Need to Ship an Amp...(Question)

[JackBootedThug]

Bought a vht pitbull 50st from a Canadian member. He literally wrapped that with so much packing wrap it looked like a fucking football. Amp arrived perfect and he was so proud of his packing method. You can’t get by with doing that now though….

 

[JackBootedThug]

And Pirateship ftw

 

[Rocker68]

And Pirateship ftw

Which is important for the dishwasher
safe items .
Or , going full comando WHILE
packing said items .

 

[JackBootedThug]

Which is important for the dishwasher
safe items .
Or , going full comando WHILE
packing said items .

I wish you could have been there for that bro. It’s still discussed to this day.

 

[Metlupass2]

Do you really have to ship it or can you take it to someone local for service?

 

[DredFryer]

When it comes to shipping anything, things break or get loose when things move too much inside the box. Make sure you have a box that's large and thick enough to accomodate all the bubble wrap around the amp and make sure that if there's anything not attached to the amp that's included in the box is individually bubble wrapped and secured in the box. My Bogner 101B was damaged during shipping because the seller didn't wrap the footswitch or secure it all, damaging the headshell.

 

[Sixstringflannel]

I used pirate ship but was able to select UPS or FedEx. Had no box or packing from the original amp since I got it locally (an SL67) so i packed it up with a 75ft roll of packing bubble wrap. Make sure there’s no movement in the box with whatever you’re packing it with. I knew the guy would curse my name when he had to cut it off but the amp arrived perfectly. PirateShip will save you a crap ton of money shipping. Just find some decent packing so it’s not a pain in the ass for both parties like my story

 

[gibson5413]

Do you really have to ship it or can you take it to someone local for service?

I went to a guy locally, based on a lot of recommendations in the scene. He couldn't get the chassis out of the combo (I believe double-sided tape). I saw him pulling at it and I about flipped. Plus, he spent the whole time telling me that he doesn't like the preamp tubes and that the amp didn't need E34Ls. The guy is in his mid-70s and was just so negative about working on my amp. I reached out to Dylana at 3rd Power and she said that she would give my amp a full tune-up at no charge (I pay shipping). I would just prefer to have the amp manufacturer work on it than someone who didn't seem to want to work on my amp.

 

[Rip]

Go to FedEx.. they will custom cut a box to the size of the amp, wrap it, and use expandable foam that molds to the actual item in the box. Then use Pirate Ship

That's an awesome idea I never heard of, thank you.

 

[headlessdeadguy]

I’m a box , bubble wrap and foam Hoarder. Have shipped dozens of amps. Oddly enough it was the lightest one ( a VH140C) that I shipped to juggernaut that got damaged. Other than that? No issues. But I pack em tight and pack em right as we used to say.

 

[skoora]

I went to a guy locally, based on a lot of recommendations in the scene. He couldn't get the chassis out of the combo (I believe double-sided tape). I saw him pulling at it and I about flipped. Plus, he spent the whole time telling me that he doesn't like the preamp tubes and that the amp didn't need E34Ls. The guy is in his mid-70s and was just so negative about working on my amp. I reached out to Dylana at 3rd Power and she said that she would give my amp a full tune-up at no charge (I pay shipping). I would just prefer to have the amp manufacturer work on it than someone who didn't seem to want to work on my amp.

I take it you have a 3rd Power amp then? Couldn’t imagine a better place for it to go. Maybe Dylana can clue you in on a method to get the chassis out as long as it wasn’t messed with (double sided tape sounds weird) by a previous owner.

 

[vultures]

I went to a guy locally, based on a lot of recommendations in the scene. He couldn't get the chassis out of the combo (I believe double-sided tape). I saw him pulling at it and I about flipped. Plus, he spent the whole time telling me that he doesn't like the preamp tubes and that the amp didn't need E34Ls. The guy is in his mid-70s and was just so negative about working on my amp. I reached out to Dylana at 3rd Power and she said that she would give my amp a full tune-up at no charge (I pay shipping). I would just prefer to have the amp manufacturer work on it than someone who didn't seem to want to work on my amp.

Man. That's a shame. Amp repair (and electronics repair in general) is a dying art. My experience in my area is there's only old timers really know what they're doing and some of them are just stuck in their ways. I've been learning stuff on my own and picking up things from said old timers in my area and they're not afraid to tell you they don't want to work on xyz.

