flying with an amp

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noisepunk
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flying with an amp

Post by noisepunk » Sun Aug 22, 2021 11:58 am

some of you know i'm moving across the atlantic in the next couple weeks (time flies :derp: ), and i of course want to take some gear with me. high on my wish list is my silverface princeton, which is my main gigging and recording amp these days (i use it for bass too, because it's an amazing bass amp outside of being relatively quiet).

my plan was to check it as luggage vs. shipping it, because i get checked-bag discounts through my credit card. i was going to put it in a pelican case (the one it would fit in has wheels :w00t:) and take the tubes into the cabin with me.

so, has anyone else done this? i know i could find a cheap vox or something once i'm over there, but this is going to be my one moving indulgence, and i've saved away the cash to do it.

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Steadyriot.
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Re: flying with an amp

Post by Steadyriot. » Sun Aug 22, 2021 1:29 pm

Ship it in the proper Pelican, make sure it’s insured and that you have proof you took off with a working amp / it’s current state.
Buy the Vox when you get there anyway.
"If someone duetted with a Bald Eagle, they could rule the Country charts from here to eternity." ~shadowplay

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UlricvonCatalyst
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Re: flying with an amp

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Sun Aug 22, 2021 9:20 pm

Is the voltage variable on your amp? If not you'll need a step-down transformer as UK domestic voltage is 240v.

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Re: flying with an amp

Post by s_mcsleazy » Mon Aug 23, 2021 12:16 am

yeah. i know tommy (zeiss) using a stepdown transformer on some of his vintage american amps.
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Re: flying with an amp

Post by noisepunk » Mon Aug 23, 2021 8:43 am

yeah, i was planning on getting one. i played in a band with a guy from switzerland a number of years ago who brought his modded fender hotrod over, so i know how that whole deal goes.

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Larsongs
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Re: flying with an amp

Post by Larsongs » Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:17 am

They’ll throw it around like it’s a piece of Luggage… Probably be unusable when you get there… Either ship it safe & secure as mentioned above.. Or ask & confirm if you can do a Carry on & store in the up front Locker… I’ve done that with Guitars in the past. But not an Amp…

I second the buy a Vox & have it arrive the same time you do…. If you like small get the AC10 & upgrade with Weber’s Special Design AC10 Blue type speaker & some JJ or Tung Sol Tubes.. I did & really like it.. Turns it into a great sounding Small, light weight easy to travel with Combo Amp with big Sound!

Happy Travels…

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Re: flying with an amp

Post by andy_tchp » Mon Aug 23, 2021 4:38 pm

Larsongs wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:17 am
They’ll throw it around like it’s a piece of Luggage… Probably be unusable when you get there…
First part is 100% correct, but I'm not sure the second sentence is. It should be fine in a pelican case; much more electronically delicate/fragile instruments are shipped around in those cases every day.

My BF Showman was sent over from the US in a sturdy cardboard box packed tightly with styrofoam, valves removed, wrapped / packed in a padded envelope and was fine.
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
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Re: flying with an amp

Post by cestlamort » Mon Aug 23, 2021 5:20 pm

Not having flown with an amp myself, but is there some concern about the speaker either getting damaged from rough handling or it damaging the baffle from rough handling? Maybe not, as a 10" speaker is a different deal (weight, size, magnet) than a 12" one.

Maybe just pack it with solid styrofoam? In any case: Safe travels!

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Re: flying with an amp

Post by andy_tchp » Mon Aug 23, 2021 6:06 pm

Every speaker in the world has been freighted from its place of manufacture (or recone) to somewhere else.

It's safer being mounted to the baffle of an amp packed inside a pelican case than the cardboard box it left the factory in.
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
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Re: flying with an amp

Post by noisepunk » Mon Aug 23, 2021 6:10 pm

andy_tchp wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 4:38 pm
My BF Showman was sent over from the US in a sturdy cardboard box packed tightly with styrofoam, valves removed, wrapped / packed in a padded envelope and was fine.
this would definitely be cheaper. problem is i don't have a destination for it to land; i won't have a place until a few days after i get there. i also imagine having a wheeled carrying case to gig with would be pretty sweet. it's just oversized enough the i could probably put a few pedals in without anything touching too.
Larsongs wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:17 am
Or ask & confirm if you can do a Carry on & store in the up front Locker… I’ve done that with Guitars in the past. But not an Amp…
that's where the guitar is going ;)

yeah, pelican cases are most typically used for traveling with scientific instruments, film and video equipment... synths. things much more fragile than a guitar amp. i'd be more concerned with it getting stolen by a bold baggage handler.
cestlamort wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 5:20 pm
Not having flown with an amp myself, but is there some concern about the speaker either getting damaged from rough handling or it damaging the baffle from rough handling? Maybe not, as a 10" speaker is a different deal (weight, size, magnet) than a 12" one.

