Transformer Brackets Bent - AGAIN! - Opinions Please?

[fitz288]

Got an amp (4203) from Reverb today.
Some shipping damage from a baffle plate knocked loose.
Other than some popped screws and a loose spring in the reverb tank, looks like the one transformer took the main blow.
I put the tubes back in on the probes and tried it out.
Everything seems to work and sounds great (except the reverb, obviously)
Opinions on what to do with the transformer?

Probe readings are about 5mA at idle / 463v.
Seems low, but 2 E34L's in a 30w?
I'm not debating this after my Haze15 bias discussion...
Like I said, it sounds great, if it's ice cold, the tubes should last forever, right?

 

[South Park]

Made in China . If you can remove the screws and bend it back . The transformer should be more stable then that

 

[fitz288]

Made in China . If you can remove the screws and bend it back . The transformer should be more stable then that

Thanks.
Nothing is loose - it's firmly in place where it's been bent to...
I'm sure I could straighten it up as you suggested.
The 2 nuts on the bent more side are under the main board.

Should I worry about future issues, or check anything else?

 

[Dblgun]

Being that it looks to have taken a good jolt I would take a look at the areas where those pots and jacks connect to the boards. It may have cracked or weakened a solder joint. It doesn't sound like you're having any issues but something to keep an eye on.

 

[Edgar Frog]

About the only thing you can do is either just leave it if it's not hurting anything, or remove it and use a vice to help get it back straight. This damage IMHO is all due to the seller packing it like shit. Should have been upright and padded good all around. Laying on it's back wedged tight in a box was just the worst possible way to do it. Myself personally, would want my money back.

 

[fitz288]

About the only thing you can do is either just leave it if it's not hurting anything, or remove it and use a vice to help get it back straight. This damage IMHO is all due to the seller packing it like shit. Should have been upright and padded good all around. Laying on it's back wedged tight in a box was just the worst possible way to do it. Myself personally, would want my money back.

Waiting to hear back from the seller.
I have 7 days to file a claim with Reverb.
Kinda went through this process with the beat up Katana I got a few months ago.
Wound up settling for just money back from the buyer.
The 4203 seems to be working just fine - I'd be ok with some cash back, I didn't buy a f'd up amp, but It's what I got.
I don't think the box orientation had much to do with which way UPS tossed it around.

 

[Tatzmann]

When i remember right the 2 EL34s are
wired as triodes, hence the 30watt.

And there is no potentiometer to set bias.

If you want control over this you have to put
a potentiometer inside instead of the resistors
that do the task now.

Badly packaged, hope you can work it out
with the seller. The speaker might even have
coil rub now/ bent frame because of the impact.

The guy who said made in china is obviously
misinformed, this is an all out decent 80s quality
UK made amp.

Corner welded chassis folks, without this
the whole chassis might be bent too.

Shame.

 

[Tatzmann]

I'd email the guy in a friendly manner the cost for all the parts that need replacing and ask him to
refund this and maybe couple of bucks for the
work that you have to put in now.

Its easily repaired, but why should you pay?

There is no question that it was insufficiently
packaged.

No double box, no 2 inches layers of bubblewrap
around it and the inner box, not enough padding etc.

The shipping companies say without a
doubt in their disclaimer that the goods
need to be packaged to not get damaged
if dropped from a height of a half or one
meter, cant remember exactly.

Wasnt happening here.

 

[PelliX]

Is it just me, or were the bolts holding the transformer covers tightened waaay too hard, too? See this:

Agree with all the above about packaging, straightening in a vice, etc, but no way did the shipping company do *that*....

 

[fitz288]

I'd email the guy in a friendly manner the cost for all the parts that need replacing and ask him to
refund this and maybe couple of bucks for the
work that you have to put in now.

Its easily repaired, but why should you pay?

There is no question that it was insufficiently
packaged.

No double box, no 2 inches layers of bubblewrap
around it and the inner box, not enough padding etc.

I think it was packed ok.
Box did not look damaged, and that photo in the box was taken after I removed a ton of bubble wrap.
There's no external damage to the combo shell.
My guess is that the box just happened to be in the orientation of amp face up when dropped enough for the speaker mag weight to pull the baffle screws out.
Seems like the transformer absorbed the impact - nothing else looks bent, chassis sits level on a table.
I'm not doing anything until I hear from seller and/or Reverb.
If he does not respond by this afternoon, I'll file a claim for shipping damage.

