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Tube Amp Without Standby

Eternal Day

Eternal Day

Feb 23, 2016
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73
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#1
Quick question for the tube amp experts:
Does turning on my tube amp (without standby switch) with the volume
cranked harm it in any way? Sometimes I forget to turn the volume down
before shutting the amp off and only notice when I turn it back on. drool

Cheers,
EternalDay
 
#2
I think it can, otherwise amp manufacturers would not caution to have the volume all the way down when you turn it on. This may be to protect the speakers or your ears, though. What kind of amp do you have? I guess the tube power amps for general use wouldn't have a standby switch.
 
#4
I wouldn't turn on any amp in any device with the volume dimed whether there's a standby or not. Your speakers and ears are more at risk than your amp.
Some amps by design benefit from a standby and some don't. You'll find pros and cons everywhere you look.
 
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#7
beans-on-toast said:
A loud speaker pop is not a good thing as it can damage the speakers. Do whatever is necessary to avoid this. On some amps, turning down the volume can help.
Click to expand...
When I bought this amp a few months ago, I was surprised that there was no pop when turning it on because
I'm so accustomed to hearing a loud pop when I turn on my transistor combo and an even louder one after
shutting it down. The tube amp had some mild poping going on after a while of using it regularly but it turned
out that the original electrolytic caps (from 1965!) had their best days behind them, who would have thought it.
Replacing them fixed the pop.
 
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#9
bklee said:
I think it can, otherwise amp manufacturers would not caution to have the volume all the way down when you turn it on. This may be to protect the speakers or your ears, though. What kind of amp do you have? I guess the tube power amps for general use wouldn't have a standby switch.
Click to expand...
Wow. I'm amazed that an amp would be suitable for guitar and bass. I spent $768 converting a Peavey vintage 6x10 to use for bass. It tried it before the conversion and while the highs and mids sounded OK, the speakers couldn't handle the lows at all. It sounds like you have a very well-engineered item there.Most of the money was for speakers, but the head needed some caps changed to different values.
 
#11
stand by mutes the amp so the heaters dont have to be cycled on and off and wait for warm up. and allows speaker cables to be unplugged or plugged safely without presenting a no load situation.
stand by just cuts off plate high voltage. and allows heater low voltage to continue running.

not really a issue you just have to shut the amp off to connect or disconnect speaker connections. whole bunch of things can be considered "bad" for a solid state or tube amp. really big issue with tube amps is to have a no load situation. and to have a incorrect or unstable bias circuit.
having a signal present or not present when you start the amp is more the issue and would be more of a risk to the speakers. the volume up or down has no effect a signal being present is more a issue. as long as there is no signal at start up or shut down the volume setting isnt a issue. over the years i have got into the habit of always rolling down the volume of my bass when done playing. so any start up or turning on a amp isnt a issue. but likewise its mainly cause i use so much distortion im pretty much use to muting strings and rolling back volume on the bass. even when my bass isnt plugged in i still roll back the volume with habit when im done playing.
 
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#15
bassrich said:
I have a Fender Champion 600 that has no standby switch and I have always turned it on with the volume dimed and not noticed any pop it actually takes 15 sec or so to produce any sound
Click to expand...

I have a Vibro-Champ, same story.

That's how long it's taking for the heaters to raise the temperature of the cathodes high enough to boil off electrons. Then the tubes can work.
 
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#17
You don't need a standby switch for any reason other than muting the signal. If you turn on with a dimed instrument you risk damaging the speaker, or more likely shocking yourself if you forgot to turn your amp down and it's midnight at home.

The real speaker damage comes from the loud pop from inserting and removing a cable at the guitar - just pop the cable out of the amp first if you don't want to be turning the amp off and on again.
 
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#19
I find that the myths about tube amps to be interesting and a tad amusing!

I’ve owned a few amps that have had a Standby switch and more that have not. I’ve yet to have an amp damaged by not using the Standby. In all the years I’ve used these amps I have never turned the volume down to switch on or off. The volume stays in it’s usual position and when the amp warms up enough it produces sound.

Edit: I’ve also never had a concern over “Cathode Stripping."
 
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