I remembered Allan mentioning in another thread that the new KAT amps were expected down here in Australia sometime early this year. After reading the review of them in digitalDrummer, I've decided that yes, getting a KA2 is probably the way to go for what I need.
I started doing some research and found the main Australian distributer for the KAT/Alternate Mode stuff, which is Optimum Percussion in Burwood, Sydney: http://optimumpercussion.com.au/ I gave these guys a call and confirmed that yes, they stock the MalletKat and TrapKat stuff although don't stock the actual drumkits and amps. They did say they'll look into getting the amps though. They contacted another supplier (they didn't say who, but I assume it's these guys: http://www.promusicaustralia.com/dru...Percussion.htm) and confirmed the price.
Are you ready for this?
$699 for the KA2 ($399 for the KA1).
I nearly fell off my chair.
The KA2's sell for $369 in the US (the KA1's $219). I thought Roland were bad with their "Australia tax" price hikes but they are bargains compared to this. We're talking almost double the price here. Given the US pricing and the current exchange rates, I was expecting something maybe around for the $400 mark but $700? Are they kidding?
To their credit, the guy I spoke to at Optimum (can't remember his name) said that if they get them in he'll try and do a better price for me, but I'm doubting it'll be a huge discount. Even so, these prices are absurd. I was thinking of possibly picking up two of them to run them in stereo but at that price it's definitely only going to be one.
I've now starting thinking about the possibility of importing, as even with shipping it still ends up significantly cheaper than the local prices (eg I can get one on ebay from the US for AU$409.18 + AU$77.82 shipping). The digitalDrummer review mentions right at the end that the units are available with different voltages and plugs, but I wanted to confirm this before I actually did anything. Don't want to import one only to find that the plugs and voltages are wrong.
Does anyone (anywhere in the world) actually own one of these? Can you confirm this is the case?
I started doing some research and found the main Australian distributer for the KAT/Alternate Mode stuff, which is Optimum Percussion in Burwood, Sydney: http://optimumpercussion.com.au/ I gave these guys a call and confirmed that yes, they stock the MalletKat and TrapKat stuff although don't stock the actual drumkits and amps. They did say they'll look into getting the amps though. They contacted another supplier (they didn't say who, but I assume it's these guys: http://www.promusicaustralia.com/dru...Percussion.htm) and confirmed the price.
Are you ready for this?
$699 for the KA2 ($399 for the KA1).
I nearly fell off my chair.
The KA2's sell for $369 in the US (the KA1's $219). I thought Roland were bad with their "Australia tax" price hikes but they are bargains compared to this. We're talking almost double the price here. Given the US pricing and the current exchange rates, I was expecting something maybe around for the $400 mark but $700? Are they kidding?
To their credit, the guy I spoke to at Optimum (can't remember his name) said that if they get them in he'll try and do a better price for me, but I'm doubting it'll be a huge discount. Even so, these prices are absurd. I was thinking of possibly picking up two of them to run them in stereo but at that price it's definitely only going to be one.
I've now starting thinking about the possibility of importing, as even with shipping it still ends up significantly cheaper than the local prices (eg I can get one on ebay from the US for AU$409.18 + AU$77.82 shipping). The digitalDrummer review mentions right at the end that the units are available with different voltages and plugs, but I wanted to confirm this before I actually did anything. Don't want to import one only to find that the plugs and voltages are wrong.
Does anyone (anywhere in the world) actually own one of these? Can you confirm this is the case?
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