If they were a bunch of white Grandma's would it have been ok if I said they could probably bake me up a great apple pie? Point is, if you think some master builder is soldering together your pedals you're greatly mistaken. This isn't the Gear Page is it?
If you watch the factory tour of EHX most of the workers there look like 60 year old hispanic GrandMa's who know how to cook up a plate of rice and beans. Wiring up pedals....?
How loud is your combo? I have a Mark IV combo and I hate the way it sounds unless it's really pushing air. When I bypass the combo and plug it into my old beat up 4x12 it sounds perfect to me. I've been trying HARD to replace my Mark IV....AX8, FM3, HX Stomp, POD Go, latest was an Amp1...
The HXStomp is a fraction of the cost of the "big boys" and sounds about as good as anything after a bit of tweaking or loading in your own ir.
The Podgo is also a cheaper option.
EDIT. Just watched some Amp1 videos! COOL STUFF. When is the AmpX coming out? I mean wow! 100 watts in that small...
You're still out in Oahu right? Consider that shipping anything now is a pain in the ass, soo expensive and when something gets fucked up the last thing UPS or FEDEX wants to do is honor the insurance you paid on the shipment.
My R2 cure is I use an ES5 instead of the stock foot switch. The ES5 changes channels but also switches in an OD pedal which makes R2 sound pretty awesome. Just as good as the crunch on the V.
Who cares. GC has a RETURN POLICY. Anyone who buys from them is covered. If the gear is fucked up, return it. Simple as that. Try to return something on Ebay or Reverb and be prepared for a long drawn out headache.