brentrocks Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I was going downstairs to play last night and got side tracked.....long story short, I left my amp powered up all night. Does this hurt the amp in any way, being left on for 14+ hours?
DetroitBlues Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I was going downstairs to play last night and got side tracked.....long story short, I left my amp powered up all night. Does this hurt the amp in any way, being left on for 14+ hours? It depends.... Eddie Van Halen's latest signature amp had to pass a simple test... Strum a guitar, let it feedback. Set the guitar down while it was feeding back. Close the door and comeback after the weekend. If the amp is still going and Eddie can continue playing, the amp passes his test. Not all amps can handle such extreme measures. Best way to find out is to simply try it. Did you smell any burnt electronics or was the amp unusually hot? If you say yes to either one of those, you possibly did some damage. Good thing is KBP810 is your man for repair!
brentrocks Posted March 24, 2011 Author Posted March 24, 2011 oh no...no burning, or smells or humming....no guitar was plugged in, just left it powered up
JeffB Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I once left my Fender Concert turned on a for a few days and nights in a not so well ventilated room. I turned it off put it in the car and went and did a gig. I did replace the tubes though........8yrs later!!!! I love that story
blueox Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 " . . . no guitar was plugged in, just left it powered up" Was it under full power or just on stand-by? I would think that stand-by would be better, but either way there should be not much of a problem with a quality amp as you were not rockin' the tubes for 14 hours.
koula901 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I was going downstairs to play last night and got side tracked.....long story short, I left my amp powered up all night. Does this hurt the amp in any way, being left on for 14+ hours? That seems to be going around lately. In the case of my Epi Jr, it definitley harmed my amp - I suspect I burnt out a tube(s). I've been thinking that someone ought to pioneer a new mechanism for amps, whereby if they're left on for a period of time, and a person forgot/got side-tracked to put it in stand by, it puts itself in either standby or powers down - like some irons do. We could call it the Baby Boomer Special!
kbp810 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 Well, in your case Koula, the epi is a single ended amp: in single ended class A the power tube is running at near max disipation (in other words, they run the power tube very, very hot!)... in a typical push/pull the power tubes are closer to 70%. Extended time on can decrease the life of the tubes... but otherwise, generally won't do much harm. Standby can help... when in standby power is cut to the tone circuit so while the filament is lit, there is no signal being passed. When not in standby, even though it's not being played, there is still signal (albeit a signal inaudible to the human ear) passing through.
smurph1 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 Well, in your case Koula, the epi is a single ended amp: in single ended class A the power tube is running at near max disipation (in other words, they run the power tube very, very hot!)... in a typical push/pull the power tubes are closer to 70%. Extended time on can decrease the life of the tubes... but otherwise, generally won't do much harm. Standby can help... when in standby power is cut to the tone circuit so while the filament is lit, there is no signal being passed. When not in standby, even though it's not being played, there is still signal (albeit a signal inaudible to the human ear) passing through. Wow..I just learned something..
brentrocks Posted March 24, 2011 Author Posted March 24, 2011 Oh Boy...my amp wasnt on standby...i have a silent plug so i dont put it on standby to save the switch......by leaving that amp on for 14+ hours, did i hurt the power tubes?
DetroitBlues Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 Since it wasn't too hot and there wasn't a smell of fried electronics, worst case scenerio is fried tubes. But I doubt it. I'd just plug your guitar in and see what happens...
tulk1 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I do that all the time with both the Carmen Ghia and the Vox AC30. Both still working. You didn't do any major harm, Brent. If you had it would have been very evident right away. You can just consider your amp well burnt in, now. Should sound awesome. That's the Heritage amp, right?
DetroitBlues Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I do that all the time with both the Carmen Ghia and the Vox AC30. Both still working. You didn't do any major harm, Brent. If you had it would have been very evident right away. You can just consider your amp well burnt in, now. Should sound awesome. That's the Heritage amp, right? I'd be worried if it was an AC30! Man those things get HOT!
kbp810 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I do that all the time with both the Carmen Ghia and the Vox AC30. Both still working. You didn't do any major harm, Brent. If you had it would have been very evident right away. You can just consider your amp well burnt in, now. Should sound awesome. That's the Heritage amp, right? Yep, unless you smell burnt stuff, or it does something funny when you try and play it again, you are good to go! At worst, you may have decreased the life span of the tubes... but unless you had a before and after with them on a meter, you'd probably never even really know anyways.