The last time I shipped out an amp (IIC+), I went to Home Depot and grabbed 2 heavy duty moving boxes. I also grabbed some moving blankets from harbor freight. Wrapped the amp in two moving blankets. A folded blanket under, another folded blanket on top. Cut up thick cardboard and stuck it on the sides.. I then took that box, wrapped it with another moving blanket and put it inside the second moving box. It weighed about 70lbs. Overkill? Yeah, but it sure as shit will make it in one piece.

 

[LanierP]

A while back, I bought a stack of 10 triple wall maximum heavy-duty corrugated boxes to ship amps (from ULine). The walls are 1/2" thick, and the sides are stapled with heavy duty fasteners. ULine has a wide selection of shapes and sizes/thickness' etc...they even have crates! Anyway, I use these boxes as the Outside box, and double box the amp inside with bubble wrap, foam etc,,,as already mentioned here. Finally, I label the outside of the box in large writing 'Fragile,,Glass inside!! "Please handle with Care "
"this end Up!"
Len

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

get a hold of a double or triple wall box ..... double's are a lot more common ... big enough for the amp and some packing ...I would find something that will give you a few inches around any part of the amp

pack it yourself ..... don't rely on the UPS store or anyone else ....

protect the front and back of the amp with extra panels of cardboard ...

wrap amp in a trashbag big enough to fit it ........ ( you have no idea if your box will sit in the rain at some point or if something is spilled )

and pack enough packing paper or bubble wrap IN THE BOX SO THE AMP CAN'T MOVE at all inside the box.

Another thing to remember if it's a tube amp is to also; remove all the tubes, wrap them individually in bubble wrap and mark them by position, put them in a couple of small sturdy boxes (one for the preamp and one for the power tubes), and place them snuggly in the back of the combo.

Tbt sometimes manufacturers or techs will pull and discard used tubes, and replace them with new ones. You may want to email them first and ask. I have seen a few posts over the years from peopke who had put NOS tubes in their amps only get them back after service/repairs with new production tubes instead and been like wtf?

A) If they recommend shipping the entire combo, or pulling the chassis and shipping just that instead?

B) If they want it shipped with or without the tubes? They may tell you to pull the tubes to keep for spares, and that they will retube it anyway.

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

When I shipped tube amps, I used to place them in a plastic bag of a large size and tape it. After that I wrapped the amp inside multiple, multiple layers of bubble wrap, then a tighlty fitting cardboard box which I taped very well. After that additional layers of cushion (bubble wrap or similar) which was not as tight as the inner packaging to absorb the shocks and then finally an outer cardboard box. One time a buyer called me after 10 minutes of unpacking to ask if the TSL100 is there somewhere inside the package.

Da.

 

[gibson5413]

I take it you have a 3rd Power amp then? Couldn’t imagine a better place for it to go. Maybe Dylana can clue you in on a method to get the chassis out as long as it wasn’t messed with (double sided tape sounds weird) by a previous owner.

I have a 3rd Power Kitchen Sink combo. It has been my favorite amp, and I have played about 100 gigs (excluding rehearsals) with it since 2019, when I received it as part of my custom order with Dylana. I contacted her about shipping and she offered to send me the packing materials and a box they use for shipment. I am just paying shipping (which I will do through Pirate Ship). I figured it's worth it to have the amp's builder do the work. I really appreciate everyone's input here!

 

[gibson5413]

Man. That's a shame. Amp repair (and electronics repair in general) is a dying art. My experience in my area is there's only old timers really know what they're doing and some of them are just stuck in their ways. I've been learning stuff on my own and picking up things from said old timers in my area and they're not afraid to tell you they don't want to work on xyz.

The last time I shipped out an amp (IIC+), I went to Home Depot and grabbed 2 heavy duty moving boxes. I also grabbed some moving blankets from harbor freight. Wrapped the amp in two moving blankets. A folded blanket under, another folded blanket on top. Cut up thick cardboard and stuck it on the sides.. I then took that box, wrapped it with another moving blanket and put it inside the second moving box. It weighed about 70lbs. Overkill? Yeah, but it sure as shit will make it in one piece.

Wow, that's awesome! I wish more people were like that when shipping. Back in the mid-2000s, I did much more buying and selling of amps. I purchased a Framus Cobra from eBay. The dude sent it like he was packing a package of balloons. He clearly didn't care how it arrived and took the path of least resistance. At least it came in fine condition but it was pretty lame. Like I said above, I'm so glad Dylana is shipping the box and materials at no cost.