Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Man, that what happens when your impatient

Yeah, but you have the head BRAND NEW - no shipping damage/drama. Cabs can handle UPS a bit better!

UPS broke the base on some high end $1500 speakers I ordered. The speakers were completely surrounded by 1" sheet foam, besides the thick cardboard, and UPS broke the base anyway. Request FedEx shipping if possible. I always ship a guitar by FedEx.

Agreed, Philip. UPS has damaged 4 out of the 5 guitars that I have had shipped with them, and engaged me in a 2 month claim trying to get some collection on the "insurance". FedEx has been perfect thus far. No damage, on time, no problems whatsoever.

LL Bean dumped UPS long ago and has used nothing but FedEx ever since for all the deliveries they make to me. Since LL Bean is constantly rated as the #1 mailorder company for customer satisfaction, their decision to use only FedEx says something about FedEx. Of course, if you order a 17' canoe, it will have to be shipped standard freight carrier. I have found that if you pack in a way that a 22 cal. bullet will not go through the shipping container itself, UPS can be used with some certainty of getting through unharmed. Also, plastic and rubber foam peanuts tend to shift and allow damage. I always buy lots of bubble wrap with the big bubbles and allow at least two layers everywhere all over the guitar case, then stuff the cavities in the box with something else. You soon see why it takes at least $35 to ship a guitar if the shipper packs right and uses FedEx. With all new shipping materials, figure more like $50, and count your labor as lost. That's why your $20 shipping fee to Musician's Friend comes in a loose packed cardboard box, and the money saved is partly paid out in claims, I guess.

I don't have a huge amount of experience with shipping. But I do know of two insurance claims made; one by my friend with Fedex on a damaged guitar, one by my brother with UPS on a stolen bike. The one done with Fedex was a much more hassle-free experience.

UPS made my brother jump through hoops for 2 or 3 months and produce a receipt for the bike even though it was insured for $300.00 by them and they knew that they had lost it.

On the other hand, my friend's guitar took a hit while in the care of FedEx(which I think would be hard to proove). I think he had some luthier estimate the loss in value/cost to repair and they wrote him a check fairly quickly and painlessly to cover the damage.

I've heard that UPS's insurance is very tight/difficult and reason for this is that UPS insurance is done in-house whereas FedEx uses an outside insurer.

have horror stories from both sides.

Take your pick

No Fender comments from me either! I have a Jazz Bass that kicks butt like my Ricks!

For Chris, and others of course !!!

Well, I went out today with my Rickenbacker 4001V63 Bass to L and M ( music store in Canada, owner of Yorkville also ) with the hope to find my next Bass amp, hopefully for the next 20 years. I spent more than 2 hours trying some Amps, cabinets of several brands like Yorkville, Traynor, EDEN, Ampeg, SWR, Mesa, GK, etc. Basically, I tried everything in the store almost that had 400 watts or more power.

Well, I first tried the XS800H wit the YBX1015 cabinet and it sounded good. Then, i tried the head with the XC808 ( 8 X 8" speakers and wow !!! I could not believe the low end of these small 8" speakers !!!! Tight, punchy, great low ends and lots of mids. Then, I tried the cabinet with the XS400H with the exact same settings as the XS800H, what a difference, the Tone was not punchy, not clear, a huge difference in Tone compared to the XS800H. The Tube head Traynor YBA200 was a tiny bit shy to my ears, definitely not comparable to the XS800H for Tone and punch.

I tried the head with EDEN 410 XLT, Yorkville XC410, other cabinets as well, but nothing to compare with the XC808. I tried Ampeg SVT with 410`s, SWR 350X amps, EDEN traver 400 with 410XLT ( this setup was my next favourite setup, EDEN makes good gear ), but I came back to the Yorkville. I would have liked to try the SWR 8X8 to see the difference but they did not have any. I would like to do a comparaison for sure in the future.

So far so good, I brought the XS800H and XC808 cab home and I have a good 30 days to tweak with it and see if I like it, but so far it sounds great !!!

The Rick 4001V63 was also the subject of lots of curiosity from the customers and the staff around !!!

Hi Stephane,
How were you driving the XS800H in terms of it's tube preamp side versus it's SS side, the XS800H and the YBA-200 are about the same price, so I'm intersted to know how it compared !!!

Hi Jim,

I used both SS and Tube preamp, the Tube preamp gives more warmth and the solid state more punch. But, where you see the biggest difference is when you mix the Tube Drive with the clean channel, it gives a lot of control over the desired Tone.

I tell you, the YBA200 with the matching cabinet YBX1510 did not impress me, IMHO. I tried the XS800H with the YBX1510 but I got way more low end from the XC808. I was really surprised to hear the definition of the 8" speakers. I was so used to play with single 15"`s !

So far, I played with the Amp in my basement and I tweaked a bit with it and I can not say I got over the entire spectrum of Tones of the Amp, but I found a very punchy sound with that low end that I always had with my 15", but without the mud.

Jim, I invite you to come try it out here at my house !!! We are so close now !!!

Stephane - good to see someone else who preferred the XS hybrid head over the all-tube YBA200. I must go back to my local music store and try the XS800H (can't remember if they had the XC808 cabinet). How do you find the weight of the XC808?
You're up here in Canada aren't you Stephane? I didn't realize Jim was too. I'm just outside of Toronto.

I was just in Toronto a couple of months ago. I love that town.
Glad you like the hybrid head Stephane. I haven't played through the 800, but I do love my 400 something fierce.
I stand by my assessment that Yorkville is the best kept secret in bass amplification.

Stephane,
I was in Ottawa up till November, but I've since returned to California ... I appreciate your kind offer though.

Many ythanks for the report on the Traynor equipment, I'll have to audiotion an 8x8 ....

Chris, I think your assesment of Traynor is correct !!!

Steve,

The weight of the XC808 is comparable to a 4X10, but is not as wide, so handling it seemed easier for me. I handled it myself from my car to my basement without a problem. You take your time and it`s fine. It has two handles on the side, one on the top and two wheels to make it easier.

I had a Peavey Combo 115 before and it was not easier to carry around. The XS800H is a breeze to transport, not heavy at all.