• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

How to ship an amp, how much it cost who is the best?

Differentstrings

New member
Joined
Jul 21, 2015
Messages
24
I am going to sell my Princeton reverb and my vibrochamp as well! I have a couple questions,

First which shipping company in your experience is best to use?


Second is there a special way to ship a tube amp? Do I need to remove the tubes?
Thanks
Joe
 

oldsongs

New member
Joined
Jan 30, 2015
Messages
308
Packaging is most important. The way you pack can affect if it lives or dies in transit.

-Remove tubes, wrap in bubble wrap, and place in small box inside the cab
-Place cabinet in box with speaker facing down to the floor
-Wrap cabinet in two layers of thick bubble wrap
-Use foam corners or foam insulation to suspend cabinet within box
-Use a heavy, double weight box of the correct size

You should be able to find manufacturer shipping cartons at Guitar Center that are perfect size for Champ & Princeton amps since they are making reissues. The foam inserts help protect the amp.
 

Progear

Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2014
Messages
652
Bring it to a shipping company and have them professional package it for you, it makes them liable if it's not package correctly and arrives to the destination damaged.. :spabout
 

renderit

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
Ask Mark from Mark's guitar loft how he does it. He sent me a pristine 65 Deluxe Reverb with his custom packaging and it arrived just fine. He uses custom cut pink insulating stryo sheets.
 

Stevedenver

Active member
Joined
Jul 17, 2001
Messages
2,565
everything oldsongs said,
and of course secure the tubebox well and pad

but heres the secret

after you pack the box as he instructs,
put that box, well padded with a couple of inches space all the way around tops, bottoms, sides, inside a second larger box

this is how to really protect delicate items

its worth the hassle and extra shipping charges for the larger size, because
nothing will be damaged.

I have shipped four amps this way. one 50 watt marshall 2204 1x12, one fender twin-That was pricey.....

usps is actually great
ups too when things are properly packed
 

el84ster

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 10, 2001
Messages
1,420
everything oldsongs said,

but heres the secret

after you pack the box as he instructs,
put that box, well padded with a couple of inches space all the way around tops, bottoms, sides, inside a second larger box

this is how to really protect delicate items

This! Wrap the first box in bubble wrap and then put that in a second larger box. I've shipped tons of amps without any problems this way.
 

GotTheSilver

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 14, 2007
Messages
2,433
Bring it to a shipping company and have them professional package it for you, it makes them liable if it's not package correctly and arrives to the destination damaged.. :spabout

A few days ago, I would have told you the same thing. But I shipped a guitar on Sunday and learned a few lessons. I sold my R9 and was getting it ready to ship. I took it to a Fedex store to use their "Pack and Ship" service, since they pack it and take responsibility. Well, the guy working there had no idea how to pack a guitar and didn't really seem to care. I brought the guitar in the case and the original box, but did not have any packing peanuts or bubble wrap. He just started taping the box shut with the guitar case loose inside it! I told him, "No, you actually have to pack it!" He then took two other boxes, taped them together, put the Gibson box in side them and started taping it shut! Again, wrong!!!! I told the guy to give me some bubble wrap and I would take it home and pack it myself. Also, I found out that their Pack and Ship guarantee only covers up to $1,000 - not nearly covering the value of the R9!

So I took the guitar home and packed it myself. I surrounded the base with bubble wrap inside the original Gibson box. I then had a larger box, which I put the Gibson box in and had foam between the two boxes, as described above. I then took the guitar to a different Fedex location. The woman working there seemed much more knowledgeable and seemed to care a lot more. I think she would have been able to pack the guitar from scratch adequately. Still, the Pack and Ship would have only cover $1,000, though.

If I had let the first guy pack the guitar, I might as well have thrown the guitar into a wood chipper! And after what I am sure would have been a very painful claims process, I would have only received a fraction of the value of the guitar in restitution.

Moral of the story - Pack things yourself because the people at a shipping service probably have no idea how to pack fragile musical gear!
 

TT100

New member
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
4,724
If you really feel ambitious, open the reverb tank if equipped and put some foam between the spring(s) and the pan. Back in Fred Flintstone's day amps used to come with reverb locks to do the same thing. Keep the spring from bashing around while being transported.

When my dear '68 Pro Reverb was shipped to me from Texas it arrived very well padded, intact, but the reverb didn't work well. I found this:

brokenend.jpg


The hanger / transducer had broken on one of the springs. The seller got his amp tech to send me another hangar which was a b**** to install but I was able to repair it. It was the original pan and I wanted to keep it.

Good luck!

TT
 

toxpert

Active member
Joined
Jul 2, 2005
Messages
3,068
I also do the double boxing , using lots of bubble wrap , remove the tubes and bubble wrap them.
I pack the tubes into a box inside the cabinet and cable tie the AC cord to the back of the speaker .
I always wrap the amp to a plastic bag and then cover the grill with a piece of extra heavy corrugated cardboard .

Each step of the process I photograph the progress .

I ship only by FedEx ground
 

toxpert

Active member
Joined
Jul 2, 2005
Messages
3,068
If the amp has a reverb tank...need to immobilize/pad the springs and the floating assembly. A sudden shock to even a well packed amp can trash the reverb tray unless the floating tray and springs are immobilized. Great pic above where the spring assembly snapped at the transducer terminus.

(...i always check the reverb springs for any amp i receive or buy. I recently was able to get a significant price cut on a combo amp when i pointed out one of the springs snapped off at the transducer end. The reverb still worked...but not correctly with the remaing spring.)
 

TM1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,349
Yes, Fedex Ground is usually a couple of days faster than UPS and about 30% less than UPS.
UPS= United Package Smashers
I pull the tubes and wrap them in bubble wrap, wrap the cabinet or head in bubble wrap and I use the 2" foam sheets around the whole inside of the box. Make sure nothing moves when you shake the box!
 

agogetr

Active member
Joined
Jan 22, 2019
Messages
451
i use an oversized box, stuff things around the amp. old pizza boxes from the kitchen, papertowels, shirts that dont fit anymore . then leave it out front in the rain so UPS can drop kick it across the yard before they toss it into the truck. now thats rock n roll :##
 
Top