What are people's experience of these? I've always though my tweed deluxe one looked like it may not last forever, and now it's tearing so need to get a replacement. Is it common that they don't last long or are there good quality replacements that would last indefinitely?
The handle on mine is the standard tweed deluxe leather handle with a single screw on each fixing, just looks like not a great design, although to be correct for the look that's what everybody puts on them.
The blackface handles seem to be much stronger and a better design, without everything rubbing every time you lift it up.
Comments
I used to own a Peavey Classic 50 212 which had a leather handle.
The handle broke as I was carrying it down the strairs. My automatic reaction, and one which I quickly regretted, was to try to break it's fall with my right leg.
40-odd pounds of tube amp falling onto ones shin quickly turned the air blue.
I replaced it with a Fender-esq leather handle I sourced from Hotrox - I had to drill a couple of new holes in the amp shell but it worked well enough.
I would have thought replacement handles for a tweed deluxe should be easy enough to get hold of. I doubt any handle would last indefinately but they shouldn't need replacing often.
There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Rift Amplification
Brackley, Northamptonshire
www.riftamps.co.uk
Thanks. Just what I though!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
https://imgur.com/a/G7Ty3kr
In the photo of the side view, between the top and bottom abraded parts, it looks like there is something that might be a bit of better quality leather, presumably included for strength.
A couple of other things stand out from the photos...
Some sort of edging has been applied which has become cracked with use and flexing. On goods made from proper top grain leather, the edges are often beveled and burnished to give a smooth, rounded finish. It looks like this strap has had something added (gloop of some sort) to mimic the beveled and burnished finish, presumably because the cheapo leather it's made from isn't conducive to burnishing.
The stitching around the edge isn't recessed into a groove. On goods made from top grain leather, a shallow groove is cut along the stitching line and then the stitching holes are punched through. When the sewing is done, the thread lies flush with or just below the surface of the leather. The main reason for doing this is to protect the stitching from abrasion. The grooving process is done on vegetable tanned leather (known as tooling leather) before it's treated with dyes and finishes because it's conducive to being worked in this way - with the right tool, a clean and precise groove can be cut. Cheapo leather like this is unlikely to take a tidy groove.
As a matter of interest, how thick is it, and what size is the gap between the metal retainers and the surface of the amp?
Nomad
Nobody loves me but my mother... and she could be jivin' too...
You'd have to get it custom made though.
@Nomad thanks for the info. I'm not near the amp to take measurements, but hopefully the replacement from modulus should do the track - certainly looks a lot better.