warming up tube amps

[Turd Furgison]

i won't change the channel on my tv for at least a half hour till the tube gets good and warmed up, you can tell a big difference in the quality of the picture :poke:

[goodhonk]

i like all this counting.

 

[JorisBlack]

Tube amps start cold and get hot. They sound better hot to me but not too hot. I like to turn my amp on and let a loop play thru it for an hour then come back to it and start jamming and it sounds so good to me. NE1 else?

 

 

I don't think the loop will do anything. If you turn your amp on in standby first for a minute or five, then put it on completely (guitar plugged in, volume knob turned down, or a muting tuner pedal engaged or something like that) and let that warm up for an hour, will probably give the same effect. Without the loop. I think.

 

I do notice that the tubes warm up a lot more slowly on standby...

[RoboPimp]

I like to play the loop tho, it lets the looper get warmed up at the same time

[kyrreca]

I use a soldering iron to warm up my strings before playing

[RoboPimp]

I use a soldering iron to warm up solder

[kyrreca]

yeah, I guess that works too

[HopeStreet]

i won't change the channel on my tv for at least a half hour till the tube gets good and warmed up, you can tell a big difference in the quality of the picture :poke:

 

 

my girlfriend has this ancient tv that we watched the happening on last night,

and it had to "warm up" before the screen was anything but sketchy lines.

made me think of this thread actually.

word.

[Keef84]

I usually breathe on my tubes for about an hour before turning it on. 98.6 degrees seems to deliver ideal tones IMO.

[goldie-gold]

I turn on my amp and plug in a couple of effects. Plug in my guitar and then take the amp out of standby. Sounds the same after 30 seconds of 'warm up' as it does when I turn it of an hour or two later. I don't let it 'warm down', but I do put it into standby before I turn it off - why? I have no idea.

I don't buy into the whole warm up thing but I often wonder why amp makers recommend the warm up process. If it really doesn't make any difference to the tubes (which, IMO it doesn't) why do amp makers suggest you warm up/down?

[CicadaSilence]

I usually breathe on my tubes for about an hour before turning it on. 98.6 degrees seems to deliver ideal tones IMO.

 

 

I was going to make a blow job crack about this, but.... eh. Well, there it is.

[Collapse]

Tube amps pretty much get up to operating temperature and stay there. Letting it "warm up" past getting to operating temperature does nothing.

You can turn your tube amp off without putting it in standby. As echodeluxe said, you could turn it off, pull the plug, or cut the power from your house without damaging them.

You don't have to replace a tube until it breaks.