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Post subject: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off?
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2016 1:20 pm
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I just bought a new 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb amp. Great amp. The Manual does not address my questions. When turning the amp on, should the power & stand-by switches be turned on at the same time or should the power switch be turned on first for 15 or so seconds before the stand-by switch is turned on? I'm guessing the latter because that's what I've been doing based on what I had read some years ago. But my real question is that when I reverse this process to turn the amp off (stand-by off first then 15 or so seconds later power switch off), I hear a loud momentary pop which causes me concern. That pop doesn't seem right? Opinions?


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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 1:33 am
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I have a bunch of amps, and they are all different. Even the same model can act differently from example to example.

Normally, just turn the power switch "off". If you do this, of course, at some point before operating the amp again, you need to remember to return the standby switch to its "off" position as well.

Most amplifier manuals recommend turning the power "on", then waiting thirty seconds or so before flipping the standby to "on".
You can just reverse the process, but still there's no guarantee you'll get no noise or "pop". It's the switches, not some hidden major defect.

The best advice I can give is to turn the volume knobs down to "zero" first as an additional step.


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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 2:54 am
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Vacuum tubes are similar to an incandescent light bulb -- they're most vulnerable to damage when powering up or down. Personally, I switch the amp's power on and let the tubes idle for five to ten minutes prior to engaging the standby switch. At the end of play I turn the standby switch off and let the tubes cool down for about fifteen minutes before powering completely down. Using this protocol I routinely get ten to fifteen years of service from my tubes.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 7:11 am
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^ This ^

8)

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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 8:55 am
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"At the end of play I turn the standby switch off and let the tubes cool down for about fifteen minutes before powering completely down". Arjay

Thanks Arjay. I think the best suggestion I gleaned from your posting is to simply allow for more time between turning the stand-by switch off and powering down. Instead of a brief 10-15 seconds as I had been doing, I should allow for the tubes to cool down over 10-15 minutes before powering off.

Turning the volume off, as someone else has suggested, also makes sense but my concern was not with the sound of the "pop" but whether that "pop" was somehow indicative of a problem or perhaps even the cause of problem that would simply be camouflaged by the volume being off?


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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 10:04 am
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OnAnotherNote wrote:
Thanks Arjay. I think the best suggestion I gleaned from your posting is to simply allow for more time between turning the stand-by switch off and powering down. Instead of a brief 10-15 seconds as I had been doing, I should allow for the tubes to cool down over 10-15 minutes before powering off.


Something I should add......if you're packing that amp home after a gig or rehearsal and you routinely put the cover on it, wait an additional five to ten minutes before doing so. There's plenty of residual heat within the chassis that can over time contribute to premature component failure, ie: trannies, resistors, caps, tube sockets, etc.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 12:25 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
OnAnotherNote wrote:
Thanks Arjay. I think the best suggestion I gleaned from your posting is to simply allow for more time between turning the stand-by switch off and powering down. Instead of a brief 10-15 seconds as I had been doing, I should allow for the tubes to cool down over 10-15 minutes before powering off.


Something I should add......if you're packing that amp home after a gig or rehearsal and you routinely put the cover on it, wait an additional five to ten minutes before doing so. There's plenty of residual heat within the chassis that can over time contribute to premature component failure, ie: trannies, resistors, caps, tube sockets, etc.

Arjay


Upon further experimentation and following your suggestions, the "pop" sound occurs whenever the stand-by switch is turned off. There's no problem when the amp is being powered up or when the stand-by switch is activated...ONLY when the stand-by switch is turned off. Guess I'm curious whether that's just how it goes with tube amps and not to be concerned or whether it's something to look into? Otherwise the amp is noiseless and works great.


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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 3:29 pm
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Switch stanby to play after a minimum 30 sec is enough.

Power Off a amp ?
You do what you want , switching Power to Off leaving stanby at play is not bad for tubes ,they are and still very hot.


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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 4:30 pm
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Whatever you say.

I only have half a century's worth of experience with tube amps, I'm still a newbie.

:roll:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 4:44 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
Whatever you say.

I only have half a century's worth of experience with tube amps, I'm still a newbie.

:roll:

Arjay


Welcome in the club :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 5:29 pm
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OnAnotherNote wrote:
...the "pop" sound occurs whenever the stand-by switch is turned off...not to be concerned or whether it's something to look into...


Not a problem and quite common in many amps with a standby switch. Some amps pop when standby is switched off, and some don't. There are various remedies to eliminate or reduce the popping sound, but I wouldn't worry about it. If you are really fast at throwing the switch, you can sometimes get a much quieter pop.

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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2016 2:01 am
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shimmilou wrote:
OnAnotherNote wrote:
...the "pop" sound occurs whenever the stand-by switch is turned off...not to be concerned or whether it's something to look into...


Not a problem and quite common in many amps with a standby switch. Some amps pop when standby is switched off, and some don't. There are various remedies to eliminate or reduce the popping sound, but I wouldn't worry about it. If you are really fast at throwing the switch, you can sometimes get a much quieter pop.


I fix it with a 0.01 cap solder on the stanby switch terminals.


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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2016 5:29 am
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stratele52 wrote:
Switch stanby to play after a minimum 30 sec is enough.

Power Off a amp ?
You do what you want , switching Power to Off leaving stanby at play is not bad for tubes ,they are and still very hot.



6V6 tubes amp, voltage drop from 380 volts to 10 volts in 3 seconds ( yes 3 seconds, not minutes ) if using only Power switch to switch Off the amp.
In 5 seconds voltage is 2 volts.

To me, we don't need to use Stanby switch first.


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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2016 11:44 am
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Use the standby switch to heat the tubes and prime the (sometimes old and ailing) power supply section capacitors before playing. How long to keep it in standby depends on the tubes and the amp, but a couple of minutes should be enough for most. Then flick it off and start playing.

If playing, and you need to take a pause, use the standby switch instead of the power switch. I.e. flick it to standby, but do not then flick it to off, or you'll defeat the purpose.
I'd do that for any pause of less than 6+ hours. Much like lightbulbs, when valves break, it's mostly when you turn them on, and the best way to avoid that is to not turn them off more than what's needed.

If playing, and you need to stop, just turn the amp off. Going into standby first does not help with anything unless the amp is badly designed.


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Post subject: Re: Power & Stand-By Switches: best way to turn amp on & off
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2016 6:54 pm
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stratele52, it is about letting the amp heat up and cool down more slowly. Slower heating and cooling is beneficial for longer tube life.

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