ORDERING MUSICAL CONCEPTS UPGRADES

FOR KITS OR INDIVIDUAL PARTS

Determine from the web pages what you want to order. Remember that some kits have different versions, i.e. SE, Elite and Elite Ultra. Please note that. If you want additional options, for example, new power transformer, power supply board(example PS-200) or special binding posts/RCA jacks for an amp - add that to the Order Form. Fill out the address, credit card info, etc and mail us the letter. >>>>>>>>>>>>>Please Print Very Clearly - Pretty Please! Begging, Thank You>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. Alternately, you can use the order form as a worksheet to organize your thoughts and then call us at 636-272-0040. You can email to order via PayPal, but use caution in sending credit card numbers.  

Methods of Payment

If making payment by Check, Money Order or Cashier’s Check the payee name must be Musical Concepts - - - not Musical Design even if you have purchased a Musical Design product. We do all of our financial transactions under the MUSICAL CONCEPTS name. We also accept payment by MasterCard, Visa, Discover, AMEX and PayPal. If you prefer to pay by check that’s fine, but it could delay shipment by a few days.  

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Return Shipping - Applies to part orders and installed modifications.

Please specify your preferred return shipping method. Our default is UPS in the lower 48 US states plus Alaska and Hawaii. We normally add a reasonable amount of insurance to replace the package. Please don’t ask us to insure for more than a reasonable replacement price as you might be asked to provide proof of value. Sentimental attachments, mint condition and so on do not have value to shippers for instance.  

Small items, for instance kits and parts, will often ship via USPS Priority Mail for timely deliver and lower cost.

If you are not in the USA then please specify your preferred return carrier.

We would prefer that items arriving for modification would contain a prepaid return address label.

These steps will help avoid misunderstanding, sticker shock, etc.

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Ordering Installed Upgrades

Acceptability of Product

FOR MODIFICATIONS

After reviewing our web site to find out about the mods you can fill out the Order Form Please, please enclose the form - see more at page bottom. Follow the packing instructions outlined on this page. We also do custom work. You may wish to call about the particular product you want modified. Your computer system will need Adobe Acrobat or other PDF reader to print the order form. Most computers will already have Acrobat installed since it is widely used on the internet.

If needed, Acrobat reader is available at www.adobe.com/reader 

• You will need to decide on which mod you want and the level of that mod, i.e. Standard(base), Elite, Elite Ultra, etc.
• You will have to consider what additions to the unit you would like such as RCA connectors, Toroid transformers, filter capacitors, binding posts, etc. Call us if advice is needed.
• If you have talked with us on any specific issues please make a note of it - request that service.
• We need a UPS-able return address or your specific preferred return shipping instructions, daytime phone number and method of payment. We accept MC, Visa, Discover and PayPal or even a check if you prefer - just make sure you include estimated return shipping. We urge you to provide a contact EMAIL address too. 

Please enclose a letter or our printable Order Form in the shipping box giving us the information above and your signature approving the modification of your product. 

Important note: Lets say you bought your unit on eBay® or other auction site and had it sent directly to us. We will need a letter in the box when it arrives which states that the original owner has transferred the ownership to you. He should provide, for us, your forwarding address and phone number too. Have him sign his name on the Bill of Sale. This applies to any equipment that arrives at our door from a third party.

FOR REPAIRS

While we modify a wide range of equipment, Musical Concepts will only repair classic Hafler® model equipment with some exceptions. If your non-Hafler product needs repair please direct it to the original manufacturer's repair facility. You may wish to have the repair facility, after their repairs, send it directly to us for modification. Of course, after the modification we will be responsible for repairs. The reason we ask this is that we do not want to become a repair station which would bog down our main function.

                      MUSICAL CONCEPTS

SHIP TO:  189 JACOBS WAY

                          ST PETERS, MO 63376

             636-272-0040

SHIPPING - A FEW MINUTES READING MAY SAVE HOURS GRIEVING

>>>>Important: Scroll to bottom of page to protect yourself.<<<<

SPECIAL NOTES FOR HAFLER DH-500: This amp has an easily bendable, easily removable face plate and handles. Faceplate damage without super careful packaging occurs all to often. The DH-500 is very heavy exacerbating the likelihood of shipping damage. If you’re sending a Hafler DH-500 for modification please remove the face plate/handles and keep them at your home. It’s simple! Remove top cover. Remove four screws holding the handles in place. Faceplate and handles will now come off while the front sub-panel remains. Reinstall top cover with ALL screws to give chassis its original strength.*

SPECIAL NOTES FOR HAFLER DH-200/220: The original all cardboard factory shipping cartons are fine but only if you ‘double boxed’ it for shipment. We have seen too many ‘dog-eared’ amps emerge from this rather marginal packaging. The packaging fails when the box falls on a corner. The impact protection just isn’t adequate. Repack the original box within a second box with at least an additional inch of shock absorbent material on all surfaces.*

*Remember these amps have a fragile power switch so pack them in a way that the switch isn’t broken in shipping.

