The Terrible Truth About Shipping Tube Amps
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- After over a decade of shipping tube amps all around the world this is my preferred method of packing and shipping.
If you are shipping a repair, take the chassis out of the cabinet and send it off. No need to ship a big heavy cabinet if you don’t have to.
Any packages need to be inspected upon arrival and any damage needs to be documented right away.
Sometimes processing through customs involves unpacking and repackaging when shipping internationally.
I made this video using a box cutter and steel ruler to demonstrate the process. In reality I do all my cutting of the foam on my table saw and it is MUCH faster. Just don’t breathe that dust if you use the table saw!
Good advice overall; I'd just add the following:
1) Remove the tubes, wrap each one in thin foam (several wraps), then pack in their own box and place this inside the amp cab.
2) Use dense 2" foam on all corners, tape if necessary to prevent movement.
3) Place a thin sheet of masonite cut to size to cover the speaker and rear openings.
4) Make sure that there is no room for movement inside the shipping box prior to closure.
5) Take pictures throughout the process and save.
Unfortunately, most end users don't know how to install tubes (especially preamp) without bending the pins. Ask me how I know! Haha. I've had a number of complaints about busted amps in the past but it turned out that the recipient shoved a power tube in not regarding the indexing pin and broke it. More than one experience of this. I'm pretty sure this is why nearly all manufactures ship amps with tubes installed. It's definitely why I quit taking the tubes out and wrapping them individually.
Ultimately you are right on with every protection you listed tho.
Well that gives me great confidence my will arrive intact. More importantly my cat Biff will be very happy to see all that paper stuffing.
That foam insulation board is a great idea.
Good tips. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
This is great intel! Also looks and sounds great in there!
Thanks! MixPre 3 & Oktava MK012 in action per your channel's recommendation! For those that don't know, www.youtube.com/@TheRecordist is a great channel.
@@FreshOldSchool why thank you kindly, sir! Cheers!
The paper will be too heavy if you fill too much. It is better use low density sponge (EVA) to fill into the cabinet of amp. Other, it is better to plug out the tubes during you shipping it.
Mostly paper is cheap and if you use it well the tubes won’t shift. Pretty much all production amps ship with tubes installed. Once back in the day I sold a BF deluxe reverb on EBay (20 years ago) and I took the tubes out and wrapped them separately. Dude got the amp and said it was broken and wouldn’t work. Took it to a tech and wanted me to pay for it. Tech found a tube jammed in with the index key broken. So ever since then I just leave them in and pack the cavity well. Never had a tube fallout and I’ve shipped a gozillion since then.