Tardcore

You can You can get a great price on the PM6004 right now as the PM6005 recently came out. $399 from One Call http://www.onecall.com/marantz-pm6004?PMNID=416&utm_medium=ppc&PMNID=9504&utm_medium=ppc&device={device}&network={network}&matchtype={matchtype}&gclid=CLPvkY-Yo7oCFStp7AodAFkABA $418 on Amazon or $342 Used-Like New from Amazon Warehouse. I think that's a pretty solid value. http://www.amazon.com/Marantz-PM6004-Integrated-Amplifier/dp/B005J7Y9B0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382195484&sr=8-1&keywords=marantz+PM6004

I do not know much about their speakers. You could probably do a lot worse for the money...but I think I would likely stick with a well-traveled budget solution like the 10.1s etc. I'm pretty bummed that I missed the sale on Epic 2s.

If you're feeling lucky, this might do the job for $60. http://www.needledoctor.com/Ortofon-2M-Red-Stylus_2

the DAC magic has been on sale recently too...($300 vs $370 street price) might be a new model coming out...? I was considering a few different options (DAC Magic included), but the sale price prompted me to pull the trigger and try out the XDA-2. I haven't heard one, but the reviews seem to be positive.

just throwing this out there in case anybody is in the market for Emotiva gear. I picked up an XDA-2 (shhhh don't tell anybody) for $100 off. Trying to convince myself that I do not need a pair of XPA-100s.

I went to the Lillingtons club show, arrived far later than I had wanted though =/ It was better than the festival set.

I think I have trench foot. good times.

I must be a douche. I don't really see the issue. They seem to just give stuff away and field complaints from illiterate droolers.

?

You can try giving them a call. They will discount almost anything.

Right. And at that point, you may as well just drop another 1k and call up the custom shop. I need to find me somebody in the army or some shit stationed in Japan who can pick up used gear and ship it to me.

Fender Japan makes pretty much the whole line and you can get it from a dealer there and ship to the US, but it's going to cost you. I occasionally come across one that somebody has already done that and is selling, but they usually get snapped up. I am thinking of just getting a USA neck someplace and then a Warmoth body and custom electronics. 3rd party necks seem to bug me due to finish issues, etc. but there's not much to a body other than getting the neck pocket right which Warmoth does well. The whole Japan thing is totallly unfair. Like..look at this Spiderman Mustang that they do. It's not left handed...but it's fucking rad.

Mostly gambling on ebay. Never really had an issue though, anything that I bought that had issues was cheap enough that I expected it to have issues. It's tough to find a place that caters to lefty's at all. Walk into most shops and if you're lucky, they have a MIM strat/tele. When you do find a shop that specializes in lefties, it seems like they gouge you pretty hard for it (example Southpaw Guitars in TX). If you are looking for a solid dealer of left handed guitars, try http://davesguitar.com/ in La Crosse, WI. They are one of the best guitar shops in the country and regularly stock left handed models you never see offered elsewhere. Find what you want and call them up to make a deal. Example: This beautiful Rickenbacker Maple Glow 330.

and here's the Gibson Les Paul standard. It's a player. It was modified when I bought it with the adjustable tail piece, Bare Knuckle pickpups (Rebel Yell), locking tuners, and coil tapping pots. Not sure that the big, ugly adjustable tailpiece is necessary but it does the job so I am leaving it on there for now. The pickup covers are just gross. I am not sure who would intentionally select burnt chrome pickup covers, but they sound amazing so I cannot bring myself to swap them out.

it was a tough call but I have always had a thing for the stripes.

Thanks! I have always loved surf green/sea foam green with a maple neck. Fender doesn't usually make them in left handed out side of the custom shop though so when they did a short run of 200, I had to get one.

a few more. Kurt Cobain model Fender Mustang. Lake Placid Blue, vroom, vroom stripes. Not a huge fan of "sig" guitars (like a Les Paul) but I have always wanted a Mustang and this thing was made in Japan, has an amazing neck, cool colors, and didn't cost a fortune. And a few telecasters kicking around back there... the one on the left is an 2006 MIM I picked up for cheap and put in some humbuckers and blacked out hardware. I really just wanted a Telecaster Custom and did not want to pay through the nose to import one from Japan. It sounds good but isn't much fun to play. The thing on the right is somebody's Warmoth project. They didn't really know what they were doing. I mostly bought it for the 1 piece ash body. Needs work.

My first guitar. 1987 Japanese made "E series: Fender Stratocaster. I had it fixed up a few years ago with new guts and a mint green pick guard. Bought this new in 2011. USA made Fender Stratocaster FSR (limited production surf green)

Your food/beverage $ may not be as big of a concern as the additional load on the gate/security staff keeping track of people going in and out, preventing ticket fraud, and keeping additional traffic in the neighborhood to a minimum (ie mitigating the need for police presence). Also, I have known venues in the past to have no-outs policies due to city/permit requirements rather than their own policies. There can be a variety of factors.

any tips on reasonable speaker stands? I have been eyeing Epic 2s for a while but after looking at stand prices, I am wondering if I wouldn't be better off just spending the extra $300 for Epic 5s. decisions, decisions.

They had them last year. I think they were like $15 a day or something. Not bad if you can buy all your merch on day 1 and split the cost with some riot-pals. checked riotfest.org and they do have locker info listed. $15 per day or $40 for all 3 days locker size 11" wide x 13.5 " high x 18" deep so record storage should be no problem. the additional buy-up for phone charging access is a rip-off...there were outlets all along fences that you could just sit down and charge your phone for a bit.

while at the show, you could rent a storage locker. I was thinking about doing this if the lockers are big enough to hold a record. I brought some posters back from Punk Rock Bowling rolled up in my suitcase with no tube and that worked out ok. Another option is to stop by a post office/ups/fed ex store and mail it to yourself.

I was actually somewhat impressed with the food options. It was sort of a mix of standard carnival sort of booths along with local outfits. I had some really good catfish fingers and I think I paid like $7-$8 or something like that.

I think I remember somebody saying it will be sometime this week? Regarding the re-entry situation...not sure how big of a deal that really is unless you happen to live in the neighborhood or nearby. There's really no place to go and the food options on grounds were not expensive at all last year.

I have had my eye on these for a while. I just ordered the $50 bundle ( Is this Real / Over the Edge / Out takes / Youth of America).