The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Its been quite a while sense I have used a Tube amp. I do rember that playing thru it while warming it up helped to achieve the the sound I wanted out of it. It would take mabie 3 min could have been less.

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  3. #27

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    ruger9,

    I agree that with tube-rectified amps the rectifier tube(s) serve some of the function of the standby switch. Until the rectifier starts flowing, i.e., until its heater produces a thermionic effect at its cathode, the preamp and power amp tubes won't be hit with high plate voltages.

  4. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by Greentone
    "no other purpose"

    The standby switch IS there for breaks, but its purpose is to prevent having to cold start the tubes.

    When power is applied to a vacuum tube some of the thoriated tungsten filament on the cathode is stripped until the tube comes up to operating temperature from the heater element. This ages the tube.

    Standby interrupts the plate voltage on the tube while keeping the heaters going. This extends tube life.

    Always start up on standby too, going to on after a minute or so.
    This is very close to what I've read in Fender and Mesa Boogie Owner Manuals.

    Oddly enough, there typically are no Standby Switches in Fender low wattage amps (Champ, Princeton, Blues Jr., or '80's Super Champ, and Princeton Reverb II). I included the latter 80's Fender Rivera era amps since they also have solid state rectification.

  5. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by AlsoRan
    A guitarist friend ( he plays Rock and Blues on High Wattage Amps) swears that go get proper tone on tube amps, they must be allowed around 30 minutes warm-up time...
    Electronically ridiculous.

    But psychologically, if it makes him happy, who am I to judge?

  6. #30

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    Sounds like something out of the Golden Ear set. These are the guys who literally pay thousands of dollars for an audiophile-grade ac power cord (more transparent... the soundstage just opened up to me...).

    The audiophile market must have been created by a P. T. Barnum descendant Tube Amps Need 30 min Warm-up? - Fact or Fiction

    Cheers!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. #31

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    I recall reading the recommendation to let the amp warm up on standby -- in the Mesa Boogie manual. For the reason Greentone stated.

    I hadn't heard the thing about solid state rectification, although I can see the logic. Standby might be better, because it would totally, not partially, protect the tube while it's warming.

    That said, I had the original tubes in my Ampeg Reverberocket for decades. Solid state rectifier in that amp and no standby switch.
    It might be true that it matters, but it may not matter all that much.

    Meanwhile, I've decided to carry my cables in a 12 foot long case designed for one piece cane fly rods. This way, the electrons won't have to bend their way around crimps. Have to order them that way from the manufacturer to avoid getting a cable that has already been completely compromised before it has ever been sold.