you have to alter the vollage feed to 230v anyway, so have to strip things out, and (B) because if anything is wrong, the return postage would be prohibitive? When I first read about this,(65 pages ago) I thought it was interesting, but not for me. Now, with the realistic possibility of getting one sent to the UK for a do-able price, I am getting more and more,excited about it. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to contain my GAS for. I can see that I'm going to have to sell some stuff to fund a SpaceStation. As a matter of interest, do we just PM you to order, or do you have a procedure set down? SSM

Thanks for keeping all your non-US fans involved here Aspen. I am assuming that any units you send out to Europe or Australia/NZ are given the patented "Aspen 20% check", (A) because you have to alter the vollage feed to 230v anyway, so have to strip things out, and (B) because if anything is wrong, the return postage would be prohibitive? When I first read about this, I thought it was interesting, but not for me. Now, with the realistic possibility of getting one sent to the UK for a do-able price, I am getting more and more,excited about it. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to contain my GAS for. I can see that I'm going to have to sell some stuff to fund a SpaceStation. As a matter of interest, do we just PM you to order, or do you have a procedure set down? SSM

Actually I should correct that "export estimate" statement ($175-250), especially for the UK. It varies from country to country (average for Euro is $175, but closer to $250 for OZ) but for some reason the UK is much less than say Germany. The last v.3 I sent to UK was around $140 USPS. BTW maybe I failed to mention, also I include a (made in USA) MSRP $50 soft cover for all my export customers...again just to "soft cover" the s&h blow a bit for my early adopting faithful. So going from a USA MSRP of $949, my adventurous exporting early adopting faithfuls pay just $699, and in the case of UK let's just add $150 USPS postage to be safe. So for UK, that is a sub total of $849, or in Pound Sterling = 557.50 as of today's rates. Many thanks Aspen. That would bring the UK price down to about £750, after the government have had their cut. It's getting more enticing! SSM

If you want to wait a couple of months, Thomann are going to be stocking them. SSM That's great, just what I wanted to hear! Thanks SSM. Chiming in; Yes, Thomann will be our dealer for Europe, and we are thrilled to have them! Also we will be soon supplying Ikebe in Japan, and we are also in discussions with master dealers in Russia and Australia. However their first deliveries will not be until later in June, at the very earliest. We still have some importation hoops to jump thru, so their first order is still "pending". If all goes well, I believe mid to late June will be the earliest possible delivery to Thomann and Ikebe. However it is important to note that in the past, and for the meantime until Thomann has stock on hand, I am supplying all export early adopters directly from Aspen & Associates. Once Thomann has stock, I will of course refer all sales orders to them for Europe, but I will continue to supply export customers in those other 230v countries where we have not yet set up a dealer relationship. RE 230v: I rewire for 230v, and change the T2amp fuse (plus add a spare). RE Price: my 2015 export sales policy is to give a $50 discount off the $749 to all my early adopters in other countries, to help offset your shipping and importation expenses. I also include the $50 SS v.3 cover at no charge (a MSRP $50 value). Therefore, my A&A export customers pay $699 + shipping for the SS v.3 w. cover. I also use an extra outer shipping box, so the gross shipping weight is 47.5 lbs. RE Shipping: FedEx, UPS, and the other "biggies" are EXTREMELY expensive...like $700+. So instead, I have used USPS (the Post) which has been much cheaper, and so far no problems. This runs b/w $175 and $250 just depending on which country. RE Delivery: takes 8-10 days to Europe, about the same to Australia. RE Service: I support the customer directly, so far nothing major that I have not been able to handle t the customer';s total satisfaction. As I said, all my export users are very happy and playing gigs, and many are posting here. After doing this for 45 years, I really understand how important this issue is and I take it very seriously. My end users are my family, and I treat them like family...always have. FY I have also shipped into 5 Euro countries and also to Australia and New Zealand many times, so far everyone seems very happy. I only mention all this to clear up the issue; I do have a small reserve stock right now set aside for export customers. However, I expect these to be sold out long before my next delivery on track for late April arrival. This is a very generous offer from Aspen, I tried to work out what it would cost to import one to the UK. This is what I have come up with: Cost of Unit - $699 from Aspen Shipping -$175 -$250 (call it $221 for arguments sake) Sub Total - $920 Convert to /Sterling - £604 Import duties - £60. Post Office handling fee - £12 VAT - £135 Total - £811 Not as much as the average P/A system, but still not an inconsiderable amount. I wonder how much they will be from Thomann? SSM EDIT: For anyone that's interested, £811 = $1237!

If you want to wait a couple of months, Thomann are going to be stocking them. SSM

Are you plugging the Electro directly in, or are you putting it through a mixer first? My experience is that it can make a big difference... with some boards, going through a mixer makes the difference between being not loud enough and being as loud as you would probably ever want. ^^^^ THIS. I have a PX-5S below an XK1 running into a pair of Yammie DXR 10's. Unless I run the key boards through a mixer, the volume is not loud enough. SSM EDIT: Replied before I read the rest of the thread. Having continued to the end, I see that my post is somewhat redundant. Never mind, I'll leave it up, someone might learn something from it

Tom, that's very gracious. SSM

SSM

Bigmc, I'm really glad that you love your KRK's. I hope you didn't take offence at my previous post, it was meant in the "helpful onlooker"vein, and not in the "interfering git" mode. I hope you took it that way., and if you didn't, I apologise. You certainly got a good price. Cheers, SSM

Tom I'm not about to get into a pissing match with you here. BigMc posted "Hope I've made a good choice?" NOTE THE QUESTION MARK at the end. That suggested to me that he was looking for verification. I stated my opinion - surely that's what this forum is all about. I pointed out that MAYBE there was a better choice for very little extra outlay. I could say a lot more, but in the interests of keeping the peace I will leave it there. The OP has posted that he loves his speakers, and I am delighted for him, his opinion is what matters most here. SSM

Don't want to rain on your parade here, but for an extra £25 you could have got a pair of Yamaha HS5's, which sound much better IMHO. SSM You know... sometimes it's better to just keep your mouth shut. ITGITC: Not if the OP has bought them from a place that allows you 14 or 28 days grace on your purchases - which is the case if they are mail order. If it were me, I would prefer someone to jump in with advice. Is the facepalm because you agree with my assessment, but don't want to upset the OP? I may be reading between the lines here, but I believe that it's possible that dB may agree with what I'm saying about KRK v Yamaha. Dulcelabs: There is under $40 a pair difference here. Kenny: I mostly agree with your posts, both here and on other forums, but I believe that you are way off base with this one. I recently A/B'd the Rokits and Yammies, the Rokits sounded fine, but only until I turned the Yammies on. To the OP: I hope you love your speakers, I really do, BUT if you have them on approval, I suggest you try and listen to a pair of HS5's, and then make the exchange if you think it's necessary. Peace, SSM

FKS, WOW!!!!......Just WOW!!!!!! SSM

Don't want to rain on your parade here, but for an extra £25 you could have got a pair of Yamaha HS5's, which sound much better IMHO. SSM

WTF???? SSM

+1. I would certainly trust you to write a fair, unbiased and honest review dB. SSM

I have the Boss FS -5L (latching) and the FS-5U (unlatching). They will both last for ever, the build quality is solid. One has a battery, can't remember which one, off the top of my head, but I think it's the latching one. Anyway, the point is, you have to unplug the lead when it's not in use, as the pedal is "on" when the lead is plugged in, no matter which position the switch is in, and the battery WILL go flat. SSM