ship out

There did not seem to be any point in re-thinking the costs some more so I got the amp sent off and let Bruce know.

I earnestly hoped that once it was at his shop its mere presence would command attention and I could get it back within a matter of weeks.

Early indications supported this (see part 28) but in the long term, how wrong I was.

The start of Bruce's reply was frankly bewildering - I'd told him the amp was all packed ready to ship and he's now suggesting I pay someone to hack out the transformers?!?

The email did however conclude with an address for shipping the amp to. So I did just that - see part 27.

Not hearing from Bruce with a shipping estimate from his end, I figured I couldn't establish a shipping cost myself until the amp was fully packed, so I proceeded with that.

Several layers of heavy cardboard, foam packing and parcel wrap later, it was fit to send (see picture). The cost was tolerable for an amp of that value, as long as it got there OK.

Figuring I didn't want to get stuck with import duty when the amp was shipped back to me, I checked with Bruce. His reply was initially of some concern - see part 26.

Bruce confirmed that I should send one of the reverb pans and some gave useful information about likely shipping time.

I still wasn't sure about the power tube explanation, but if Zinky could supply some tested tubes (especially having my amp to test them with), that should be fine?

I never did get the shipping cost, so after a few days I made my own enquiries and let Bruce know - see part 25.

Finally some costs for the amp shell...

However there's a little doubt there as to whether there is one available quite as easily as I'd expected, considering that the Superfly was/is still advertised as being in production.

Also, I shouldn't need another reverb pan - I've already got two which work as well as each other!

Finally some thoughts on biasing that rather went over my head. $60 for a new set of power tubes should sort things out though. I hastened to respond - see part 23.

An unprecendented number of emails were exchanged on 16 April 2008, this one being far from the last.

I requested costs for the unknown areas and mentioned my willingness to pay for the most straightforward shipping. Back, finally, came some of those costs - see part 22.

Finally a specific response about the head case / shell...

Also some good advice about shipping it with the transformers at the bottom. I could believe that their weight would bend the chassis down if it were dropped with them above.

By this point of course I was resigned to paying whatever it took to ship the amp out to Flagstaff AZ but I didn't know what some of the other costs would be - see part 21

I sent Bruce a picture of the chassis (left) with the protector bolted on using the screws that normally hold it into the case.

Once again I tried to clarify exactly what I would like in addition to the reverb repair - do the upgrade, figure out why the new output valves were not working well in the amp and supply a head-only case.

Back came a sort-of positive reply a couple of days later - see part 20.

Having removed the chassis from the combo case a while ago I had a clearer idea of what would need protecting if shipped, hence my suggestion of a protective board across the top, surrounding the controls.

At this point I thought it worth reminding Bruce about my request for a head-only case.

All the indications from the Zinky web site and international dealers were that the Superfly was still in production, at least as an amp head. Hence I expected a wooden case to be available (Note: The Superfly is still advertised as of October 2009.

Some good suggestions that might help me make progress... and an interesting observation that the chassis metal is really too thin :(

However the end of this email is heading back to the "diagnose it yourself" department which was so unproductive the first time round.

I was sufficiently encouraged to reply the same day with some of my own suggestions for shipping - see part 18.