Guest HRB853370 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I was going downstairs to play last night and got side tracked.....long story short, I left my amp powered up all night. Does this hurt the amp in any way, being left on for 14+ hours? If its solid state-no. If its tubes, of course it is not good for the tubes.
Guest HRB853370 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 That seems to be going around lately. In the case of my Epi Jr, it definitley harmed my amp - I suspect I burnt out a tube(s). I've been thinking that someone ought to pioneer a new mechanism for amps, whereby if they're left on for a period of time, and a person forgot/got side-tracked to put it in stand by, it puts itself in either standby or powers down - like some irons do. We could call it the Baby Boomer Special! I sometimes forget to power down my laptop and it runs for a day or so, unattended. I know that is not good for the life of the hard drive. It also consumes unnecessary power, as an amp left on would as well.
brentrocks Posted March 24, 2011 Author Posted March 24, 2011 I do that all the time with both the Carmen Ghia and the Vox AC30. Both still working. You didn't do any major harm, Brent. If you had it would have been very evident right away. You can just consider your amp well burnt in, now. Should sound awesome. That's the Heritage amp, right? yup the Colonial...i just jamed it on my new aquisitions...sounded great!!!
212Mavguy Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 Brent, Don't worry. If it was a cheap amp that might be a different story, sometimes on some tube amps the main power tranny can overheat under that treatment. You have a quality amp. Chances are near certainty that no harm done.
kbp810 Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 yup the Colonial...i just jamed it on my new aquisitions...sounded great!!! Woohoo!!!
FrankV Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 Glad your amp is OK. Brought to mind a little bit different thing, I've got a Kenwood amplifier/receiver I bought in the 70's. It's been on for the last 20 years, at least. I turn down the volume at night, and back up during the day (it's at work). It's fine, most of the lights are still lit too. No tubes, of course. Got it at Crazy Eddie's, for you NY people.
Joe Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 Well, in your case Koula, the epi is a single ended amp: in single ended class A the power tube is running at near max disipation (in other words, they run the power tube very, very hot!)... in a typical push/pull the power tubes are closer to 70%. Extended time on can decrease the life of the tubes... but otherwise, generally won't do much harm. Standby can help... when in standby power is cut to the tone circuit so while the filament is lit, there is no signal being passed. When not in standby, even though it's not being played, there is still signal (albeit a signal inaudible to the human ear) passing through. I've read some conflicting articles about the life of tubes.One guy told me to leave them on for three or four hours when new to burn them in, also that NOS tubes are practicly indestructable.Got any thoughts or tips?
DetroitBlues Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 Glad to hear your amp is just fine. Maybe it will pass the Eddie Van Halen test afterall!
brentrocks Posted March 25, 2011 Author Posted March 25, 2011 Glad to hear your amp is just fine. Maybe it will pass the Eddie Van Halen test afterall! Thanks guys...when it comes to the electronics stuff...i have no knowledge
tulk1 Posted March 25, 2011 Posted March 25, 2011 I'd be worried if it was an AC30! Man those things get HOT! I just did it again last night. Came into the music room and there were lights on the Vox, full on. Not that I like doing that, as it will def wear the tubes faster. But, mine doesn't seem to get that hot for some reason. Just played it and all is well. Sounded great, too -- the amp, not me.
DetroitBlues Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 I just did it again last night. Came into the music room and there were lights on the Vox, full on. Not that I like doing that, as it will def wear the tubes faster. But, mine doesn't seem to get that hot for some reason. Just played it and all is well. Sounded great, too -- the amp, not me. Its funny how when an amp is opened up how much better it makes someone sound. When playing a high wattage amp at low volume, it sounds ok. But when you get those tubes glowing, oh man, does it make your guitar really sing! Love that tone when the amp is cranked!
tulk1 Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 Its funny how when an amp is opened up how much better it makes someone sound. When playing a high wattage amp at low volume, it sounds ok. But when you get those tubes glowing, oh man, does it make your guitar really sing! Love that tone when the amp is cranked! I have yet to play a gig where by the 3rd set the singer doesn't tell me how loud I've suddenly started playing. Thing is, once I set my amp (generally on about 2+ ) I don't change it. But them tubes get hot being on for 3 hrs + by then and they really start to sing. Oh, and when she tells me that I always mention that I don't change my settings. Then I either turn the amp away from her a bit, or put something between us. I just LOVE the sound of them cooking tubes! Yeah, baby!!
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.