new member and splawn owner(well almost)

[darrcooper]

hi,my name is darren..im from the uk..im pretty new to the splawn phenomenon..been doing lots of research into these amps aswell as spending a fortune on call from the uk to scott..
anyway i decided to pull the plug and ive just ordered myself a competition head 800 style in vintage white with black front basketweave with kt77's and matching 4x12..

got a long wait ahead though..around 10 weeks..as with anything new,the anticipation is a killer..but im pretty sure come feb ill be one happy guy..
as with alot of people on here,ive been through tons of gear..marshalls,mesa,engl,cae...etc..
so im hoping my search will be over when the rig arrives.

cheers guys for all the info from the forum to make my decision.
all the very best

daz

[TuskerKevin]

Welcome my friend! You will not be disappointed in the amp. Great amp built by a fantastic guy. I am looking forward to seeing pics of your amp eventually!

[Jammermatt]

\m/OO\m/

[Ayton(e)]

Welcome to Club Competition. What speakers did you choose?

I am looking forward to seeing your Comp in the Newborns section in a couple of months.

[darrcooper]

hi guys,thanks very much..yeah im really looking forward to it..splawn amps over here in the uk are pretty rare..probably only about 10-15 in the whole country..ive asked scott to keep me updated with pics of the amp while its being built,so hopefully ill be able to post some in the near future..
ayton..i went for a x pattern of big and small blocks..this came as a recomendation from scott..because im fairly new to these amps,i took scott's advice and went with those..i had contemplated the quick-rod but as im not a crystal clean player the competition seemed the way to go..plus i like the idea of being able to switch through the gears aswell as od1 and od2..
its cost me quite alot more to have it sent here..$600 shipping and ill have to pay a further $600 in duty..but oh well, im sure it will be worth the extra cost??

[Ayton(e)]

Sweet lord - $600 in shipping?!

I am from the UK originally, Darren, so I know the sting of shipping and, most annoyingly, duty when buying cool things from elsewhere. Even on a box of imported DVDs the postie would get me for duty! I paid about £300 duty, so I guess $600, on one of my Jems. It's really crappy. I was always thinking, "Hey, the stuff here is overpriced, and even then the things I want are not available. I shouldn't be penalized for finding it elsewhere."

In the end it was easier just to move here.

Hey, for $1,200 you could get your Splawn a nice seat of its own in business class across the Atlantic!

[darrcooper]

your not wrong ayton..for $1200 i'd want a security guard with it too..ha!!
your right with the fact that over here we have to pay so much for shipping and more rightly duty..
dont know how long you left the uk? but each week its becoming more known as RIP OFF BRITAIN..
im really hoping that this is the amp for me??
2 guys i know from doug aldrich's forum both use splawn's..one a q/rod and the other a comp and both live in the uk..and they love em!!

[SonicExplorer]

Not to bring politics and the pathetic state of our economy into things, but Scott is going to start to see a big increase in orders outside the US due to the plumetting dollar here. It is now cost-effective for people outside the US to purchase a Splawn amp and not have it cost much more than local retailer brands when all is said and done with.

[darrcooper]

yes i do agree with you..at the moment the pound is very strong against the dollar..and if that helps a great amp builder and his products become more widespread then thats pretty good..splawn's are pretty rare here in the uk..
i was just making a comment on how here in the uk you get taxed heavily on everything..no matter what it is..for example the new marshall jvm head over here costs around £900 which is around $1800..so when you consider your getting a custom built head in your choice for the same price as a stock marshall that they throw out around 10,000 amps a month..its pretty much a no brainer..so even on products that are made over here we get taxed heavily!!

[LooseCannon]

Dude 600$ plus 600$ I live in Israel and I payed 250$ shipping and around 250$ taxes.

[darrcooper]

yeah..$250 shipping on the head and $350 on the 4-12 cab too..in the uk we have to pay 17.5% vat (value added tax) and 2.5% import tax..which that will take it too around $600 plus the $600 on shipping..thats only 300 short of another competition head..
i dont think you have to pay the vat in israel?..
if i ordered something from anywhere in europe i dont have to pay vat or import.
thats why it costs so much

[Ayton(e)]

I think if I was still at home I'd have looked into ordering just the head, or the head and speakers, but buying a cab locally to save some green on that shipping. But then, I am Scottish.

[darrcooper]

i hear what your saying ayton..but im a bit of a bugger for gettin things right..i just thought if im gonna spend this amount i may aswell go for it all..that way its done and i dont have to do it again..so your from bonny scotland!!
im currently in wales..but originally from birmingham..big marshall area..
how long have you owned your competition?? whats your favourite mode??

[scoobrock]

Congrats darr! you won't be disappointed. I wonder if Splawn's sound even better at 220 like Marshalls supposedly do? Either way, they start out killer...and you could probably make a pretty shilling on it if you don't dig it...seeing as there are only a small amount of them over there.

[darrcooper]

cheers scoob..im really looking forward to it now..as for the difference between 110 and 220 im not sure!!
as for selling i doubt if i will...i've been through just about everything else..8 marshalls-5 engl's-1 soldano-1 caa/od100se..i actually used to own a splawn modded plexi..the reissue with effects loop..it was a great amp,but only good for 1 sound..
so thats why i've chosen a full on splawn this time..great tone but with the extra flexibility of 2 od channels and 3 gears..so i should be set to go with this..