Tube amp, standby, wear

[Plessure]

Is it better to leave a tube amp on for the entire night or is it better to turn it off between playing sessions?

Does turning it off and on a lot cause unnecessary wear?

 

[zionstrat]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

Is it better to leave a tube amp on for the entire night or is it better to turn it off between playing sessions?

Does turning it off and on a lot cause unnecessary wear?

Burning electricity is a big reason to turn them off

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[BRHGM]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

Stand by is to allow the tubes to warm up or to silence amp. You don’t have to leave amp in standby. Turn it off when you aren’t using it. Tubes are expensive.

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

Lot of opinions on this one. Me? I turn the thing on and leave it one until I'm really done with it for the day. I will flip it on stand-by but won't turn it off. I've left amps in stand-by mode for months at a time with no ill effects. I've even been schooled by the engineers at the radio stations I've worked that leaving tubes in stand-by is no big deal. Every back-up transmitter was an old tube unit and they were always in stand-by mode ready to go at a moments notice. So my advice is to just do what you want and don't worry about unnecessary wear. It's an amplifier, not a holy relic. But tubes do wear out over time so budget for new ones so you're not up the creek when the time comes to replace them. And if you're playing out, you should already have a few spares handy.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

I turn it off when there is more than 1 set break that I won't be playing (and I leave my amp on between sets).

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

I turn it off when there is more than 1 set break that I won't be playing (and I leave my amp on between sets).

This...

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

I tried leaving amps on - burned through several sets of rare/expensive tubes. None lasted more than a month.

I tried not using standby - works, but lots of pops, hiss, static, buzzes and other things start happening that don't sound right with the amp and speakers.

I tried switching power on - wait 60 seconds - standby on, play, standby off, wait 60 seconds, power off. I go to standby off if not playing for 10-60 minutes and power off if not playing for >60 minutes. I really don't care what your religion is. I've never HAD to change tubes or speakers using the latter method.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

I use my STANDBY when turning the amp on, and most times on breaks between sets.

The one thing you can do that will dramatically affect tube life is to turn the amp off at the end of the gig, and they LET IT SIT and cool off before moving it. Throwing the amp around with the tubes still hot will shorten their life.

Bill

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

Take this FWIW, but an E.E. with a masters degree told me NOT to use stand by. Either leave it on for whatever time you are going to be using it, or turn it off and tun it back on. Not certain why, but there it is.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

Standby doesn't do anything except make your tubes take longer to warm up. Turning the amp off and on makes your tubes cool down then heat back up, straining them.

Turn the amp on, leave it on until you're finished for the night. Unplug the input if you need to mute it for a break.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Tube amp, standby, wear

Some amps, when left on for perhaps four hours, (esp. in locations where airflow is not plentiful) will actually begin to lose tone and volume after a couple of hours .... a lot of EL84 amps that verge on Class A can be like this. In such cases, shutting the power down after a couple of hours to let them cool down will help them avoid such effects. Other amps may not sonically deteriorate, in which case they can be left on.

When switching an amp on, most people know to power them up with the standby off and give them a moment or two for the filaments to heat and stabilse. When switching the amp off after a gig, leave the standby on and turn off the power switch. Basically, leave the standby switch in the 'on' position, and switch it 'off' before powering the amp up at a later occasion. This allows all DC voltages to bleed off (depends on which side of the standby switch the bleed resistors are, so this method is a failsafe for all amps). It is worth remembering that the filter caps can develop a 'memory' and even when off, DC voltage can begin to climb again. Leaving the standby switch on even when the amp is not switched on helps negate this in most cases.

If your amp has a tube rectifier and you turn the amp off, you will need to wait at least ten minutes before powering it up again, otherwise damage might occur to the rectifier valve. There are two different types of rectifiers, and one type does not need a standby switch (GZ34/ 5AR4 comes to mind).

So there are quite a few variables, you need to understand the circuit and what type of tube rectifier (if any) to work out the best way to operate that particular amp model for best operation and minimal stress/ damage.