I have a mate in the states who is an avid guitar and amp collecter, and was talking with him and he offered me an amp, wondering what sort of work needs to be done like transformers and all that who ha?
Anyone done this? Good/Bad Experiences.
Has anyone imported amps from the state
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- nztim
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Has anyone imported amps from the state
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- Rog
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Re: Has anyone imported amps from the state
As usual, it depends. Some amps can be changed simply by transformer taps, some by switches, some automatically and others have to have a replant.
He hit a chord that rocked the spinet and disappeared into the infinite ...
Re: Has anyone imported amps from the state
Good: I have THD Univalve from the States - all I needed was a 110-240V mains transformer and it works fine - I would not hesitate to do it again if the right amp at the right price came up.nztim wrote:I have a mate in the states who is an avid guitar and amp collecter, and was talking with him and he offered me an amp, wondering what sort of work needs to be done like transformers and all that who ha?
Anyone done this? Good/Bad Experiences.
Bad: The same Univalve is currently not working because a friend plugged it straight into 240V - if you do it, be careful who you lend the amp to!
- willow13
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Re: Has anyone imported amps from the state
Higainer has imported a whole heap of amps from stateside......pm him
If Less is More Then Just Think How Much More More would be
- electric68
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Re: Has anyone imported amps from the state
I brought a couple of Marshall combos in from Canada. They were manufactured with power transformers that had a coil tap for EU/NA voltages, so it was a minor job for the local tech to switch them over for NZ voltages.
Non-technically speaking, you should be prepared to pay for customs clearance charges and GST, as well as not inconsequential shipping charges. I used to be able to import instruments without GST but nothing seems to get through any more - Uncle Bill, as Minister of Finance, is after every penny.
Non-technically speaking, you should be prepared to pay for customs clearance charges and GST, as well as not inconsequential shipping charges. I used to be able to import instruments without GST but nothing seems to get through any more - Uncle Bill, as Minister of Finance, is after every penny.
Myself, being a Bear of Little Brain....
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Re: Has anyone imported amps from the state
Email THD directly. I blew the bias section of a Flexi and they built me a new board and airfreighted it over in 3 days. Ed DeGenaro was the man but I'm not sure he's still there.PlukkyBoy wrote: Bad: The same Univalve is currently not working because a friend plugged it straight into 240V - if you do it, be careful who you lend the amp to!
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.
Re: Has anyone imported amps from the state
Often in the end you have not saved that much. You will have to pay shipping, for a head its about 350usd, then you have to pay customs, gst etc, if you lie and get away with a fake or low value amount thats up to you but if you get caught and have to explain to customs why you were trying to play games with the declared amount they can make your life hell and or you might not get your amp. If you under value it also you could have a problem if its damaged in shipping.. Once its here you can have an amp tech check it, or a amp tech in the usa can tell you what it needs.. If you do what I did is have the amp and transformer sent over together, I ordered the original 230 from Rivera..The labour for swaping out a transformer is 50-150 I guess depending what has to be done and who is doing it...my swap included new fuse holders, new fuses, new caps for 230v, other parts that I dunno what they did. In my case that amp is not here in NZ as far as I know... so I was faced with a very high price for a new one...
I had a dream last night, that everything I have got replaced with an exact replica.... (Steven Wright)
Re: Has anyone imported amps from the state
I have already and they have not even answered, which made me think Ed had left as well, as he was always amazingly helpful...slowfingers wrote:Email THD directly. I blew the bias section of a Flexi and they built me a new board and airfreighted it over in 3 days. Ed DeGenaro was the man but I'm not sure he's still there.PlukkyBoy wrote: Bad: The same Univalve is currently not working because a friend plugged it straight into 240V - if you do it, be careful who you lend the amp to!
I have the name of an amp tech here, I just need to pull my finger out and contact him!
- Slowy
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Re: Has anyone imported amps from the state
Don't forget Ryan at CustomAudioBoutique and Clarry Schollum at 34 Audio. I wouldn't want to live without them in the World!PlukkyBoy wrote:I have already and they have not even answered, which made me think Ed had left as well, as he was always amazingly helpful...slowfingers wrote:Email THD directly. I blew the bias section of a Flexi and they built me a new board and airfreighted it over in 3 days. Ed DeGenaro was the man but I'm not sure he's still there.PlukkyBoy wrote: Bad: The same Univalve is currently not working because a friend plugged it straight into 240V - if you do it, be careful who you lend the amp to!
I have the name of an amp tech here, I just need to pull my finger out and contact him!
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Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.