Shipping an amp and a few other questions

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Wendigo
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Shipping an amp and a few other questions

Post by Wendigo » Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:28 pm

Hi all,

Just wondering if it's better to ship an amp head with the tubes in or out? I think I read "out" somewhere. I tried searching the forum but came up with nothing. Also is there a such thing as an aluminum flight case that's big enough to ship an electric guitar WITH it's original case inside? I ask because of my '78 Yamaha SG2000 and it's original case which I don't want to leave behind when we move to Canada. Also, what's the cheapest way to send a guitar from Europe to Canada? I found out that I can do it with DHL for about 80€, but I'm not sure that's the best price and who knows how safe or insured it will be. My Yamaha is coming on the plane with me underneath, but I might want to ship another electric in the post, and my Orange Dual Dark head has to be posted. Should I get a flight case for it and then post it, or is it enough to put it in a very padded box and send it like that? Thanks for any replies. :)

Jondog
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Re: Shipping an amp and a few other questions

Post by Jondog » Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:47 pm

I think if the amp has tube shields/retainers, its best to leave them in. Safest place for them I think.
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Les Paul Lover
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Re: Shipping an amp and a few other questions

Post by Les Paul Lover » Fri Dec 01, 2017 1:31 pm

Valves with retainers are best left in.

I've had 1 valve drop out in transit once, it was a rectifier that was very loose fitting.

I replaced it with a new rectifier (the one that dropped was still working) and the new one fits well.

Most valves require some serious pull to come out, I find it unlikely, if firmly seated, that it could come off.
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fiveightandten
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Re: Shipping an amp and a few other questions

Post by fiveightandten » Fri Dec 01, 2017 1:39 pm

Personally, I've seen enough amps shipped where the tubes fell out of the sockets, retainers or not. They aren't going to come out if the amp has spring retainers, but I've seen them come out and break from the butterfly retainers, or EL-84 wire retainers. I don't trust those types anymore. Springs are usually ok, but I pull the power tubes, regardless. It saves them some mechanical shock.

I wrap the tubes securely in a towel, making sure there's no glass on glass contact. I wrap tape around the towel so it doesn't come loose. I secure that inside the chassis. That's the part where you need to be creative. It has to be inside the chassis so the tubes don't get crushed by the amp. And it has to be secure so it doesn't get kicked around. Most amps don't have a lot of space inside, so it's usually not an issue to secure them in there.

Pre-tubes, I leave in the sockets. Those should be fine.

For the guitar, buying a custom flight case large enough to fit another case inside it would probably be more expensive than buying a regular flight case and shipping the 2 cases separately. That's what I'd do, personally. And the bigger the case, the worse it gets thrown around during shipping. You'd be talking about a huge custom case to fit another case inside it. Also, a normal case may not protect the guitar enough from mechanical shock (even inside another case). You want to make sure the guitar doesn't move inside it.
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langmurf
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Re: Shipping an amp and a few other questions

Post by langmurf » Sat Dec 02, 2017 1:38 am

I haven't sold a lot of amps that I had to ship. But when I have, I ask the buyer what they want me to do. Personally, if I were buying an amp that had to be shipped to me, I'd ask seller to pull the tubes and wrap them in bubble wrap.

I've received amps that were packed to survive a nuclear attack... and one amp that was thrown in a box with some loose bubble wrap and newspaper. Incredibly, that amp was fine. No problems, fired right up and never gave me a problem. Go figure.
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