Best way to ship a SR wothout a road case???

[Humbility]

Hey everyone. I am planning on going to Alberta for about 2 mons. I have a single recto and I wanna take it with me. What it the best and most secure way to pack the thing without putting it in a road case? Its just the head. Any insight would be appreciated as I am sure some of you have had to do this before.
Thnx
Hum

 

[tele_jas]

I guess it kind of depends on a couple of things..

1) how are you going to Alberta?
2) (kind of goes with #1), how far are you traveling?

When I go out of town with my head, I just put it in the back seat, now if you're talking about a plane then thats different.

More details please :wink:

 

[no soul]

a cardboard box with styrofoam should be fine.
Remember these amps are built tough as hell.

 

[tele_jas]

I'd either stuff the inside of the head with tissue paper (or something else really soft and can pack well) or pull all the tubes!!

* I had a Triple rectifier shipped to me in a cardboard box with styrofoam and when I got it, it didn't have a tear or dent on the box but it did have 13 broken tubes (4 preamp, 6 power and 3 rectifier).

* I had a Tremoverb head shipped to me in a cardboard box with styrofoam and it had signs of "droppage" on the box, but the head only had 4 broken tubes (2 power, 1 rectifer and 1 preamp). It also had a new dent in the wooden frame on the left side like it fell on the corner of something.

* I had a Rectoverb Combo shipped to me in a cardboard box with styrofoam and it had every tube broke! (both power and all preamp). And the 1/4 speaker plug was stuck through the speaker .

* I had a Peavey XXX head shipped to me in a cardboard box with styrofoam and the guy packed the head full of newspaper and it didn't have any broken tubes.

Yeah, the amps are tough as hell but the tubes arent. Protect your tubes in shipping the best way you know how! Or if you're going to the same place, take the tubes with you.

I contacted UPS on the first two amps, but they said I'd have to send the item and all boxes and packing material with the driver and it would take up to 6 weeks for them to determine whos fault it was and since they weren't packed by UPS or a UPS store I would more than likely be S.O.L.! So I don't worry about broken tubes anymore, I figure it's gonna happen. I do always tell the person I buy amps from to PLEASE pull the tubes... I've got a T-verb combo coming this week, we'll see how this one pans out.

I always pull my tubes and package them in a padded box and then fit the box in the head chassis and pack newspaper or tissue in it to hold the box steady and from floppin' around and possibly knocking off a transformer or some other important thingy.

I hope I didn't scare the hell out of you, good luck though!

 

[Humbility]

LMAO. It did kinda scare me a little. But....I am going by plane....and is a 3 and a half hour flight.....so no stop-overs.....meaning one trip on the plane for the head, one trip off. I am going to pull the tubes out like you said....then stuff the hell out of it. Inside and outside the head. Thnx for all the help guys. Hmm...I'll let you know how it goes. I am leaving Friday morning.

Hum

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I always pull the tubes. Make sure you number them before taking them out. Otherwise, the amp won't sound the same. Each tube will have a distinctive effect in each spot.


I usually use Styrofoam or Big Bubble Wrap. The Bubble Wrap provides much more cushion.

These amps are tough as hell, but still breakable.



tele_jas,
That is some serious bad luck with amps. I have had some bad luck with UPS & United Airlines. I will only ship my amps with Fed Ex Ground now. With some good packing and a lot of luck, nothing has happened yet. Knock on simulated wood surfaces.

 

[no soul]

I always pull the tubes. Make sure you number them before taking them out. Otherwise, the amp won't sound the same. Each tube will have a distinctive effect in each spot.


I usually use Styrofoam or Big Bubble Wrap. The Bubble Wrap provides much more cushion.

bingo, but I dont do the numbering thing, cuz none of my tubes are position specific so it makes little difference.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

You would be surprised. Every tube has it's own subtle nuances, especially as they age.

Some will eventually be microphonic. This won't matter at 1st, unless it is in a key position like V1 or the PI.


I have found that not numbering them leads to too much "What the hell happened to my tone?" for me.

And I have to admit, I do a lot of tweaking with my amps to get just the right tone that I'm looking for.

 

[no soul]

You would be surprised. Every tube has it's own subtle nuances, especially as they age.

Some will eventually be microphonic. This won't matter at 1st, unless it is in a key position like V1 or the PI.


I have found that not numbering them leads to too much "What the hell happened to my tone?" for me.

And I have to admit, I do a lot of tweaking with my amps to get just the right tone that I'm looking for.

Im not arguing that at all, but for all intents and purposes I find it to be impractical, considering the real world effect (aka what people who arent familiar with your amps sound are going to hear regardless of how you mess with it) isnt that much. If you are using all sorts of different tubes that you have tested and what not (which it sounds like you are doing) then of course its a different game.


but personaly I dont mess with the pre amp much besides V1, and thats just with some antique tubes for shits and giggles. There really isnt much point in taking out pre tubes for shipping anyway, they rarely break in shipping, just the powertubes.

Also, dont forget Mesa ships these things EVERYWHERE without roadcases, AND with all the tubes intact. There are these little fishnet things that come on the powertubes, but I doubt they do much. Regardless though, I still recomend removing the output tubes for shipping.