3000 miles away????? Wow! That is dedication to the cause! We can wait.... And remember that even if the faintest traces of Marmite or Vegimite are detected in the bloodstream you could be arrested in the US (if that is where you are going) for "being under the influence."

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

There's that marmite word again.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Mate, toast those cheese sandwiches and then you have Welsh rarebit over Marmite. The food of angels!

Anyway. I'm so nosy: 3000 miles in which direction, I wonder...? And do you mean to say you travel to foreign places - without your Branston pickle? Wow: intrepid. Safe home!

Cheers - C

I live in Helsinki. We have a brilliant small Fender/Martin specialist that also does 2h and other stuff: http://www.kitarapaja.com I am a bit gutted that I am not buying from them, having ordered with them, as they don't over charge - and they throw in a year of set-ups - and that is important as we have -20 very dry and long winters.

But I am originally from Brighton, home of the very successful http://www.gak.co.uk store and mail order operation, so I often buy from there. Actually, like most Finns, I buy most gear by mail order from http://www.thomann.de because the Helsinki music stores just cannot compete on price - in fact a long standing store http://www.soundata.fi looks like it is going under.

As discussed earlier (before the dinosaurs and marmite) I found the subject of this thread (09 sss am dlx amber rosewood - returned as new) at http://www.dv247.com. I have bought from them before, they don't have a flawless record for customer service, but I have taken a small chance on a sight unseen delivery to good old Sussex by the sea.

This Finnish store http://www.dlxmusic.fi actually has the same guitar in the shop, though not online, and wants 1300 euros. I have just paid 970 euros and I was already traveling to England next week - what some call a no brainer I think... and I will get to buy some Branston in Waitrose!

EDIT: Now, as of today AFAIK, DV have the amber rosewood as an end of the line deal http://www.dv247.com/guitars/fender-american-deluxe-stratocaster-electric-guitar-amber-rosewood--41035 for 1160 euros - maybe they are clearing the old stock ready for...

(This http://www.kitarapaja.com/pics/nfcdlxsvw1_1024_768.JPG custom dlx olympic white at Kitarapaja is probably the most gorgeous guitar I have ever played )

Just got back from my local GC - not a lot of the higher end fenders (artist series) there. Usually they have at least half a dozen but they only had a Clapton and an SRV.

Maybe if their guitars sounded as good as they looked?

Carlos's tone has never sounded worse since he signed his endorsement deal.

Oh boy.
I laughed so much during the last 9 pages of this admittedly VERY diverse thread - I am probably one of those addicts of slightly disgusting but simply delicious foods... I import myself all the goodies from the UK and will not do without my Branston (fear ye the type with small chunks!), my Marmite, my Horlicks, Bovril (ok, once a year I can stand it - but ah, those 5 minutes of bliss!) and my Coleman's instant mustard! What I do find difficult to get over here is mature Cheddar. Seems all you can get in Germany is your boring, orange coloured young Irish type... quite unsatisfactory. Oh how I crave a nice piece of farmhouse Cheddar!
Made some scones the other day. Try getting some Clotted Cream over here. Found out Mascarpone works as a substitute. ("Veal substitute?" "Yes, it's Norwegian")
Anyhow, enough of my mindless gibberish.

I'm going for some salt & vinegar crisps!

-Nutter

P.S.: I LOVE THIS FORUM

There was a lot of flooding in Nashville and from what I understand a lot of musicians had gear in storage that was ruined. Could account for the higher end models being in short supply at the moment.

All 9 pages? Wow....This thread has been fun...I admit. I had many good laughs! And then there are those who come on board about 5 pages in and are like, What is this Thread about?????? LOL!

And, now your post—Well, my wife's family are all a bunch of tough Norwegians! And a lot of yanks just do not get Marmite! LOL!!! Well, I know and the song by The Who keeps going through my head "We Won't Get Fooled Again!"

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

In my younger days (as a high schooler) I traveled to Australia and NZ and had the (mis)fortune of sampling Vegemite on Kangaroo Island, S. Australia (never Marmite though). I have to say it was the most VILE creation I've ever experienced. Granted, my Australian friends handed me the jar and a few saltine crackers and said they eat it like peanut butter. Being the gullible Yankee, I took a MASSIVE glob out of the jar and spread it thick over the $@!&#*, because that's exactly what I'd do with good old peanut butter. Boy was I surprised when that brown/black goop hit my tastebuds! I actually managed to swallow the $@!&#* and a few more afterwards with a few good swallows of water followed by a thorough tooth brush/mouth wash to get rid of the taste. No offense to those who enjoy the stuff, but nooooo thank you! That's the ultimate acquired taste!

My vote's for Nutella, hands down. Chocolate and hazelnut?! Please sir, can I have some more??

BoK

Anyone ever tried marmite, or vegemite as grain filler?

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

...or people wandering into the thread at page 9 still blaming flooding in Nashville FFS. That was Gibson not Fender.

I think we should really take stock at this point and consider the relative merits of Sandwich Branston (the one with the small chunks) against the original. (headbang)

I do have an admittedly small place in my heart for sandwich Branston. In times of extremis (i.e. all cash has one on guitar strings) then Sandwich Branston lasts so much longer, which in the end, has to be a good thing. There is a temptation with "normal" Branston to wipe out a whole small-sized jar in just a pair of doorstep cheddar sarnies.

By the way, for those of you struggling with your local cheese selection in Norway, Bavaria, NZ, Cook Islands, or wherever, I can tell you that Finland is very pleasant surprise cheese-wise. We have the magnificently pure Oltermanni as a staple of most breakfast tables and some great organic goat from "Juusto-portti" - a huge cheese warehouse in the arse-end of the west of this swamp-land.

Well I have a theory (by Miss Anne Elk) which goes like this: Small chunk Branston lasts longer because it's not that good! (end of theory).
If lasting longer is a good thing, then that "goodness" (+) gets deminished by the negative nature of it's taste (-), leaving the total score at zero (0). Additionally, the small chunk Branston tastes "not so good" only because we know what the big chunk Branston tastes like, which means that in some cases where big chunk Branston (also known as "Branston Classic") is unknown, the calculation of the quality of small chunked Branston must be re-evalued.

As you see, it's not that simple.

As for the cheese problem: I do not have a good formula calculating the expense to go to Finland to get a bit of cheese, but from my gut feeling I venture to say it's easier if I do the ol' Channel-hop.

Is it safe to send cheese in the post? (not in this one )