Heads-up: SpaceStation keyboard amp is apparently back

[rickzjamm]

IMG_0541 by sandramm57, on Flickr

[rickzjamm]

Sorry about the giant photo but there you go & thanks Brettymike.

[cphollis]

Well, that looks sweet -- and inexpensive! Tell me again, how good does it sound as compared to just using room acoustics?

[agitato]

Aspen, if one uses the available cover for the ssv3,(then moving it on a foldable small dolly), is there room in the ss itself, to store the power cord, and if so, would that be safe to do, without possibly damaging some of the internal components?

[Brettymike]

If you click on the photo , you can really zoom in on it at Flickr - really cool site.

 

Brett

[Aspen]

Aspen, if one uses the available cover for the ssv3,(then moving it on a foldable small dolly), is there room in the ss itself, to store the power cord, and if so, would that be safe to do, without possibly damaging some of the internal components?

Yes, if you fold it twice, then tie the AC cable on a knot, it fits nicely into either side of the Side cavity...preferably the one with the spk grill (more room there too. Then when the cover goes on that holds the AC cable in place nicely.

[Aspen]

RE; pix of sexy plexi panels!

 

Wow, really nice job Rick. Tat's a great looking "corner"!

 

But IMHO you may get very similar results with something about half that high...as you really only need to block, couple and and redirect the Side speaker that is only about 12".

 

Still, no harm done by going a bit bigger and this looks very impressive, quite similar to what I made for that NAM show years ago.

[spazzkey]

IMG_0541 by sandramm57, on Flickr

 

nice! how high do you have the front tilted up?

[Six-string-man]

What's the status with back orders and shipping? If I were to want one shipped to the UK who would I be best going through?

 

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!

[KingstonCrim]

I set up a home made acrylic trifold (12" x 24") enclosure placed behind the SS

 

That looks great from the pic. Where did you get the hinge material for the plexi panels (or or the hinges generally available wherever plexiglass is sold)?

[rickzjamm]

Thanks for the kind words gang. All in all pretty inexpensive set up...

Got the panels pre-cut at Home Depot for $5.00 each (I lucked out, clearance sale item) & the "hinges" are good ole' black gaffer tape, easy to put on & holds great. I put a large door stop under the SS which raises it about 3". The 24" height serves me well because it isolates the sound from bleeding on the other band members yet still having wide dispersion... Aspen you're a genius.

[DanL]

Interesting engineering on the side baffles! I was thinking, what about attaching them directly to the SS3 with a hinge? They could fold up tight for transport and then swing them open at the gig. Make them just a little taller than the side speaker openings. I have some old floor laminate that might work well for something like this.

[TimA]

I'm definitely gonna try that.......

[rickp]

Thanks for the kind words gang. All in all pretty inexpensive set up...

Got the panels pre-cut at Home Depot for $5.00 each (I lucked out, clearance sale item) & the "hinges" are good ole' black gaffer tape, easy to put on & holds great. I put a large door stop under the SS which raises it about 3". The 24" height serves me well because it isolates the sound from bleeding on the other band members yet still having wide dispersion... Aspen you're a genius.

Here's a wife-pleaser - your relatively small expenditure and ingenuity saved a bit of green; an equivalent commercial product (using A2 panels in 1' width) costs a cool $84 ($28 per panel part A2-1) plus shipping.

 

 

[B. J. Love]

And on the other end of the spectrum... Here's my ghetto-rigged prototype. Again, my goal was to use materials on hand to construct something that would fit in the already tight SKB case. I reasoned that it only had to be as high as openings for the side speaker. The panels are 10"X17" Masonite, smooth side facing the speaker openings; the hinge is gaffer's tape.

deflector 1 by bjlove15, on Flickr

deflector 2 by bjlove15, on Flickr

deflector 3 by bjlove15, on Flickr

[Aspen]

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

 

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.

 

Importation costs would happen no matter how these arrive to you, and of course any dealer adds his profit margin ON TOP of these fees. (NOTE: which is WHY I wanted ONE direct dealer to serve you guys, so there is only ONE profit margin mark up for you to bear...and so keep the street price reasonable. You can can almost double the buying price of a SS v.3 if I had a traditional distributor selling to your local dealer arrangement).

 

But as I knew, Thomann was by far the very best partner I could have picked to serve you well and keep the price low. They are expert on importation, reselling, and keeping the price very low to their many customers across the European continent.

 

And BTW, once they begin shipping the v.3, I will no longer sell to Euro customers direct. That should happen by the end of June. My best guess is their price and what you pay now from me or Sweetwater (yes, they can and have exported too) will be fairly close. But if you are interested in a June or July delivery, I'd advise to get an order in place now, or as soon as they open it up. The first delivery is fairly small, and may sell out. Then very likely their second delivery will be 90 days later (just depending on how many pre orders they get...hint...hint!), which all may be much like Sweetwater's ramp up that took us 5 months to clear all the backorders. FYI, I have to plan production 120 days out, and I only build what I have on order.

 

Of course any product purchased in UK, or in any EU country, is subject to VAT charges AND import duties ("Value Added Tax" ranges from what; 17-22% depending on your language? And we bitch about 9% here in California!).

