Valve Amp Maintenance 101

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aarondamien22
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Valve Amp Maintenance 101

Post by aarondamien22 » Sat Apr 07, 2018 3:11 pm

I want to get the most out of my valve amp. I own three currently. I have always been afraid of sounding too novice and not taken serisously to ask fellow players how they maintain their amp... For example... how long should I let my valves warm up before turning off standby... How long can I leave one powered on in idle state before I am doing damage to the life of the amp... What is the best way to power your amp and does it matter? I'm currious what some of you guys do as a daily ritual... when operating your valve amp... how do you take care of your prized amp and what is the things you see people do that is most likely harming their amp... I ask only so I can get the most out of my amps. Thank you.

danman
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Re: Valve Amp Maintenance 101

Post by danman » Sat Apr 07, 2018 6:38 pm

There is so much written on different forums about this topic that a google search could bring up hours of reading for you to check out. One big thing about tube amps is that you must always have a speaker load plugged in before powering up the amp. Failure to do so could burn up your output transformer. Also make sure that the amp is properly biased within a certain range to be sure that the tubes are not drawing excessive current. There is some leeway here but it's still smart to have it checked. Even cathode biased amps should be checked to be sure that the tubes are running in the proper range. Another item that needs looking after are the electrolytic capacitors that filter the amps power supply. People recommend replacing them somewhere around the 10-20yr mark but some amps are still running their originals 50yrs later. Using the amp regularly does help to keep them in good shape but anything 50yrs old is liable to blow and burn up other stuff (PT) along with them. Fresh filter caps will make the amp sound tight and punchy again if they are old and wore out. Replacing caps and biasing will take require a tech unless you have done the necessary homework to learn how to work around high voltage safely.

The standby switch debate is a hot topic on many forums, and if you do a search for the term, you will likely find many threads regarding the issue. Many techs feel that the standby switch is not required and that companies still use it because amp buyers expect it to be there. Fifty years ago all stereos and tv's ran tubes and none of them had a standby switch. Many of the early guitar amps did not included them either. IIRC, most people expect to see them because Leo Fender started using them on most of his larger amps. None of the smaller amps like the Champ or Princeton came with a standby switch. They do help to silence the amp between sets while still keeping the tubes warmed up but other than that, I really don't care if an amp has one or not. Here is a great read about them if your interested...http://www.valvewizard.co.uk/standby.html There are a bunch of other great articles at this link also. Here is another tech with a great tech page you should check out...http://www.aikenamps.com/index.php/technical-q-a

aarondamien22
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Re: Valve Amp Maintenance 101

Post by aarondamien22 » Sat Apr 07, 2018 7:14 pm

Thank you, Danman.

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