Maybe just pack it with solid styrofoam? In any case: Safe travels!
that's something i hadn't thought of– i don't have the case yet, but i imagine i'd want to pack it with the baffle facing the lid, so if someone did decide to open it, the grill would hopefully do it's job and protect the speaker. foam in the back definitely isn't a bad idea though, can't be too careful i guess. it's also honestly not an amazing speaker though–it's tough enough to play bass through, but if it was damaged i wouldn't be too broken hearted having to replace it.

thanks for the safe travel wishes!

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Re: flying with an amp

Post by andy_tchp » Mon Aug 23, 2021 6:19 pm

noisepunk wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 6:10 pm
andy_tchp wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 4:38 pm
My BF Showman was sent over from the US in a sturdy cardboard box packed tightly with styrofoam, valves removed, wrapped / packed in a padded envelope and was fine.
this would definitely be cheaper. problem is i don't have a destination for it to land; i won't have a place until a few days after i get there. i also imagine having a wheeled carrying case to gig with would be pretty sweet. it's just oversized enough the i could probably put a few pedals in without anything touching too.
Oh, I wasn't suggesting this method for you, just pointing out that as far as things go, they're not really that fragile once the valves have been pulled. Shit, I backed a tour van into my Vibrosonic Reverb after unloading and it landed face down on a concrete floor, hard. The only evidence from that is a small chip out of one of the knobs.

Probably more wear and tear inflicted loading/unloading from rehearsal spaces and venues into cars when compared to one flight in a proper pelican case.
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
David McComb, 1987.

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Re: flying with an amp

Post by noisepunk » Mon Aug 23, 2021 7:15 pm

andy_tchp wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 6:19 pm
noisepunk wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 6:10 pm
andy_tchp wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 4:38 pm
My BF Showman was sent over from the US in a sturdy cardboard box packed tightly with styrofoam, valves removed, wrapped / packed in a padded envelope and was fine.
this would definitely be cheaper. problem is i don't have a destination for it to land; i won't have a place until a few days after i get there. i also imagine having a wheeled carrying case to gig with would be pretty sweet. it's just oversized enough the i could probably put a few pedals in without anything touching too.
Oh, I wasn't suggesting this method for you, just pointing out that as far as things go, they're not really that fragile once the valves have been pulled. Shit, I backed a tour van into my Vibrosonic Reverb after unloading and it landed face down on a concrete floor, hard. The only evidence from that is a small chip out of one of the knobs.

Probably more wear and tear inflicted loading/unloading from rehearsal spaces and venues into cars when compared to one flight in a proper pelican case.
ah, yes!

yeah, i dropped my twin reverb onto concrete once– i probably hurt from that one more than it did. i mean, it's a steel box mounted in a wooden box wrapped in damage-resistant fabric. the knobs, grill-frame, and speaker are probably the most fragile things on an old fender (with the tubes removed), and they should be pretty well protected by a good hard case.

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Re: flying with an amp

Post by Larsongs » Mon Aug 23, 2021 7:58 pm


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Re: flying with an amp

Post by noisepunk » Wed Aug 25, 2021 8:20 pm

Larsongs wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 7:58 pm
Watch this..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-1r7hFIND0
i know all the guitar horror stories... i don't necessarily trust any shipping companies that much more, i've heard plenty of horror-stories from that option too.

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Re: flying with an amp

Post by andy_tchp » Thu Aug 26, 2021 1:59 am

Larsongs wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 7:58 pm
Watch this..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-1r7hFIND0
Looks like that guy trusted baggage handlers with a notably fragile semi-hollowbody guitar in its original 'hard case'. Those are only marginally stronger than cardboard.

Given noisepunk indicated he's looking at using a Pelican case similar to this:

Pelican Case: Torture Tests

I think he (and his amp) will be a-OK.

I probably wouldn't submerge it though...
"I don't know why we asked him to join the band 'cause the rest of us don't like country music all that much; we just like Graham Lee."
David McComb, 1987.

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