A good reason to hate heavy amps

[ThisBass]

I'm still not convinced. Let me borrow your little cheapo Walter Woods amp, JimmyM can pony up his 69 SVT and we'll drop it with a feather. I have a really nice vacuum as well...with a HEPA filter.

I did the test with my 78s svt and my cat just this moment.
My svt achieved more velocity but my cat stood right at the paws.

 

[B-string]

PEM nuts can work for a rugged application, if...

1. The correct nut is chosen for the application. The ones shown in the picture look like they don't offer any "backup" such as a flanged body. An engineer would notice that as a risk.

2. It's a high quality fastener (PEM is a brand name) and not some crappy knock-off from an unknown supplier.

3. The hole is correctly specified and made.

4. Insertion of the fastener is done with the correct tool and procedure.

5. The mating screw is assembled and torqued correctly.

A failure of anything I've listed would have caused one of those little fasteners to fail.

Note that conventional nuts are not problem free either. But a potential advantage is that you aren't depending on a supplier, such as the transformer maker, to take care of the things that I've listed. A conventional nut also provides a visual indication in the factory, that the whole thing is correctly assembled.

My guess is that a large EI frame transformer is getting to be a pretty uncommon item, and difficult to source with quality in the low cost region countries.

We did tests with rolled "large" spreader Pem-nuts in a transmitter application. The were used on a 11 lb choke mounted to the tube shelf. Our panel was high grade aluminum and the results were pulled through panels from the dimple on the rolled nut weakening the panel or failure of the load spreader. This was just an 11 lbs choke. Our units were pretty much a ship once product but the possible failures were found not to be in the best interest of the product line.

If I bought a SVT copy Behringer at 1/3 the real thing's price I might expect to see this kind of disregard?

Okay I'm done being upset about this........I think. Now if each package had a string tied to whoever handles a package "personal" area, maybe they would care more about getting it handled correctly

 

[fdeck]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not excusing the manufacturer. It looks like a bad design, or probably just a lack of engineering.

 

[JimmyM]

Well when transformers start falling out of these amps on a regular basis, I'll sweat it. But an isolated incident here or there isn't going to bother me. Still sounds like an SVT and holds up to road use. That's all I care.

 

[dspellman]

True....try dropping a feather and your SVT head at the same time, and your SVT head will hit the floor first......duh!

Not in a vacuum. Which is where I spend most of my time.
Because my life sucks (*weep*).

 

[taurus1]

Knowing how a gigging amp gets treated should figure more highly.

I had a Pro Reverb "shipped" by UPS it too looked like they threw it off the roof.
the box was mangled, the only damage was a broken tube rectifier.

 

[Floyd Eye]

The moral of the story: Always use Fed Ex.

 

[Mr. Foxen]

I had a Pro Reverb "shipped" by UPS it too looked like they threw it off the roof.
the box was mangled, the only damage was a broken tube rectifier.

I had my Traynor YBA200 drop out the bottom of my flightcase onto the curb (drummer packed the van as I was at work, opened case to check it was right amps) onto the curb, did the gig fine, dented a corner protector pretty well. Now I'm thinking about it, toroidal transformers are probably more secure than laminate ones, due to the shape.

 

[fdeck]

Well, this wouldn't be a tube amp thread without some irrelevant technical quibbling, so here goes...

Technically speaking, "bouyancy" is the weight of the air or fluid displaced by an object. It's why ships float.

And why SVT's don't.

 

[redhed]

Well I guess SVT's are crap.

 

[fdeck]

Jimmy's right to put it in perspective. Every amp that gets damaged in shipping, ends up getting reported to TB. Every picture of the insides of an amp invites comments about how it could be designed better.

 

[SactoBass]

Jimmy's right to put it in perspective. Every amp that gets damaged in shipping, ends up getting reported to TB. Every picture of the insides of an amp invites comments about how it could be designed better.

Good point!

Maybe one of us TB'ers should start a thread for listing every amp that shipped safely.

 

[David Jayne]

Well, this wouldn't be a tube amp thread without some irrelevant technical quibbling, so here goes...

Technically speaking, "bouyancy" is the weight of the air or fluid displaced by an object. It's why ships float.

And why SVT's don't.

It would if it were made larger

 

[SactoBass]

Well I guess SVT's are crap.

Yes, they are, because they don't float.

If Ampeg would increase the buoyancy factor of the SVT, they would sell alot more of them.

 

[ThisBass]

Well, this wouldn't be a tube amp thread without some irrelevant technical quibbling, so here goes...

Technically speaking, "bouyancy" is the weight of the air or fluid displaced by an object. It's why ships float.

And why SVT's don't.

Right!
And that is the reason why airships fly and why ships and svt's don't!
http://www.altfrankfurt.com/spezial/zeppelin/grafzeppelin/GrafZeppelin2.htm

Jimmy's right to put it in perspective. Every amp that gets damaged in shipping, ends up getting reported to TB. Every picture of the insides of an amp invites comments about how it could be designed better.

I was always wondering myself about the different meaning of the words "ship" and "shipping"

Now I fully understand the common meaning of these two words

 

[darius8]

Well, this wouldn't be a tube amp thread without some irrelevant technical quibbling, so here goes...

Technically speaking, "bouyancy" is the weight of the air or fluid displaced by an object. It's why ships float.

And why SVT's don't.

I did a test on bouyancy awhile back where I used a 10 pound (4.5kgs) iron skillet pan and placed it in a filled bathtub. The pan floated from the displacement of the water. I thought it was pretty cool.

 

[Floyd Eye]

Morality : there is no 25 pound transfo in modern amp.
Ampeg should get back to the drawing board.
These are 2000$+ amps , they should be checked before shipping.

It's a SVT-VT , supposed to be a re-issue of an old design , maybe they should use the old structure too.

And like I said earlier , it didn't look like it was dropped that much ; boxes were OK and the styrofoam inside wasn't broken.

Just got my CL 2 days ago. Shipped to STL from Tallahassee. Packed, shipped and insured by FedEx. Arrived in perfect condition, even the box. Total cost, 75 beans.

 

[BAce]

Of course it's Ampeg's fault. Improper packaging, improper packing material, not marked "fragile" etc. As a rule, it is NEVER UPS' fault. This coming from a former warehouse shipping claims/warranty manager

If the damaged amp in question was in it's factory packaging material, this is almost always enough proof to show adequate packaging and therefore collect on a damage claim. It's when things are packed in somebody's idea of good packaging (not original packaging) that you would run into difficulties getting a claim for damages approved by a carrier.

 

[Dan Knowlton]

Wow, heavy heads are so fantastic that they break the laws of physics!!

Dan K.

A heavier head likely contains more mass, so it will fall toward the earth faster, potentially resulting in greater damage.

 

[JFOC]

Im not sure a micro getting dropped fares a whole lot better.