This is undoubtedly wasteful, and many players dislike the idea of leaving their amps on if they are not using it. Furthermore, if you have active pickups, the battery will run out if you leave your guitar plugged in.
But besides batteries and electricity, there is no harm in leaving your amp on all the time. You can always leave your amp on if you are playing daily and turn it off if you are away for a couple of days. The main problem with tubes is heat. And heat is the enemy of electronics.
If your amp has good ventilation, then leaving it on is not a problem. If your amp has a standby mode, you should avoid leaving it there for a long time. The best-case scenario is one of the capacitors will burst, however, the problem can be a lot more serious.
Tubes are a lot more fragile than the solid-state amps, and leaving it too long can fry the tubes. Moreover, you still might want to avoid high bills and paying for electricity for no reason. The best idea would be to take the middle ground. If you are playing for ten or twenty minutes and having a break after each session, then simply leave the amp on to avoid stress on the tubes and components.
Firstly, you should ask yourself whether it is a solid-state or tube amp. Solid-state amplifiers are a lot more durable and can last for decades. Not saying that tube amps are useless, of course.
Valves can be quite durable as well, but you might need to change them after a while. How long the amp will last mostly depends on the amount of time you spend playing, and whether you are taking care of your equipment. With proper care, any amp can last for decades without any issues. I have been playing guitar since As long as I can remember I always had a huge passion for rock music and I extremely enjoy playing it.
Helping people on their rock journey is what drives me to keep on playing. Read More About Me. Your email address will not be published. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment.
One of the most common questions about guitars is whether it is smarter to buy a new one or upgrade the one you already have. And the answer is a bit complex. There are so many variables and things It seems that 'half life' works very well for this. Herman, A few years ago I heard about a Chinese firm doing some corporate espionage. Apparently Panasonic had developed a more effective dielectric for their electrolytic caps. Fearing the discovery of their formula by competitors, they kept it in 2 halves in different locations.
How I heard it was that the Chinese company had managed to get one of those halves and used it in their caps, which got used in a lot of computer boards that began failing about years ago on this account. Is this anything like what your firm was experiencing? Ralph, Again, I'm dumbfounded you continue to defend what is clearly wrong. I've been dealing with electronics for over 30 years, taught it for 10, and have looked at this topic quite a bit since it often comes up on this and other forums.
Any data always factors in temperature and voltage. I really respect most of what you say here but you clearly have no real data to back up any of these 20 year claims. Yes, English evolves but that doesn't mean it is acceptable to use it in any way you wish.
Half life has a very clear, concise, scientific definition and your use of it is well outside that definition. Ir would be nice if someone on these forums would just once admit they are wrong. MTBF to describe cap failure is also incorrect as stated above. It refers to complex, repairable devices, not components. There is never a second failure so there can never be a between. From this article MTBF is properly used only for components that can be repaired and returned to service.
Yes, I suspect the caps we are seeing fail are part of what you talked about. I posted a link to it in my response above. Good question. I don't think there is really much required in the way of care and feeding. I am on more than 20 years on my PS Audio Deltas, and they still sound fantastic. That said, there are problems that crop up with amplifiers, tubed as well as solid-state, lord knows why. Not sure that there is really a defined lifespan, but for the prices we pay for some of this stuff, it should be forEVER, right?
True story: I had a Fender Deluxe guitar amp brown tolex vibrato version It had old leakey caps A couple of things. Electrolytic capacitors would be a problem and must be checked. They are like any other component in cars, etc. So, take a good look inside or have a qualified technician inspect the unit to see if any problems may exist. If nothing is apparant, then leave it alone until some problem or possibility of problem presents itself.
Transistors fail for a number of reasons. Therefore, what I typically do with older amplifiers is to check the capacitors for leakage and replace if necessary only if necessary these suckers are expensive, and replace all pre-driver and output driver power transistors with the newest, latest and greatest more linear transistors and readjust the bias, which makes the amp much better sounding.
This also allows me to replace the thermal insulators and the heat sink compound, thereby eliminating any possibility of the amp having issues. One last thing. After all that, I guess what I am saying is for really old amps, definitely change the heat sink compound and thermal insulators at a minimum and if you can change all output transistors also and check and replace if necessary the electrolytic capacitors. Minor, sounds like you are a very thorough tech. Question: you say you check the caps for leakage and replace only as needed.
The amp may function with these problems but well below it's potential. Also curious what method you use to measure the leakage. Hi Herman, I too have taught in technical schools and my stint in the service industry goes back to That's how I financed my way through the Minnesota Institute of Technology. The use of 'half life' is my own and simply comes out of experience - as a service tech I have repaired thousands of amps, preamps, receivers, tuners, tape machines, etc.
I'm sorry that the use of the term bothers you but it works so well and is so easy to explain that I will continue to use it. I'll try not to use it around you :. Log in to respond. More to discover Thiel 2.
Music server quality. If your equipment is also running at the maximum voltage and temperature, then 6 weeks of continuous operation is already 20 years worth of normal operation. Keep that in mind when you buy equipment that normally runs really hot; you probably want to turn it off when you aren't using it.
This also applies to tube equipment The semiconductors are not usually the weakest link, it probably is the capacitors. A good design will specify capacitors with voltage ratings much above the actual voltage seen, which will allow for voltage surges and extend their lifetime.
A five year old amp is a youngster unless it normally runs really hot. Joined Nov 6, Posts 18, Likes 3, I agree with most of the statements above. Equipment treated correctly will last a very long time.
I have tube tester from with original caps that still works just fine. I even corresponded with a guy that used the model in the 20's and 30's and told me how they would make new tube sockets to test the "new" tubes that were coming out with more pins.
He felt it was and is still one of the best testers as long as you know how to make up new tube sockets for the "new" tubes. A large rectifier sits on top of it that you plug in when you are going to use it. Joined Jul 2, Posts 1, Likes If you take care of your gear, it will last couple of decades. Tubes last for conciderably less timeframes than transistors due to the fact that they work under different principles.
Other things wear out with time are potentiometers, however, they too last for quite a while. Using a late '70 amplifier for the stereo downstairs and the volume potentiometer is just fine. Sure, it lacks the "tight" feel in it's steps but it works really well when taking in mind it's over 30 years old. Joined Jan 22, Posts Likes I agree with the above. Good equipment will last long, and even more so if it's well treated. My parents are still using the setups they bought years ago and and they're still going strong on zero maintenance.
That's progress! So it makes sense to put the bulk of your hi-fi dollars into speakers, amps, and turntables. There's almost no chance a technological innovation will come along to render obsolete any of those three items. And if you really love music, consider upping your investment, because you will after all, amortize your investment over a long period. That's one of the reasons I emphasize high-end audio gear in this blog.
Granted, the cost of entry may be high, but when you factor in long working lifespans it's a lot easier to justify spending significant funds on hi-fi. Speakers and amps tend to be extremely reliable; unless they're abused, repairs don't need to be factored in.
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