Tube Amp Warm Up

[just strum]

Okay, in the "Geez, I thought everyone knew that" column.

What is the reason for the tube amp sounding better after it is warmed up? I notice the difference when I play either the Epi Vjr or the BH. So as the tubes warm up (assuming that's it) what causes the amp (amph) to sound better? Or is this one of those "It must just be me" things?

A little side not on the BH Hothead

I just noticed the panel for channel two (zoom in)

http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/quality,85/brand,zzounds/BH100H_Alt3Qtr-d02e0cf9a58e899323c5bd0bcdd61730.jpg

[Big K]

crank it up!!!!!

[sumitomo]

Yep when they warm up the juices start to flow! Sumi:D

[markb]

The power voltages settle down and the tube components get to operating temperatures. No black magic or zen secrets involved, sorry :)

[tot_Ou_tard]

What Mark said.

It is certainly true that tube amps sound better after warming up.

[just strum]

No black magic or zen secrets involved, sorry :)

I find this very disappointing.

[Kazz]

Loud...and F'N Loud....funny.

Mark....not sure I can explain it any better than the others have...but it goes back to the Tube TV days....the picture was always better once they warmed up. I always turn my amp on and let it warm up while I am getting everything else ready to play....

[Plank_Spanker]

The power voltages settle down and the tube components get to operating temperatures. No black magic or zen secrets involved, sorry :)


Everything stabilizes and settles into the groove......................:rockon:

[mrmudcat]

Also to add, is to turn tube amps on let the tubes get warm(few minutes) and then hit the stanby switch(if you have one;) ) if your not ready to play.Alot of cats these days turn their amps on then immediately hit the standby switch:whatever: My humble opinion is this is the wrong way or technique.I would like to hear other opinions on how they get their amps warmed up.......hopefully not sidetracking this thread but adding to the discussion at hand!

[oldguy]

I always flip 'em on and leave 'em on for 10-15 minutes. I only used the standby switch during breaks back in the day when we played as weekend warriors. When the tubes were hot they just sounded better. The old Fender Super got hotter and better as the night went on................ I also cranked it to 8 or 9 on the volume and used the guitar volume to adjust the level to where I wanted it. It seemed to be more touch sensitive that way.

[markb]

I always flip 'em on and leave 'em on for 10-15 minutes. I only used the standby switch during breaks back in the day when we played as weekend warriors. When the tubes were hot they just sounded better. The old Fender Super got hotter and better as the night went on................ I also cranked it to 8 or 9 on the volume and used the guitar volume to adjust the level to where I wanted it. It seemed to be more touch sensitive that way.

Just the way I used to use my Fender/Rivera Concert. I could never get on with its distortion channel. All those gain controls and pull switches, far too confusing :confused:

[just strum]

...hopefully not sidetracking this thread but adding to the discussion at hand!

Not at all, this is the sort of stuff I'm looking for.

[Mick]

A quote from my Fender ProTube Twin-Amp User Manual...


POWER - Switches power ON and OFF to the
amplifier. (Reduce the “shock” to amplifier tubes at
power-up, extending their life span, by turning the
POWER switch ON with the STAND BY switch
DOWN for the first minute, then UP for normal use.

STAND BY - In the DOWN position, this switch puts
the amp on stand by. Audio is muted and power is
supplied only to the tube filaments. Use STAND BY
in place of switching POWER OFF during short
breaks (one hour max.). This eliminates the normal
warm-up time when STAND BY is switched OFF (UP)
when returning to play the amplifier and also extends
the life span of your amplifier’s tubes.

[duhvoodooman]

Everything stabilizes and settles into the groove....
Precisely. :AOK:

[mrmudcat]

A quote from my Fender ProTube Twin-Amp User Manual...



Mick I know it is black and white in the manual you grabbed this from but again in my humble opinion it is wrong/misleading or at best another way other than what ive learned.You turn the amp on without the standby switch on. The tubes warm up nice and you go about playing after warmup.(10-15 minutes) If your not ready then engage the standby switch.My fender manuals like yours say the opposite but after many years and many opinions from techs ,and other musicians etc. etc.
this way makes the most sense to me.Having the standby switch engaged on intial power up does not allow the tubes to fully get warm and ive seen a few times where powering up that way ,then hitting the standby off after a minute or two cause fuses and or tubes to blow!:poke:

Just my humble opinion ......nothing more;)

[oldguy]

Ditto......... plus my old Fenders always sounded better when the tubes got hot and stayed hot, IMHO.

[Stormrider]

I'm a new member; I'm not much for big introductions, and this thread isn't the place anyway... Hello all.

