I wanted to point out that there's a bit of a "gotcha" in the somewhat popular opinion that it may be a good idea to purchase a second Empeg as a "backup" in case your first one dies. Actually I was considering this even though I seriously don't have the money to do it... But... Let's say you buy an Empeg now and shelve it. Your current Empeg lasts two years, so you switch to the new one which is now out of warranty and unsupported. Now something goes wrong with it. Sucks to be you. You just spent $1000 on a backup that you can't get serviced. A good number of people, including myself, have had to send their Empegs to Cambridge for service. That will no longer be an option.

I realize there are some things that you can fix with a soldering iron and a little skill, but there are a LOT of things that can (and have) gone wrong with Empegs which require expertise very few people have.

I guess I'm just saying that this "backup empeg" approach is a bit risky. You're spending $1000 now and PRAYING the thing isn't a lemon. I guess if you've got the money to burn, it's worth it... Personally I could get that kind of cash together, but I don't think the "hot backup" offers enough of an assurance to warrant that kind of expense. Backups fail, too.

-Tony
MkII #554