Henriksen Amps

[FWBO]

I'd be very surprised if this was the case - it's too obvious a loophole to my mind. Small gifts maybe, but a $900 amplifier?

Without a receipt I'd say it would be harder for UK customs to decide a price to tax the item at. It could be brand new, old and of little value how do they know?

It still doesn't get around the transformer issue though..

[woyvel]

I know Henrikson's are known to be great jazz amps. I get that. But why wouldn't you use one for anything else? I love the tone I get on my Polytone when I use pedals and a preamp. Nice to have that headroom for rock and blues. I'd think a Henrikson would be great for anything as long as you're not a tube snob.

[Tom Karol]

BTW does anyone know if you can drive the amp (with a sansamp) for example and get lovely blues tones?

I use my JazzAmp without the Tweetey for Jazz. I use it with the Tweetey (with an A/E hybrid) for Pop. I have used it for Rock and Blues (with a Tele - Tweetey optional) by front-ending it with a modeling processor with great results - it acts as a full-range blank canvas for the modeled sounds. I'd still use it that way for recording in those genres.

But for live Rock and Blues, I normally use my ZT Club; it's lighter, possibly louder, and sounds fine - perhaps a bit less 'refined' (which in those contexts is a good thing). And I don't want people spilling their beer on my JazzAmp!

I also have an acoustic travel guitar with a passive piezo. I can actually get quite good Jazz tone (no Tweetey) and very convincing Acoustic tone (with Tweetey) if I'm not shy about fairly major fiddling with the EQ.

[Bill C]

Without a receipt I'd say it would be harder for UK customs to decide a price to tax the item at. It could be brand new, old and of little value how do they know?

My understanding, which may be wrong, is that the onus is on the importer to provide credible evidence of the value and origin of the item.

[mangotango]

My understanding, which may be wrong, is that the onus is on the importer to provide credible evidence of the value and origin of the item.

Yep. And don't go believing that these guys know nothing about it - back in 1992, I bought a Gibson Melody Maker back from Noo Awlins and to hep out, the guy at the shop put "Gibson Student Guitar - used - $400" on the receipt. I got away with it. However, last year (in the Internet age!!) a friend brought back a Strat from Noo Yawk and lost the receipt. Customs made a few phone calls to colleagues and came up with a Market value pretty easily, and you can bet it was one that suited them. And you're standing there wanting to take your new guitar home - how much argument can you put up??

You may be able to show with the receipt that you've paid sales tax at point of purchase, but it's import duty that is the kicker, and you're going to struggle to avaoid that. Still reckon that it's going to be a sizeable saving on the UK price, however.

And as a Henriksen owner, I can confirm that it's well worth it. 'Course I bought mine off eBay UK for £325.....

[mr. beaumont]

I guess what I'm thinking...and I'm certainly not advocating any law breaking...but...

You can get henriksen's in the UK. So what's to say you didn't already have it and that you traveled with it?

Just sayin'...


Oh, and woyvel, you just have to try one and see if that would be an option for you...To me, the sound these babies put out is very "jazz..." I know that's not a good explanation, but it would not be my first choice for a rock gig, unless I was using some kind of modeling pedal with it's own EQ so I could counteract some of the midrangey color the henriksen imparts.

It does make a fine acoustic amp though, and my guess is, with the "tweety" a very fine acoustic amp.

[tonyknight]

Thanks Tom and Woyvel,

I love the sound of my Fender tubes, but for a number of reasons I need something a lot lighter! Had also thought of the ZT club, and also the Tech 21 neutral 60 watt amp - but I should probably post that as a separate thread...

[mazeltov39]

WOW, Thanks guys ,for all the info really appreciated, what with the price of the airline tckts this time ,I might have to save some more cash a little while longer!!

[Archie]

A couple of years ago my mother gave me a guitar for my birthday. It was a legitimate gift, but the customs officer at Vienna airport charged me full duty on the list price anyway.

Don't think you're going to fool those guys. They know what stuff is worth, and they can easily look it up. If you try to argue with them, they will charge you double the duty as a penalty.

[docbop]

A couple of years ago my mother gave me a guitar for my birthday. It was a legitimate gift, but the customs officer at Vienna airport charged me full duty on the list price anyway.

Don't think you're going to fool those guys. They know what stuff is worth, and they can easily look it up. If you try to argue with them, they will charge you double the duty as a penalty.

It doesn't matter that it was a gift, it's not what you paid it's the value of the item. I would say if you got receipt it was "used" and you paid x they would charge based on that.

The state where I live is even going after people who buy large items out of state and bring them back. I forget the legal term for it, but they go after people buying cars, grand pianos, and other big ticket items across state lines. Funny what they charge is same as state sales tax would be.

[NSJ]

Just out of curiosity, how good is the Tweety and what type of guitars would it help? Carved, solid tonewoods vs. laminates?

[StevieB]

Just out of curiosity, how good is the Tweety and what type of guitars would it help? Carved, solid tonewoods vs. laminates?

My Tweety is the external unit.

When I play my Gibson ES-175 thru the Jazz Amp, the Tweety doesn't even come into play as I run the 5-band on-board EQ flat across all frequencies and adjust tone on the guitar.

When I play one of my steel string flat top acoustic guitars thru the Jazz Amp I typically boost both the 3kHz and the 10kHz frequency to 2:00 o'clock (this engages the Tweety) and drop the 1Hz to 9:00 o'clock cutting the mids.

With this configuration I get a "reasonably colorless" amplification of my acoustic guitars that sounds pretty good.

Without the Tweety, the acoustic steel string flat tops don't sound good at all thru the Jazz Amp IMO.

Even with the Tweety . . . my 1st choice for my acoustics is my AER Compact 60.

Hope that helps.

[Tom Karol]

My Tweetey (that's how Henriksen spells it) is also the external unit. It's just an Eminence APT50 (I think) and a crossover with an attenuating variable resistor (level control) in a metal box. I don't use it for Jazz with my laminate 335 clone. I do use it with my A/E Hybrid; it's subtle, but it does add some delightful sparkle to the more acoustic flavors of that guitar. The only electified acoustic I have is a travel guitar; that one does seem to need the Tweetey to get a good amplified acoustic sound. Bottom line is I could survive without it, but it's nice to have.

[NSJ]

Thanks for the responses regarding the Tweety-- I bought my Convertible from a guy who said it didn't jive well with his L5 Wes, and I tried it out with my Jim Hall and even he, the seller, was impressed with how well it sounded with the laminate. Just wondering if he had gotten a Tweety if his Wes L5 wouldve sounded better ---in any event, sounds great with my laminates!