^ thanks for the reply, gizmo, that's a lot of help. :)
i know what you mean about the clips, there are very few of the carrera, and most, if not all, of the hurricane clips sound amazing (plus I've tried the hurricane and know it can sound like that). you're right about player skill being very important to the clips, too. :)
I actually did register on the cornford forum and make a post on this subject, but didn't think to do a search on the points you made (differences in wiring etc.). I'll do that, thanks for that! :)
The big problem with taking a trip to England is that I know fine rightly (at least with the type of person I am) that it won't cost me £100. To get the cheapest flights, you have to book WAY in advance, and also go at cr@ppy times (middle of the night). I'd probably end up staying overnight (there's not much point in getting to try the amp if you're so tired you can't think or test it properly), so that's more money, eating out, taxis/tube etc., it's going to come to £400 or £500, minimum. plus, the shop could sell the amp half an hour before you get there, so it's risky too. It's bad enough paying several hundred pounds to get to try the amp without paying it only for the thing to be sold before you get there! :( Plus trying in a shop (which is much bigger than the room I'd be using it in at home) won't give all that good an indication of how good the thing sounds at home volumes, anyway (I've been caught out on that before :lol: ). Not having a go at you or anything, I know you're trying to help, and you have valid points, just I think travelling to England to try it is infeasible. :)
And anyway with distance selling regulations, and the fact I haven't tried it, I could just order it and send it back if I didn't like it (only paying the postage, which is likely to be about £40-£50). I'd be able to try it for 7 days or so, in the exact home environment I'd always be using it in. Which seems more sensible (if I do decide to go for it). :)
EDIT: just to clarify what i mean by that- I've already tried the Hurricane, but still don't know how quiet that'd be for home use... only real way to be sure is to have it at home. Trying the Carrera would let me see if I liked it, and if it got a similar sound to the Hurricane at a lower volume, but if I tried both and preferred the Hurricane, I wouldn't be any further on, kind of thing.
As I said, i'm not having a go, I appreciate your input and you brought up a couple of points which I hadn't thought of before. Just letting you know why I don't think a trip to England is sensible. :)