Yes, musical gear prices are way, way inflated in nz, you are looking at least a couple of grands for a nice guitar and tube amplifier. You get to build up your gears over the years... currently i got too many gears for my playing level.. LOL
There seem a few good deals comes and goes on TM (as i would presume you would be aware too).. but yeah it sometimes sucks to be living at the corner of the earth. Lucky bastards on the other continents getting all the great deals every time I look up the online websites!!!! Unbelievably cheap!! :mad: