Turning Amps off and on (and off/on/off/on...)

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DougM_TX

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I recently went through an extremely bad case of G.A.S. brought on by spending way too much time cruising Craigs List.

I ended up trading an old classical for a mid '80's 7okai '62 Strat copy (that I have really fallen in love with) and in another deal traded my '57 AVRI Strat plus a Fender HRDx amp that I had picked up for $450 for a sweet 1993 cherry sunburst Les Paul Custom.

Now combine new gear with the fact that I work for myself at home we have a situation where these things are getting alot of use through out the day. I might on average plug in and turn on my amp 8 to 12 times a day.

So my question...

If you were going to be using a tube amp (in this case a DC-3) intermittently over a 12 hr period day after day, would it be less strain on the amp to :

1. Just go back and forth into standby leaving the amp powered up all day.

or

2. Go off/standby/on(use)/off numerous times during the day.

TIA

here's a pic of the new LP and Tokai...
IMG_2168.jpg
 
Personally I've always leaned towards leaving the power section on, and using the Standby when needed; but I've never actually researched it. As a computer tech I always looked at it the same way as with computer components: It's the start/stop cycles that do the most damage. But like I said, I've never actually researched it, but have always been curious too.

**eagerly awaits more responses** :mrgreen:


PS: Yay, first post; today I am a man! :lol:
 
I did a gig last weekend at a private residence. As we were playing away, the power died. My DC10 2x12 just came back to life and roared like normal. Happened 3 times during the night. She didn't miss a beat :D
 
When the amp is in standby, the only circuit working is the valve filament supply, 6.3 v. So you're drawing current through the pwr tranny.
Whether it would shorten the life of the valves I'm not too sure. But would prob do less damage than switching amp straight off instead of powering down to standby for a few mins to let the valves cool and visa versa.

Any other thoughts?
MB
 
inertia said:
I did a gig last weekend at a private residence. As we were playing away, the power died. My DC10 2x12 just came back to life and roared like normal. Happened 3 times during the night. She didn't miss a beat :D
When a power outage happens, you should turn everything off, then power up as normal when power returns. Leaving everything "on" and having electricity return suddenly is a "power surge" by definition, and circuits and speakers are in jeopardy. Otherwise, why have on/off/standby switches at all?
 
MrMarkIII said:
inertia said:
I did a gig last weekend at a private residence. As we were playing away, the power died. My DC10 2x12 just came back to life and roared like normal. Happened 3 times during the night. She didn't miss a beat :D
When a power outage happens, you should turn everything off, then power up as normal when power returns. Leaving everything "on" and having electricity return suddenly is a "power surge" by definition, and circuits and speakers are in jeopardy. Otherwise, why have on/off/standby switches at all?

A "power surge" is a "voltage spike" by definition.
Having the electricity suddenly return doesn't necessarily create a spike, but I think the caps in the power supply will smooth them out.
 

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