Power fade on Heartbreaker

[stash49]

The Heartbreaker continues to spell success everywhere I play-instead of "turn it down" it's all "cant you guys play here every month?" I use a PRS Standard 24, and since getting the HB 2x12, we have gotten consistantly excellent reviews of the band, and call back after call back-the sound is **** near perfect. One major problem, however. It's been very cold recently, and when I power up, the sound fades in and out for ten minutes or so, before finally, after some nervous sweating on my part, stays on. Is this typical for big tube amps? I work alot-and this power fading dosent happen at home-only when the amp get cold. Does anyone know whats going on here, and should be REALLY concerned about letting the amp sit get cold befor tuning it on? Common sense says let it get to room temp then fire it up, but that not alway possible. Turning it on to standby would seem to speed up the process, but is that potentially damaging the amp?

 

[fredp322]

Do you let it warm up on standby or do you just turn it on and go? It sounds like it just isn't getting enough time to warm up properly. I have a Road King and we work all the time, as well... Mesa warns against leaving amps in the extreme cold and, if you must, give the amp time to warm to room temp before even turning it on to avoid condensation in the tubes. I get to my gigs early and by the time I get everything set up a good thirty minutes has gone by. I then turn on the main AC and let it warm up in standby another ten or fifteen minutes before playing. This is even in warm weather. I guess I'm kinda anal about it, but Mesa Boogies are not cheap and need to be cared for. I'm sure that's all it is, but I'd call Mesa just to make sure... Good luck!