Amp on Standby - UK guitar forum for guitar shops, guitar dealers, guitar reviews, guitar technicians, guitar tuition and more

You are not logged in. [Log In] » Forums » UK Guitar Forum » Guitar Amp Forum » Amp on Standby

Who's Online

15 registered (Ape09090, strat man, Bob Gnarly, Lester, Ovals, jules1050) and 252 anonymous users online.

details

Newest Members

lax81, gaz1979, johnp61, Shimmy, eaglanna
9380 Registered Users

Forum Stats

9380 Members
50 Forums
26839 Topics
293692 Posts

Max Online: 390 @ 10/02/12 01:42 PM

Page 1 of 2

Topic Options

Rate This Topic

#288594 - 08/10/11 12:50 PM Amp on Standby
somhairle somhairle Be Nice (I'm New!) Registered: 12/06/11 Posts: 41 Loc: Scotland	I tend to turn my amp on in the morning, play a little, leave it on standby and return to it periodically throughout the day. Is this likely to cause any damage or premature wear to the valves or the amp?
Top

Richards Guitars: 5 Tiddington Road, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 7AZ - Tel 01789 26 33 33

Click on the Guitar Title To View This Guitar For Sale at Guitars.co.uk. More Guitars For Sale can also be found at Richards Guitars

FeedWind

#288601 - 08/10/11 06:30 PM Re: Amp on Standby [Re: somhairle]
Jocko Jocko Old Timer Registered: 06/07/11 Posts: 1023 Loc: Kirkcaldy, Fife	Standby normally turns the valve heaters on and leaves the HT off. In my experience most valves fail because the heaters fail (the first check I was taught to do on valve receivers and transmitters was to check if any valves failed to light up). That would imply that every minute spent on standby was a minute less valve life. Open to arguments otherwise. _________________________ Best tip for budding guitarists. Start playing 10 years earlier!
Top

#288612 - 08/10/11 08:01 PM Re: Amp on Standby [Re: Jocko]
somhairle somhairle Be Nice (I'm New!) Registered: 12/06/11 Posts: 41 Loc: Scotland	Thanks, Jocko. If you are right, then I need to stop this!
Top

#288617 - 08/10/11 10:24 PM Re: Amp on Standby [Re: somhairle]
stickyfiddle stickyfiddle Spam Commander (Forum Council Member) Old Timer Registered: 22/04/04 Posts: 6168 Loc: London, UK	IIRC a valve will usually "die" when the gap between cathode & anode gets too large- every time a signal passes through a tiny bit of material is evaporated off the surface, and after a while this means the gap will get bigger- eentually it will get too big and the current can't make the jump. I can't see why leaving the heater on should affect that, but I may be wrong. My logic would be to turn it off to save electricity! _________________________ PSN: stickyfiddle
Top

#288618 - 08/10/11 10:29 PM Re: Amp on Standby [Re: somhairle]
DaveBass DaveBass Old Timer Registered: 30/10/02 Posts: 6462 Loc: The wilds of Surrey	As well as the heaters' limited life, there's also something called cathode poisoning which may or may not be a serious problem. There's a discussion here: http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?s=7134004b37d0781cad2ae32d23c7119f&t=28839 Personally I'd turn the amp off when not in use. It should only take a few seconds to warm up. Dave
Top

#288622 - 08/10/11 10:45 PM Re: Amp on Standby [Re: DaveBass]
somhairle somhairle Be Nice (I'm New!) Registered: 12/06/11 Posts: 41 Loc: Scotland	Thanks for the advice. I assumed that turning the amp on and off several times over a 5 hour period would do more harm than leaving on standby. Off it goes from now on.........
Top

#288628 - 09/10/11 09:51 AM Re: Amp on Standby [Re: stickyfiddle]
Jocko Jocko Old Timer Registered: 06/07/11 Posts: 1023 Loc: Kirkcaldy, Fife	Originally Posted By: stickyfiddle IIRC a valve will usually "die" when the gap between cathode & anode gets too large- every time a signal passes through a tiny bit of material is evaporated off the surface, and after a while this means the gap will get bigger- eentually it will get too big and the current can't make the jump. Large valves can have inter electrode gaps of 150mm or more. I have seen specialized valves (back before semiconductors) well in excess of this. The "wear" on a cathode is in the order of microns. This is much less than the manufacturing tolerance in anode to cathode spacing so even if that was how valves worked "wear" would have no effect. _________________________ Best tip for budding guitarists. Start playing 10 years earlier!
Top

#288641 - 09/10/11 04:40 PM Re: Amp on Standby [Re: somhairle]
DaveBass DaveBass Old Timer Registered: 30/10/02 Posts: 6462 Loc: The wilds of Surrey	Originally Posted By: somhairle I assumed that turning the amp on and off several times over a 5 hour period would do more harm than leaving on standby. Thermal cycling is never a good thing, but you'll have to decide which is the lesser evil. The laws of thermodynamics: 1. You can't win. 2. You can't break even. 3. You can't quit the game. Dave
Top

#288647 - 09/10/11 07:35 PM Re: Amp on Standby [Re: DaveBass]
somhairle somhairle Be Nice (I'm New!) Registered: 12/06/11 Posts: 41 Loc: Scotland	Hmmm, in other words........just stock up on spare valves?
Top

#288697 - 11/10/11 06:29 PM Re: Amp on Standby [Re: somhairle]
The Tiggs The Tiggs Professional Forumite! Registered: 08/04/10 Posts: 412 Loc: Derby	I would expect the thermal cycles to be more of an issue than leaving the heaters on all the time. The whole point of the standby switch is to allow you to leave the heaters on. Valve application such as radios and TVs never had such a switch because they were basically in continuous use throughout an evenings entertainment.
Top

Page 1 of 2

Previous Topic View All Topics

Index Next Topic

Moderator: stickyfiddle

Hop to:

Latest Hot Topics!

line 6 pod, pocket pod or spider IV 75?
by strat man

The jazz corner
by Ape09090

Rowland Jazz Chorus 50 AMP on ebay
by lax81
10:35 PM

30 watt valve amp wanted!
by Ape09090
10:33 PM

FOR SALE: Samick Explorer (Greg Bennett design)
by Ape09090
10:32 PM

NAD - Rivera
by stickyfiddle
09:50 PM

hey from norfolk!
by stickyfiddle
09:47 PM

Gibson's Learn and Master Guitar
by Lotus
09:41 PM

Making faces whilst playing.
by Ape09090
08:23 PM

The Blue Room
by Ape09090
08:20 PM

FOR SALE: Marshall JCM 800 Lead Series 50w head + JCM 900 2x12 cabinet.
by gaz1979
06:02 PM

Introduction : ) !
by natguit
04:46 PM

What is the best guitar-related gift you've ever received (or wish you had)?
by ESBlonde
12:42 PM

Hello from Suffolk and a few Questions
by ESBlonde
12:02 PM

Been busy
by Bry
11:59 AM

Guitar Setups at Richards Guitars

FREE Pre Sale Personalised Setup worth £55

On every guitar sold (Since 1995)

Click on the Images For Further Details

Acoustic Guitar Setup

Electric Guitar Setup

I have also created a page to help explain, in basic terms, why a guitar sold by me will:

Play Better

Sound Better

Feel Better

Look Better

Stay In Tune - Longer

Whether buying a guitar or otherwise, I hope you find the information of value.

Generated in 0.056 seconds in which 0.021 seconds were spent on a total of 15 queries. Zlib compression enabled.

Welcome To The UKs Friendliest Guitar Forum