Re: Stupid question about tube amps...
Power on with standby activated for a bit (30 seconds or so) before you start playing, then switch standby off (or the switch might be labeled standby/on, in which case you'd set it standby first and then move it to "on" to play). As far as powering down, I always just turn the amp off, then flip the standby switch back for the next time I power up.