 

So apples to apples, I'd go with a comparative starting price of around 557 pounds, or $849. Still not cheap as compared to a mono Roland KB amp, historically the "best selling" KB amp...but it should be a fairly close comparison.

 

Of course I am offering "stereo apples". Which are organically grown in that warm Southern California sunshine....and on a (very) small family farm :>)

 

But one bite, and you're hooked!

[Aspen]

And on the other end of the spectrum... Here's my ghetto-rigged prototype. Again, my goal was to use materials on hand to construct something that would fit in the already tight SKB case. I reasoned that it only had to be as high as openings for the side speaker. The panels are 10"X17" Masonite, smooth side facing the speaker openings; the hinge is gaffer's tape.

deflector 1 by bjlove15, on Flickr

deflector 2 by bjlove15, on Flickr

deflector 3 by bjlove15, on Flickr

Man Dr.Love, I love your "cure".

 

Also, I am quite sure it "does the job" too (albeit no mention here of that...but I do recall you mentioned that you were "performance pleased" in an earlier post).

 

Also, and as I see this...it could easily fold and fit inside a looser fitting transport case tucked along any side of the v.3.

 

Great stuff!

[cphollis]

Interesting engineering on the side baffles! I was thinking, what about attaching them directly to the SS3 with a hinge? They could fold up tight for transport and then swing them open at the gig. Make them just a little taller than the side speaker openings. I have some old floor laminate that might work well for something like this.

 

Pure genius -- that's what I'm going to do. Plus a little latch to keep them from swinging around during transport.

[endlessummerkeys]

I have a question.... does the reflector need to be on the left side? I was thinking of concentrating only on deflecting the Right side. Of course I will have to make a V shaped stand alone model if it is not hard connected to the SS, but if I was going to mount it on the side of the SS I was only going to reflect the Right side. Is this correct?

[endlessummerkeys]

Also getting back to the FAQ idea how about if someone just puts the main theme for each page? Kind of a way to sort????

[DanL]

I have a question.... does the reflector need to be on the left side? I was thinking of concentrating only on deflecting the Right side. Of course I will have to make a V shaped stand alone model if it is not hard connected to the SS, but if I was going to mount it on the side of the SS I was only going to reflect the Right side. Is this correct?

Sound comes out both sides so you'd want to deflect both

[endlessummerkeys]

ok thanks

[rickp]

I've been thinking about attaching an old set of 14" Fender tilt-back legs I have laying around (I think DanL first mentioned that idea a few dozen pages ago).

 

If they could be set out far enough from the cabinet with a spacer to accommodate attached 12" tall deflectors when they're folded in against the cabinet (attachment idea also first mentioned by DanL, I believe), the legs could be deployed first to tilt it back, the deflectors deployed next . . . and it would start to look like some sort of solar collector/generator device (befitting of the "Spacestation" nameplate). So now I'm thinking sheet metal or aluminum wings . . .

 

Seriously though (not that I'm totally joking about building a space station Spacestation), some really good ideas floating around here for when a back wall or side reflective surface isn't available. Thanks.

 

 

[rickzjamm]

B.J.Love, dude that rocks!

That's what I dig about this forum, one day it's a "shark tank" & the next it's a "think tank" bubbling over.

[Brettymike]

I've been thinking about attaching an old set of 14" Fender tilt-back legs I have laying around (I think DanL first mentioned that idea a few dozen pages ago).

 

If they could be set out far enough from the cabinet with a spacer to accommodate attached 12" tall deflectors when they're folded in against the cabinet (attachment idea also first mentioned by DanL, I believe), the legs could be deployed first to tilt it back, the deflectors deployed next . . . and it would start to look like some sort of solar collector/generator device (befitting of the "SpaceStation" nameplate). So now I'm thinking sheet metal or aluminum wings . . .

 

Seriously though (not that I'm totally joking about building a space station SpaceStation), some really good ideas floating around here for when a back wall or side reflective surface isn't available. Thanks.

 

 

I definitely wouldn't use metal wings , they can vibrate and transmit - even cause unwanted noise.

(the crocodile think tank )

 

Brett

[rickp]

Excellent point

 

[Six-string-man]

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

 

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

[AWkeys]

Daddyg, thanks for the Tuki link - I bought a soft case for a Speakeasy Vintage leslie tube preamp (remember those?) from them probably 12 years ago.

 

I like Jazooo's idea with this http://www.amazon.com/Olympia-Luggage-Po...EF0CPJ0V0R6N2N8. It's got pockets! Gonna try it out. If it doesn't work out, I got another bag for cables.

 

Loving the discussion about transforming the SpaceStation with leaners and side panels!

[B. J. Love]

Quick trip to Menard's. Found this plastic sheeting for $10 CLONK Results:

Deflect II 1 by bjlove15, on Flickr

Deflect II 2 by bjlove15, on Flickr

Deflect II 3 by bjlove15, on Flickr

Same Gaffer's tape hinge, but looks better than the Masonite. The wings are slightly larger (18"X12")but still fit in the SKB case. Gonna try it out at a bar gig tonight.

[Doug Robinson]

And now we can have a raging debate about which is better, A trifold or a bifold

 

What's the answer?