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Warming up tubes


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Posted

How critical is warming up your tubes if you are only playing at a "in house" level? (2-3)

 

I realize if you were at a gig, playing at 5-8 range, you need to let it warm up before you rock out w/ your c*** out!!! :D

Posted

brent, always warm up those tubes a bit. the longer they are warmed up the warmer the tone. use the standby switch. this is no time to worry about your cabon footprint.

Posted

i usually try to go and flip the power on 15-20 mins before i play...then i go down, plug in and flip the standby on

 

but sometimes, i just go down and turn it on and got to it right away...(i try not to do that too often)

Posted

Sheesh, don't worry about it. Have the amp on standby when you power it on, let it warm up for a minute or so and then start rockin'! I've done it that way for years with no problems. Heck, I probably don't even wait a minute most of the time.

Posted

Tubes, like a good woman, are best to warm up first and always.

Posted
How critical is warming up your tubes if you are only playing at a "in house" level? (2-3)

 

I realize if you were at a gig, playing at 5-8 range, you need to let it warm up before you rock out w/ your c*** out!!! :D

As one of the high priests over at music-electronics-forum.com often points out,

there are a lot of amps, like Fender Champs, Princetons, Tweed Deluxes, that

don't have standby switches and aren't any worse for wear.

"
All a standby switch is there for is to silence the amp while letting the heaters

stay warm. Then you can flip the switch and instantly play - no warm up time.

Of course you can also just zero the volume control.

 

You can put the standby switch anywhere you want in the circuit that does the

job. There are no advantages, ther are just rationalizations from each builder as

to why the way he did it is better than all the other ways. This amp simply does

not need one. You install one because you want one.

 

You will hear a lot of tallk of things like cathode stripping, but that doesn't happen

at the low voltages and current in a Deluxe or a Princeton. Got a 50,000 watt radio

transmitter? Then I'd worry. Your tubes are going to bust loose a screen grid

winding and short out or something long before cathode stripping might occur."

While I believe the experts I can't help but wait a few seconds before going to "on".
Posted
How critical is warming up your tubes if you are only playing at a "in house" level? (2-3)

 

I realize if you were at a gig, playing at 5-8 range, you need to let it warm up before you rock out w/ your c*** out!!! :D

 

Whats all this about cookouts now?

Posted

45 -60 seconds...chug a beer.

Posted

The Fender operating manuals typically suggest about a 30 second standby warm-up before and after.

 

This is supposed to extend tube life. With the high price of aftermarket tubes these days, that makes sense to me.

Posted

So..Lemme see if I got this right..even though my Bues Junior has no standby switch, if I just turn it on with the volume down, all is well with the world? (Or at least with the amp?) That is pretty much what I've been doing all along..

Posted

If not cranking it, I flip it on and let it sit for 3-5 minutes typically. When I play with others and will be pushing it, I'll let it warm up for 10-15 minutes. Same times on shut down for cooling...

Posted
So..Lemme see if I got this right..even though my Bues Junior has no standby switch, if I just turn it on with the volume down, all is well with the world? (Or at least with the amp?) That is pretty much what I've been doing all along..

You should be fine. I just hunted down Fender's Blues Junior Operation Manual (what passes

for one) and there's no mention of a startup procedure.

Posted

As a regular routine when gigging I have my amp on standby as soon as I can get it plugged in. The warmer the tubes, the better.

 

Anyone else noticed that after an hour or two of playing a tube amp will get noticeably louder? And I don't mean the lead player turns up!! <lol> I have had this happen with every tube amp I've gigged with. Wonder if that is somehow connected to the tube temp.

Posted
As a regular routine when gigging I have my amp on standby as soon as I can get it plugged in. The warmer the tubes, the better.

 

Anyone else noticed that after an hour or two of playing a tube amp will get noticeably louder? And I don't mean the lead player turns up!! <lol> I have had this happen with every tube amp I've gigged with. Wonder if that is somehow connected to the tube temp.

Seems logical to me..But then again, I'm not a Vulcan..
Posted

my dls needs at least two min on standby or the power will drop in half while I'm playing.. usualy only happens when it's cranked..

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