AMPEG SVT 2 PRO Warm up/Cool down time?

slapstick13 · #1 05-19-2010, 07:15 AM

Just got my 2 pro and Im trying to figure out the best way to take care of it in terms of warming it up and shutting it down. The manual doesnt really touch on this and I want to get the most life out of my tubes. Any suggestions?

tZer · #2 05-19-2010, 07:31 AM

I let mine warm up for a good 20 minutes. As for cool down - hit 'standby' and when the green light goes red, you can kill the power. Mine usually takes a few seconds.

You should wait to move it for a bit. I usually put away all my other stuff, wrap cords and save moving it for near last on gigs.

Alexander · #3 05-19-2010, 07:46 AM

Generally speaking, I let the amp warm up and cool down for as long as is practical. I think the cool down period is most important from what I understand as moving hot tubes can reduce the overall lifespan. I also use a gramma pad between my head and cab to reduce the vibration per my tech's recommendation...

tZer · #4 05-19-2010, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander

Generally speaking, I let the amp warm up and cool down for as long as is practical. I think the cool down period is most important from what I understand as moving hot tubes can reduce the overall lifespan. I also use a gramma pad between my head and cab to reduce the vibration per my tech's recommendation...

Gramma pad! Is that a technical term? LOL

I need to do that myself. Good suggestion.

slapstick13 · #5 05-19-2010, 08:24 AM

How much do these pads cost? I just got the amp on monday. It has so much balls its ridiculous! I don't have it in a rack yet, but I have no upcoming shows for a few weeks. Do you guys know of a rack that has good air flow? Maybe even an additional fan in the rack? This thing gets so damn hot. When I have it on and I look over to the back to check out the glowing tubes, I can feel the heat on my face. So sweet. But makes me nervous!

JackANSI · #6 05-19-2010, 08:29 AM

If you're paranoid about moving a warm tube amp, you might want to be paranoid about firing one up after its been sitting in cold (winter) temps too (without enough time for it to get up to room temp)..

wetzelman1 · #7 05-19-2010, 08:32 AM

I've got one of the premier ones, but I think it's pretty safe to say these things are pretty resilient. The longer the warmup period, the better, but I'll just turn this thing before I get my pedals going and throwin on my bass and go after a minute or two. For cooldown, just wait till the light goes off, sometimes takes a few second. Playing shows, you have to setup and tear down as fast as you can, so I'll be hauling that thing around 5 minutes after we're done playing. I'm obviously not taking the "best" care of it, but it's an amp, and we're musicians, and that's the reality of how things have to work.

The heat "can" be an issue. The guy I bought the head from said that on hot days, he would just take it out of the rack and it was fine. You can also just cut a vent in a rack on the side or throw a rack fan above the head to carry heat away. Mounting a PC fan to the back shouldn't be too hard either granted you can find a lead to solder to.

I left my amp on standby for a good 12 hours by accident once, no problems.

tZer · #8 05-19-2010, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapstick13

How much do these pads cost? I just got the amp on monday. It has so much balls its ridiculous! I don't have it in a rack yet, but I have no upcoming shows for a few weeks. Do you guys know of a rack that has good air flow? Maybe even an additional fan in the rack? This thing gets so damn hot. When I have it on and I look over to the back to check out the glowing tubes, I can feel the heat on my face. So sweet. But makes me nervous!

Good air flow is definitely important! I had a problem with that when I loaded mine into an SKB 4-space rack. the sides pretty much covered the air intake and I was overheating this thing on a regular basis. I finally 'vented' the SKB by drilling a couple dozen holes on the air-intake side. Additionally, I use a couple bungees to hold a nice Lakewood fan against the side. I don't know if the fan is really necessary, but after I realized how much heat caused my amp issues, I didn't want to take any chances. Plus my drummer seems to like the extra air flow.

Alexander · #9 05-19-2010, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapstick13

How much do these pads cost? I just got the amp on monday. It has so much balls its ridiculous! I don't have it in a rack yet, but I have no upcoming shows for a few weeks. Do you guys know of a rack that has good air flow? Maybe even an additional fan in the rack? This thing gets so damn hot. When I have it on and I look over to the back to check out the glowing tubes, I can feel the heat on my face. So sweet. But makes me nervous!

Mine wasn't much - I think I paid £45 for it here in the UK. It really does seem to work and also helps protect the top of my cab as well.

JimmyM · #10 05-19-2010, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander

Generally speaking, I let the amp warm up and cool down for as long as is practical. I think the cool down period is most important from what I understand as moving hot tubes can reduce the overall lifespan. I also use a gramma pad between my head and cab to reduce the vibration per my tech's recommendation...

your tech does realize that they're already shockmounted, doesn't he?

slapstick13 · #11 05-19-2010, 12:28 PM

Hey Tzer, did you have the fan blowing into the side of the amp? Or facing out, sucking air out>? Im probably going to buy a little fan for extra cooling, but Im not sure where to position it. Also how is the fan setup that is already inside teh Amp?? Does it blow out the back of the amp/ side??