Anyway, if you take a look at the old data sheets for tubes you'll see most of them state the proper warm up time. A 12AX7 for instance needs 12 seconds or so, bigger tubes will take longer. I think a 6L6 is something like 30 sec, but I'm not sure. Large rectifier tubes take about the same, but some are quicker than others depending on the model. The standby switch comes after the rectifier in the power supply line so, depending on what type of rectifier your amp uses that will delay the B+ by itself, even if you switch off standby immediately after you power up the amp.

Smaller amps with lower B+ voltages don't even have or need standby switches.

Basically, I say that 1-2 minutes is a long enough warm up time depending on the amp. Of course, you should always follow what the manual says.

[mrmudcat]

Welcome and indeed 2 minutes is enough to warm up the tubes...I give them 10 -15 minutes as stated;) ........Ill just keep doing what has worked for me but thought id offer my opinion.

Just looked at my manual for the vintage/modern marshall and it states to turn on without standby on and after two minutes warmup you are good to go then you can hit standby if not playing.:poke: Exactly opposite of my fender hrd manual:thwap:

Also I have seen personally the HT fuse,main fuse and tubes go bad when somone has turned on their tube amp with the stanby switch on and within a minute or two flip the switch to play just to hear a pop..of course there is a delay for a few seconds while the HT or Main fuse does the slow burn;)


Anyways to each his own:rockon:

[msteeln]

...is turning the volume full bore helpful in getting things all warm and fuzzy, or does it not, and, does it hurt the amp any to do this (or not) with the guitar cord not plugged in the amp?
Stupid minds want to know!

Q #2 - doesn't the standby mode do quicker damage to the amp, maybe the tranny? I heard long ago that stand-by mode was injurious to the amps internals.

[Rocket]

Generally, amp manufacturers build their amps so that any idiot could use one... and 8-times out of 10, they're right!

[Rx Tone]

Also to add, is to turn tube amps on let the tubes get warm(few minutes) and then hit the stanby switch(if you have one;) ) if your not ready to play.Alot of cats these days turn their amps on then immediately hit the standby switch:whatever: My humble opinion is this is the wrong way or technique.

That's exactly right.It slams the power tubes before they've warmed up and shortens tube life.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Mick I know it is black and white in the manual you grabbed this from but again in my humble opinion it is wrong/misleading or at best another way other than what ive learned.You turn the amp on without the standby switch on. Muddy,

I thought that one of the benefits of the standby switch is that it allows easy start-up for the tubes thus reducing wear & tear--extending their lives. (As Rx sez above.)

It would seem that the way to go would be to turn on the amp with the standby switch on, wait a couple of minutes and then turn the standby switch off to let the amp warm up.

You can later put the standy switch back on if you are going to take a break from playing.

[Plank_Spanker]

...is turning the volume full bore helpful in getting things all warm and fuzzy, or does it not, and, does it hurt the amp any to do this (or not) with the guitar cord not plugged in the amp?
Stupid minds want to know!

Q #2 - doesn't the standby mode do quicker damage to the amp, maybe the tranny? I heard long ago that stand-by mode was injurious to the amps internals.

Diming out the amp without an input will do nothing to futher warm the amp up. Without an input, the tubes are idling. It won't hurt the amp as long as you remember to turn it down or put it in standby before you plug your guitar in..............................speakers don't react well to that loud ground hum thump you get when you plug / unplug a guitar with the volume up.

As for standby, it will not damage your amp, either. It's there for a reason - to allow the tube filaments to warm up and the high voltage power supply to stabilize before you throw the coals to the amp. Some tube gurus argue that leaving the amp in standby for long periods will cause cathode stripping in the power tubes (perhaps tung or some other tube gurus here can chime in on this). Personally, I've never experienced any ill effects from going to standby at breaks and whenever I'm not playing the amp for short periods but want to leave it warmed up and ready. I use my standby switch like a mute switch.

As for the output transformer, the best way to fry it is to play with no speakers or grossly mismatch the speaker's impedance to the amp's. It's the Achilles Heel of tube amps, and you need to protect it with careful use of the amp. Output transformers are a very expensive component to replace.

[markb]

As for the output transformer, the best way to fry it is to play with no speakers or grossly mismatch the speaker's impedance to the amp's. It's the Achilles Heel of tube amps, and you need to protect it with careful use of the amp. Output transformers are a very expensive component to replace.

As a friend found when his AC50's impedance selector plug jumped out of its socket in mid-set. Great stage effect but thunderflashes are so much cheaper :)

[ibanezjunkie]

well

you know when you turn on a tube-driven amp, it takes a while for the sound to come through?

thats because the tubes have to warm up for the 'juices to flow' as was said earlier.

once the tubes reach the 'magical' tempratures, the sound quality improves and the sound gets alot warmer.