do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

[DankStar]

It would seem that they are fine in their little sockets during shipping. I've got a bunch of tube amps I need to have packed for shipment, and I just don't see the benefit of taking all of them out, individually packing them, so that those little boxes can be less safe for the tubes than if they were firmly in sockets, with nothing touching them, surrounded by a SOLID METAL ENCLOSURE.

Has anyone ever shipped one or recieved one with them in their sockets and had a problem? I just don't see a 12AX7 breaking off no matter how hard a head is dropped. And if it is dropped that hard, I think there'd be more to worry about than the tubes.

DISCUSS!!!!:scared:

 

[kevlar3000]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

I have had some amps with shattered tubes. Just pack em up and put them in the chassis.

 

[LJ King]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

I have the UPS store pack them. They do it "double boxed" and the inner box is sort of floating in peanuts and bubblewrap. There is about 2-3 inches worth on all sides of the inner box.

I've never had an amp delivered with broken tubes.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

My opinion: yes. I have no experience leaving them in during shipping, however....

 

[More-Gear-Than-Skill]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

i think packing em saves em from the shock, judder, shake and rumble of it all. Cushioning and insulation is what Mr Valve likes.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

The danger to tubes during shipping is that they will fall out of their sockets, smashing to bits and filling your amp with glass shards. I have had this happen to me (Inbound. Outbound, I always pull the tubes.)

Don't worry about little boxes. Just wrap them up in bubble wrap, and wedge the whole big wad in the back of the amp.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

I've seen amps that were packed like tanks.....then opened it and realized all the speaker magnets were bent off center. That's how hard a UPS idiot can smash a box to the ground.

It's best to bubblewrap the tubes, mark them TUBES with a magic marker, and pack them inside.

One time, I sold an amp, and packed it like a tank with the tubes clearly marked in the back....all in bubblewrap. This guy was so excited to hear his new amp that he turned it on and wondered why he smoked his new amp.
I asked him if he took out the big pack of tubes and installed them.....NO...DUH.

So, I learned that it's best to pack them in bubblewrap, but put a big sign on the tubes and on the front of the amp....INSTALL TUBES FIRST.

 

[LesStrat]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

:haha:

 

[Scott_F]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

A topic near and dear to my soul... I will leave the preamp tubes in place with their shields around them. They seem to do well there. I wrap and cushion the power tubes and recti tube.

On the subject of Oops and ShredEx, I've seen it all. Two of my amps have shipped only to find the power transformers shifted badly to one side. And that's even with plenty of stuffing inside the back of the amp. After the 2nd one recently, I've taken to putting some substantial packing mateiral in that cavity between the wood and teh PT. But, if they drop the amp on its side from a big distance, it's going to shift. It can mess up the entire chassis.

I really do not know what else you can do but your best and then pray. No matter how well something is packed, I've seen it arrive messed up.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

I've seen amps that were packed like tanks.....then opened it and realized all the speaker magnets were bent off center. That's how hard a UPS idiot can smash a box to the ground.

It's best to bubblewrap the tubes, mark them TUBES with a magic marker, and pack them inside.

One time, I sold an amp, and packed it like a tank with the tubes clearly marked in the back....all in bubblewrap. This guy was so excited to hear his new amp that he turned it on and wondered why he smoked his new amp.
I asked him if he took out the big pack of tubes and installed them.....NO...DUH.

So, I learned that it's best to pack them in bubblewrap, but put a big sign on the tubes and on the front of the amp....INSTALL TUBES FIRST.

What kind of amp did he smoke?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

I don't think he ruined the amp, but the fuses may have blown. It was a 2003 Fender Concert Reverb 4-10 that was packed with 3" of foam all around it, and extra thick cardboard. I almost couldn't believe his Email that the speakers were slightly bent. When he told me about turning it on without the tubes, I knew I was dealing with a numbnut, so I said "work it out with Fedex."

 

[DankStar]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

alright, y'all talked me into it. thanks!

 

[rog951]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

I'm with Scott F. If the preamp tubes have shields, it's fine to leave them in for shipping IMO. I always pull the power tubes though because I've had one come out in transit. I'm on the fence with non-shielded preamp tubes. I think I'd tend to pull them too although I've never actually had a problem with those coming loose.

Regarding the major carriers handling practices, I recently had the most devastating damage done to the most tank-like product by UPS. I bought a used Mesa 2x12 half-back cab and UPS managed to drop/throw it hard enough to get both speakers to burst off the baffle. 8 screws in the bottom speaker and 4 in the top, all ripped out of the wood. I was surprised that Mesa didn't use T-nuts in these cabs, but still...that sucka must've fallen from an airplane or something! At least it's fixable!

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

I'm still angry about DHL, FedEx, and UPS, even USPS, in our neighborhood just leaving packages out front of people's homes. One DHL guy I asked him why he was doing this, and if he was afraid of someone just walking up and taking the package, and he just shrugged his shoulders. I wouldn't trust a shipping company to save my life, so I always get insurance on stuff, and I'd never ship with tubes in place. Just my opinion.

 

[DankStar]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

this is actually a moving company, but same principle applies, I'm sure.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

The insurance process is still so painful (as intended) that most folks just suck it up and don't make a claim.

One word of caution though on the preamp tubes, I always tell the new owner to take the shields off and firmly push the tubes down just in case they came loose during shipping. Never has happened, but it's a good practice nonetheless.

 

[Glass Snuff]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

They come from the factory to the store with the tubes installed. Usually via UPS. No problems at all. In fact, the service is so good at least one major guitar company doesn't even insure things.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

 

[Farkus]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

They come from the factory to the store with the tubes installed. Usually via UPS. No problems at all. In fact, the service is so good at least one major guitar company doesn't even insure things.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Not really. If you or I have to eat some $ and go to another shipper, they probably don't care much. If a company that does a lot of shipping, like say a Fender, well, they don't want to lose that kind of client. What does that mean? They probably handle corporate shipping a little more carefully than yours and mine...but I'm not sure that's always true. Also, you have to figure that the cost of insuring expensive products (which would likely be insured for the retail value) may actually be more expensive than replacing a product, up to a certain point. Not to rant, but if you're implying that the shipping is 'great' I will tell you with personal experience that USPS and UPS know how to truly destroy the contents of a package. I had a computer shipped by USPS that was dropped or otherwise assaulted so badly that the computer's power supply was knocked out of the case. That of course ruined the contents of the case (because the power supply was bouncing around inside the case) and the offending assault also warped the case itself. Insurance replaced/paid for nothing. I don't insure any but the most expensive cargo now.

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: do you REALLY need to remove tubes for shipping?

You would think these turd burglers would know the meaning of the word FRAGILE on packages.

Now I'm almost afraid to order used gear or ship gear that coming/going UPS. It's disgusting some of the things in here.

Alsom Farkus, you hit the nail right on the head. Of course Oops doesn't want to lose a corporate client, but individuals/consumers are a dime a dozen to them.

Has anyone had these experiences with Oops/ShredEx/USPS after telling them to ship the gear as Fragile?