Alexander · #12 05-19-2010, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

your tech does realize that they're already shockmounted, doesn't he?

Well, this is from the only authorized Ampeg service centre in the UK, so I'd guess he's up to speed on the amp. Actually he told me to put it on the ground (anywhere, but the cab) - a friend recommended the gramma for serving the same purpose. I was more interested in stopping the tube retention springs (or whatever they're called) from rattling around everytime I hit an open E. Can't imagine it would hurt the amp with all the SVTs I've seen sitting on 810s...

JimmyM · #13 05-19-2010, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander

Well, this is from the only authorized Ampeg service centre in the UK, so I'd guess he's up to speed on the amp.

you'd be surprised. the one authorized ampeg repairman in my area in the 90's butchered my svt and charged me a small fortune to not fix an svt 3 pro i used to have. not saying your guy is the equivalent of mine, but being authorized doesn't mean you are a great repairman.

rodl2005 · #14 05-19-2010, 01:30 PM

I've been putting my SVTII on top of my cab for yrs NO PROBS!!!! The DO have rubber feet. THo I'd try find a good thick bit of felt at a thrift shop B4 paying $80+ for a granma pad

wetzelman1 · #15 05-19-2010, 01:32 PM

yeah, I mean, you can always baby any piece of equipment, but the point of these was to cater to the gigging musician, hence, the rackable design. Seem to be pretty durable, don't think a little rattle is going to do too much as that is their intended design. Anyone can go astronomical lengths to protect anything, but in the end, is it really worth it?

Alexander · #16 05-20-2010, 02:23 AM

Hey - all I know is that the gramma stopped that annoying spring rattling that the amp was doing. Good enough for me!

suraj · #17 05-20-2010, 04:05 AM

I know your happy with the gramma pad and it works for you and is worth your money, but wouldn't any type of say 2" thick foam do the same thing..?? Im asking, I don't know..

Floyd Eye · #18 05-20-2010, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tZer

Good air flow is definitely important! I had a problem with that when I loaded mine into an SKB 4-space rack. the sides pretty much covered the air intake and I was overheating this thing on a regular basis. I finally 'vented' the SKB by drilling a couple dozen holes on the air-intake side. Additionally, I use a couple bungees to hold a nice Lakewood fan against the side. I don't know if the fan is really necessary, but after I realized how much heat caused my amp issues, I didn't want to take any chances. Plus my drummer seems to like the extra air flow.

I notice you're in St. Chuck. I am in southern Jefferson County. What's the name of your band, maybe I can catch a show sometime?

rbonner · #19 05-20-2010, 04:50 AM

You guys, I want you to pay attention to this.

I've been around tubes my whole life. This includes absolutely massive super high power multi-thousand dollar, transmitting tubes. Both indirect and directly heating cathodes.

Trust me here, there is absolutely ZIPPO benefit to running your tube filaments on those tubes anymore than 3 minutes. They will be generating plenty of emission within that time.

Tubes generate massive concentrated heat on the filaments to get the cathode emitting, however the tubes get super hot to the touch as much more watts of heat is radiated from the plates as the tubes conduct. They will be at full operating temp and need outside cooling within 10-20 seconds of playing time. This is not the kind of heat that helps cathode emission, this is the stuff that if you don't get rid off makes the tubes run away and bias changes happen. So audiophile type effects for maximum performance is reached quickly as the operating temps stabilize. This is well under a minute of operating at normal specs.

Next, If you bring your amp in from outside when it is freezing outside and the thing has sat out there and has chilled. Let it warm up a minimum of 30 minutes before flipping on the power. This is to let the tubes attempt to reach room temp, nothing more. While I have never cracked a tube turning it on too quickly it is a possibility. Even a fan blowing on the tubes will help warm them up.

Cool down after playing. Flip the amp off and let it start to cool off. Yeah, give it what you can as you pack up to leave. NOTE: Once the filaments are no longer glowing they cool fairly rapidly. Think light bulb. No HUGE procedure here, just shut it off and set the amp on the floor and grab it on the way out.

As with all amps, the racks cannot block the air flow. Some of them you need to add additional fans. YOU will NEVER hurt the amps by additional cooling. The filaments make the right amount of heat, the extra cooling cools the plates. They always seem to need more cooling.

I hope this clears up some of the myths, and Rock On. BOB

Sartori · #20 05-20-2010, 05:26 AM

Very informative post, Bob.

Pretty much I satisfy myself with turning on the amp while I set up my pedals/cables, get my bass out of its case and tune. This usually takes a minute or two, so it's more than enough time. At the end of playing, I just turn the amp off and pack up the rest of my gear and help with the drums and then grab the amp.