Dropped a tube amp

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spanny

spanny

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Last night while unloading the trailer, I had a tube amp sitting on top of a cab and it was knocked over, so fell about a couple feet. Luckily it was in its ATA case. Anything I should check for prior to powering it on? If not, I will be checking it at practice on Wednesday, which I can worry about if there are any issues after using it.
 
they aren't that fragile. turn it on and see if it works. I once tripped while stepping up on the stage, my 12" combo amp (6L6 tubes) went flying about 10 feet through the air and landed solidly on it's back on a concrete floor. That was 6-7 years ago and it's still going strong. And my old Peavey tube amps took a lot of abuse/drops/falls with nary a hiccup.
 
Guess you'll find on Wed. I would just make sure tubes are all in their right place. Not sure there's anything else you can do.

What amp was it by the way?
 
I pulled a Sovtek Mig 60 off of a 4X12 once. Landed face down. Fired back up just fine. Scared the hell out of me though.
 
First step.. Take it to a car wash and power was the chassis. Be careful not to get too close to the radiator fins as they bend easily. Stand back at least 3 feet.

Second Step.. Remove the chassis from the rattle cage. Be careful not to drop the condensing unit or radiator. You want to be sure to remove and leaves and sticks that often accumulate during the summer months. Also this will give you a chance to also power wash the rest of the unit..

Shit, this is how to clean your window unit.. Just turn on your amp and see what happens ! Probably all good
 
Bxlxaxkxe":3qk8vbwl said:
Guess you'll find on Wed. I would just make sure tubes are all in their right place. Not sure there's anything else you can do.

What amp was it by the way?

You'll cry if I told you... a VH4. And yes, Ill find out Wednesday. Just checking to see if there were any measures to take prior to turning it on.
 
A long time ago, a friend of mine was rolling my (former) amp/head on a 4x12 at a pretty good clip. The cab came to a dead stop when the wheels hit the edge of this tile floor. I swear it was in slow motion watching the head with all the momentum flying off the cab. It landed on one side upright then tipped over. Yes.....I almost shit myself. Outside of a tolex impression the head worked perfect. I did check to make sure all the tubes were good and did not become displaced in the sockets.

I figure since you had the 4 in a flight case it should be fine since most flight cases have a resistance to minor impacts. Obviuously we have a great and responsive resource here on RT with Peter Diezel who would walk you through any issues that may have occured. Either way. Let us know.
 
Buddy of mine dropped his Lee Jackson XLS, and it happened to knock a tube socket pin out enough where it made contact with a connection on the output board, and shorted it out when he turned it on. Didn't make sense to me why the output board was (by design) so close sitting on top of the tube sockets, but it was a freak accident that normally wouldn't happen. I was able to repair it, and most of the damage was a blown fuse and blackened joints that I had to re-solder after I cleaned both PCBs.
 
I mean it was in an ATA case, should be fine honestly.
 
At an old venue I use to run, a dude dropped his b-52 At100 while playing and it wouldn't turn on or something (it was like 6 or 7 years ago). He just left it at the venue because he thought it was bunk, I don't know why anyone would do that. I took it home though and just replaced the fuse and it worked like a charm, I actually got a hold of him and told him I fixed it and gave it back. So moral of the story, potentially a fuse, at least in my experience.
 
I was playing with my band and the audience decided to do a massive vocal pile-on and rushed the stage. Knocked the drummer off his throne and also knocked over both mine and the other guitarists full stacks. Mine was a Engl Fireball 100 and his was a Fryette Deliverance 120. I broke a speaker cable and that was the only damage that happened besides all the cosmetic scuffing on the tolex. We plugged back in and finished our set. It was a great show. Tube amps are solid. Make sure your tubes are seated in the sockets if you want to check anything. I would cry if my Herbert fell though :(
 
bananaladonpcp":2uv8hbo0 said:
I was playing with my band and the audience decided to do a massive vocal pile-on and rushed the stage. Knocked the drummer off his throne and also knocked over both mine and the other guitarists full stacks. Mine was a Engl Fireball 100 and his was a Fryette Deliverance 120. I broke a speaker cable and that was the only damage that happened besides all the cosmetic scuffing on the tolex. We plugged back in and finished our set. It was a great show. Tube amps are solid. Make sure your tubes are seated in the sockets if you want to check anything. I would cry if my Herbert fell though :(

Now that is show I would have liked to attended. Just don't see those rages from a crowd anymore. Happy to hear your gear (and you guys) made it through.

On the Herbert comment. It would kill me to see my VH4 go down. As a matter of fact, the rule is. NO BODY touches my 4. I load it, unload it and if something happens it's on me.
 
1meanplexi":sz221bfs said:
bananaladonpcp":sz221bfs said:
I was playing with my band and the audience decided to do a massive vocal pile-on and rushed the stage. Knocked the drummer off his throne and also knocked over both mine and the other guitarists full stacks. Mine was a Engl Fireball 100 and his was a Fryette Deliverance 120. I broke a speaker cable and that was the only damage that happened besides all the cosmetic scuffing on the tolex. We plugged back in and finished our set. It was a great show. Tube amps are solid. Make sure your tubes are seated in the sockets if you want to check anything. I would cry if my Herbert fell though :(

Now that is show I would have liked to attended. Just don't see those rages from a crowd anymore. Happy to hear your gear (and you guys) made it through.

On the Herbert comment. It would kill me to see my VH4 go down. As a matter of fact, the rule is. NO BODY touches my 4. I load it, unload it and if something happens it's on me.

Same here, and this one is on me!
 
Drops most always result in the loosening of components. Proper grounding relies on key components being securely tightened against the chassis... Check all fasteners, placing specific interest on potentiometers, input/output sockets, and transformer fasteners.
 
My bitch of a ex Girlfriend pushed my Mark III off of it's stack... It survived the fall. Our relationship didn't last long after that, though. Bitch. :thumbsdown:
 
UPS did me the favor of dropping a Recto so hard it broke all the power and rectifier tubes and cracked the headhell. Replaced the tubes and it fired right up and has been rock solid ever since.

VH4 is a tank. Assuming the tubes survived, I'd be more worried about cracking the sidewalk than breaking that head.
 
I had an Orange Rockerverb 50 that fell a few feet onto some wood stairs(luckily not down the stairs). I suppose I could have been fortunate that it landed on wood stairs as opposed to concrete, but I never had any issues with it afterwards. It powered back up and functioned just fine.
 
Well, luckily after turning it on, all was right in the world.
 
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