 

[Springfield Scooter]

Nice amp.
The transformer looks original to me, so definitely want to salvage it carefully.
Looks like it was rough handled in shipping.
If it were me, and the ONLY damage is what you have already mentioned, I would carefully attempt to straiten out the sheet metal legs, and carry on.
Looks like an easy fix to me, but then again, ....I spent last night repairing rust on a 1955 Chevy truck last night, so there you have my opinion!

 

[fitz288]

Is it just me, or were the bolts holding the transformer covers tightened waaay to hard, too? See this:

Agree with all the above about packaging, straightening in a vice, etc, but no way did the shipping company do *that*....

I see what you mean about the cover bolts.
Wonder if it's a result of the cover being "stretched" from the bend on the mounting tabs?

 

[MarshallDog]

Got an amp (4203) from Reverb today.
Some shipping damage from a baffle plate knocked loose.
Other than some popped screws and a loose spring in the reverb tank, looks like the one transformer took the main blow.
I put the tubes back in on the probes and tried it out.
Everything seems to work and sounds great (except the reverb, obviously)
Opinions on what to do with the transformer?
View attachment 110357 View attachment 110358 View attachment 110359 View attachment 110360 View attachment 110362
Probe readings are about 5mA at idle / 463v.
Seems low, but 2 E34L's in a 30w?
I'm not debating this after my Haze15 bias discussion...
Like I said, it sounds great, if it's ice cold, the tubes should last forever, right?
View attachment 110361

I would take the end bells off and simply straighten them out, would be easy to bend them back.

 

[Springfield Scooter]

Is it just me, or were the bolts holding the transformer covers tightened waaay to hard, too? See this:

Agree with all the above about packaging, straightening in a vice, etc, but no way did the shipping company do *that*....

I disagree...
Rosie knew what she was doing and was still working for Marshall in 1986!

 

[fitz288]

I would take the end bells off and simply straighten them out, would be easy to bend them back.

Excellent idea!
I was contemplating how to "unwire" it to remove the whole thing.
Just the covers is a forehead slap.

 

[PelliX]

I disagree...
Rosie knew what she was doing and was still working for Marshall in 1986!

I wasn't implying Rosie didn't, I was merely indicating that it looked off and certainly didn't occur in shipping. Perhaps the previous owner(s) monkey'd around a bit somewhere in the course of the last decades... Purely cosmetic though.

 

[Moony]

but no way did the shipping company do *that*....

I agree!

 

[fitz288]

Update:
The jack-hole said no partial refund - keep it or ship it back for a full return.
I told him I'll remount the chassis, reverb tank & speaker, but I'm not fixing the loose baffle.
The speaker magnet is going to pound the transformer off and then go after the tubes.
He's going to get back a box of garbage...

He replied: "just pack it as best you can".
Ok, soon to be one less Marshall on the planet.

 

[Tatzmann]

Total"ed" shame. Many of todays people will never understand how to safely box up a heavy tube amplifier for shipping.

I once got an almost new looking 800 combo packed only in its acompanying DUSTCOVER!!! He put orange tape around it and said " the shipping company is supposed
to only move it by HAND!!!

He said beforehand "I know how to ship an amplifier, i'm an engineer at...!"

I repaired the damages and ate the cost for it because i didnt wanted to further deal with this wise engineer at a world wide known car company that cant even pack an amp safely.

Hope you get the full refund soon!
Some guys try to pull things, its easy today.

Damn shame!

 

[thetragichero]

About the only thing you can do is either just leave it if it's not hurting anything, or remove it and use a vice to help get it back straight. This damage IMHO is all due to the seller packing it like shit. Should have been upright and padded good all around. Laying on it's back wedged tight in a box was just the worst possible way to do it. Myself personally, would want my money back.

this ain't bad packaging, it's rough handling in shipping. the force required to cause the transformer mounting brackets to bend like that is quite a lot, not anything that any package should be subject to. baffles in combos (especially mdf) are definitely a weak link, i had an amp where the baffle stayed in place but the package was abused so much that the speaker was torn off the baffle (t-nuts and all). unfortunately, anything short of some sort of gyroscope isn't going to prevent the effects of rough handling (i've even had it happen to brand new in the box amps from guitar center)

THAT all being said, bad on the seller for not paying the 1% of the sale price to purchase reverb safe shipping. absolutely mandatory for shipping amps these days and it would've resulted in you being compensated for the damage by reverb without having to wait an eternity to maybe get paid out from carrier insurance (which is absolutely useless in my experience)

sucks that it happened