GENERAL: Careful packaging, with an understanding of risks encountered with carriers, is essential. When you understand that your product could fall five feet at some point in the shipping process, you get a new respect for careful packaging. It's hard to "over pack" your product. If we deem your packaging inadequate we reserve the right to re-package the product safely for the return shipment and charge a nominal fee for our service including the cost of materials and time.

Prepare your product to be delivered to Musical Concepts

Your goals are simple.

• You want to carefully package the product so that it arrives at our Musical Concepts facility safely.
• You want us to clearly understand the services you want to purchase/perform to your component.
• You don’t want it to get wet - ever, so put a plastic bag over it which also prevents excess paint wear.

Some priceless advice

Make sure all the original chassis screws, essential for product rigidity, are in place. Simply putting the cover on a product without screws is asking for chassis deformation of some type when the package is mishandled. For products with heavy internal components, such as a DH-500 power transformer, the integrity of the chassis is essential. The heavy transformer can flail around like a wrecking ball damaging and deforming the chassis, the lid, power switch and its own attachment feet. Every surface of the chassis can suffer deformation when additional packaging errors are added.

The Science of Packaging. Yes it’s Physics, no joke!

When a PROPERLY DESIGNED package is dropped, it allows for some movement of the device enclosed within the packaging material. This allows the energy of the fall to dissipate over a short period of time and distance when a dropped package hits the ‘ground’. It is risky to package a product inside stiff materials. For instance, placing stiff Styrofoam® board all around the product results in only slight absorption of kinetic energy by the packaging. The instant stop of the product as it impacts a surface is a potential hazard. You'll note that most products come with the ends supported in a foam material while the bulk of the product is suspended in the carton with air around it. This technique allows the packaging to slightly deform, avoiding excess absorption of the impact force by the device. Remember if dropped on a corner which is a small area, the force is sufficient to cause considerable deformation of the external package in that area and the possibility of internal damage.

Packaging Carton

Original shipping boxes are usually the best unless they are “worn out”. They are designed specifically for your product. If you don't have the original package we recommend that products ship in "double wall" cardboard cartons. Single wall cartons have far less strength. Unfortunately "single wall" is the kind you often find at office supply stores. Alternately you can get a single wall carton that is just big enough to act as a skin to another single wall carton. That dramatically improves crush strength. We recommend that all products have a minimum of two inches clearance from all carton surfaces.

Packaging Material

Materials vary is softness or "give". Too much give is bad and too little likewise. Bubble wrap is a versatile packing material. It can give at pressure points nicely. Wrapping it around the ends of a product so that the product’s central area is suspended in space within the carton is very good. Styrofoam "peanuts"(bad) can have problems aside from the fact that we hate them. If you suspend your product in the center of "peanuts" it can move by vibration during shipping and could be up against the carton side by the time it arrives. If you must use these cheesy things then make sure there is a layer of bubble wrap around the product in case the product moves in transit. Another way is to put the ‘peanuts’ in multiple plastic bags.

Another great packaging material is something everyone has around the house, newspaper. You pull out pages and wad them up very tightly as though you intend to throw them. Pack this at least three inches thick around the product locating the product in the center of the carton. Don’t forget the plastic bag around the contents.

Packing The Product

Light Packages: We all know the force of a fall is tied to the weight/mass of the object. It would seem that you don't need packaging which is "heavy duty" for a light preamp or CD player, but remember cartons may be stacked on one another during transit resulting in crushing. Your 10LB preamp might have 400LBS setting atop of it.

Heavy Packages: Here you have a lot of energy to dissipate in a fall. If you use bubble wrap, put it on thick and use a sturdy carton. Remember when a product in the carton is dropped on a corner, all the force is spread over a small area and so deformation will increase. A classic case of improper packaging is enclosing the Hafler DH-500 in a box that is too small. If dropped on a corner the amplifier accelerates and can pop the faceplate corner right through the carton. We’ve seen it. Your faceplate will look nasty.

Enclose An Order Form

Please enclose a letter or the Musical Concepts order form. Do not depend on emails or phone calls since we won't necessarily remember phone conversations and computers can foul up. Using the order form or information provided above, put your letter inside the carton on the very top of the packaging material. 

We on occasion receive a package with the name of a shipping service company as the shipping address. Then we open the box to find no letter at all. Don’t make your package a mystery to us. Your contact information is essential.

WHAT IF #1 - Suppose the whole label is destroyed. The carrier will have no clue who the package belongs to. 

WHAT IF #2 - If the “FROM” address is somehow ripped off then when it gets here we have no way to know who shipped it.

 

WHAT IF #3 - If the “FROM” address is a shipping company with no reference to the owner’s name and there is no letter/order form inside then we have no way to contact you or even know your name.

At least protect yourself with a minimum effort of enclosing your return address and daytime phone number with the contents.

We thank you for that!