Moving coast to coast. Should I trust Mark V with movers?

[Jiveman]

I will be moving from east coast to west in a couple of months. We're getting estimates from a couple of moving companies. I'm not sure what to do regarding some of my equipment, most notably the Mark V head. I do have a road case for it, which is pretty heavy duty, with foam padding inside and ball corners and such. So I'm not worried about minor bumps and stuff like that during trucking. I'm just worried about movers being careless about it and dropping it, and stuff like that.

Besides the Mark V head, I also have a 2x12 horizontal recto cab in great shape. No case, just the original Mesa cloth cover.

I have been told so far that if they pack a thing into a box, they are "responsible for it." Otherwise, if I pack it and just hand it to them, they're not responsible. In case of something like Mark V, I don't know if that means they need to physically put it in the road case, and then the road case into a box, or what. I guess I will find out more about how that all works when they show up for an in-person estimate.

In the meantime, I would appreciate if you guys have any experience to share with moving companies and having them handle your music equipment (amps, cabs, guitars, other stuff).

We will most likely not drive out there (we'll fly), so I don't really have much of an option to take many things alongside me (especially not big/heavy ones). I will likely take my two guitars with me on the plane, but other than that, not much.

 

[babow2]

Why don't you look into the cost of insurance, either from the movers specific to the move, or as part of your homeowners/renters coverage, if you are concerned. given the road case and durability of mesa gear, they'd have to really do a number on it. I'd be more worried about any fragile possessions that don't have a road case, but insurance may be a cheap solution to give you peace of mind, given you don't have much of an alternative to putting on the truck.

 

[elvis]

Unless laws have changed recently, interstate moving is poorly regulated. If there is damage, it could be impossible to collect.

I doubt you will see a problem with an amp in a hard case, and dropping it would likely only affect the tubes, so you might pull them and package them separately.

Make sure they put the 2x12 in a box, or better yet, get a shipping box for it from Mesa. It will probably be fine that way.

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

Plane rides many many years ago. I took a guitar and amp on the airline, LA to San Francisco, United to be exact. I packed the guitar in it's case and boxed the case in a fender box so the big Fender logo was visible. I also put the Amp a Fender Deluxe in a Fender box, logo out, both taped up really well. I watched as they were loading the plane, down the belt they went. I watched as they tossed box after box. The guy grabs my amp first and begins the "Chuck" motion and sees the Fender logo. He stopped and walked over to the plane and handed it up to the guy loading in the plane. He then said something to the guy in the plane and shook his finger at him. Then he saw the guitar and did the exact same thing.

Coolest thing I ever saw.

 

[Elpelotero]

^^^ That's an awesome story!

I recently moved from east to west last year. I took the guitar on the plane. The Mesa heads I had shipped by fed ex or ups. 2 of the 3 worked fine when I last saw them, and then were dead on arrival when they got to the east coast. I packed them myself with heavy duty styrofoams. The tubes all survived. Preamps were plugged in, and power tubes wrapped in bubble wrap. Thankfully I now live near the Mesa factory and Mike B. fixed them. Don't know what happened between point A and B...

 

[Jiveman]

Thanks for chiming in, everyone.

An agent from the moving company came over yesterday to do the survey of things that will be getting moved. I asked specifically regarding the amp, and he said that if I have a receipt showing its value, that it should be covered. The movers are getting paid as part of the relocation package for my wife's new job, and I guess there is insurance included in that. However, the rule is that the movers have to be the ones to pack it into the boxes. Although, it was a little unclear whether they have to be the ones to put the amplifier into the road case or not.

Receipt wise... I told him I do have a receipt, but it doesn't have my name on it, since the amp was purchased used (so the receipt shows previous owner's name). He didn't seem to think that would be an issue.

So I guess, I'll see how the rest of this story develops. I'm thinking it will be fine in its road case. I might tape big FRAGILE signs all over it though.

 

[jb's 52]

I had a moving company haul my stuff from Hawaii to California. They packed everything and they did a better job than I would have ever done. Everything came back as expected. Amps, guitars, china, etc... I didn't take tubes out of my amps when I moved in 2000. I didn't even have a hard case They just put it in a box, put bubble wrap and some foam around it. :lol: If I were to do it again, I'd at least take the tubes out.

Good luck!!!

 

[Elpelotero]

I recommend using expandable packing foam so that it fits to the exact contours of the amp.

Or I'd even call Mesa and see if they'll give you some boxes.

 

[Jiveman]

Just thought I'd write a quick post-move update, in case anyone cares....

In the end, everything arrived safe and sound and without any visible or audible damage. I ended up just packing the MKV head into the road case, with tubes in place as normal. Printed and posted a bunch of "fragile" signs (with arrows for placement direction) and also called it to the attention of movers when they were loading. And even though my stuff got loaded/unloaded a couple of times before making it to the final destination, it was all good.

The guitars traveled with me, but amp head and other miscellaneous equipment (speaker cab, rack gear, etc.) all went with the movers. The 2x12 recto cab was just covered with slip on cover and placed on casters, and that was it.

Bit of a risk, but all in all, the heavy duty road case did it's job well. Glad I invested some money into that thing.

 

[Monstercastle]

Glad it all got there ok.