Ah, tube amplifiers.

Most guitarists swear by tone, and the greatest musicians of our time, and our parents' time, have used tubes to create their envious tone s. So why on earth has the world switched to transistor use for amplifiers, if t ubes give off an amazing vibe? Well, there are two main reasons for this: cost and care. One salesman described tube amps to me wonderfully; having tubes are li e having ids. They whine, com plain, can be a pain the ass, cost you money, and steal away from your personal time. UG plus: remove banner But tubes, just li e children, can reward you with great tones, not to mention a wonderful resale value, and prestige. Bragging about buying a Marshall JCM800 i s far more rewarding than bragging about a Peavey Rage 30, right? Right. So, really, if you want to be a good parent for your amplifier, start by treatin g your amp with respect. Ma e sure you use an amplifier cover, eep drin s off o f the top, don't use it as a coffee table, footrest or seat, under any circumsta nces. But caring for your tubes goes beyond that. So, to start things off, here are ba sic things you can do to extend the life of your tubes: Use The Standby Mode Ever wonder what "standby" meant? Well, its a state of equilibrium for your amp - not on, and not off. The spea er remains inactive, but preamp and poweramp tub es are given a warmup. Some people will suggest you have your amp in standby bef ore and after playing for two minutes, but other sources suggest 30 seconds. I'd suggest you eep it in standby for an absolute minimum of 1 minute, before and after playing. If you'd been playing for a while, eep it in standby until every thing has cooled down. This helps to increase the life of your tubes dramaticall y, if you do it each and every time you play. Don't Get It Wet Well, obviously. Don't get your amp's cover wet, because this degrades the cover , ruining the resale value. If you get it really wet, the moisture can seep into the wood, ruining the tonal balance of the wood. If you get the electronics wet , you've really messed it up. Remember, never leave any drin s on top of your am p. Never turn your amp on if its wet under any circumstances, and never, EVER le t moisture seep into the bac . Stuff li e this will cause short circuiting, leav ing you with a hefty repair bill. Don't Get It Cold How would you feel if you were left in a car in 0 degree temperatures for 2 hour s? Not too happy, obviously. So why would your amp be any different? Well, its n ot. If you must get your amp cold, always leave a cover on, and ma e every attem pt to eep it as warm as possible. Remember the water warning? Well, if its cold enough, water vapour will collect on your amp. Not cool. Also, refer bac to us ing the standby mode. The point of standby is to let your tubes warm up so they aren't exposed to extreme temperature changes. Ma e sure your tubes & components have fully adjusted to room temperature before even turning on standby. Do a qu ic chec to ensure no water vapour has collected on any wiring components. Keep Your Eye On It Always eep your eye on your amplifier in public places. Whether its a small sch ool gig, or you're in a bar, ma e sure nobody's coming up and touching your ampl

ifier. Don't let it stay unsupervised, and always let a trusted friend eep an e ye on it, or pic it up and move it. Simply put, people aren't as innocent as yo u'd li e them to believe. Most people don't understand the concept of tubes and their delicacy, so you better be moving delicate equipment by yourself, or at le ast by someone who nows what they're doing. Ma e sure your amp is connected to a spea er (or a dummy load) at ALL times. If you notice that the spea er signal has been cut for some reason (an uncommon occ urance nowadays, but eep an eye out if you're using an old amp) turn your ampli fier off immediately. If the spea er has been disconnected for some reason, the power transformer & power tubes will be destroyed because there is no resistance for the signal to be applied to. Of course, the number one rule for tube amp care is to not let anyone borrow you r amplifier. This has to go without saying, because if something does go wrong w hile its in the care of someone else, they may not now anything's gone wrong, a nd continue to use the amplifier. See anything wrong now? Of course. If a burnin g smell emits from the bac power tubes, the user may not thin anything of it, but it could turn out to be a serious problem if left unattended. And, of course , they may not even adhere to the rules stated above. A good tube amp can last for years and years. In fact, if your tubes are careful ly paid attention to, they can last for many years, while they won't sound as go od as they should. With average playtime, power tubes need to be replaced about once a year or so, but if you're playing a lot, they may need to be replaced aft er 8 months. When your tube amp starts sounding loose, and slightly off, all it needs is a power tube replacement. Generally, when tubes lose their vacuum, they turn white, so you'll now to repl ace the tubes. Preamp tubes don't need to replaced as often as power tubes, beca use they hardly receive a wor out when the amp is on. Power tubes, however, are really pushed, especially on distortion. Than s for reading my article, and I hope anything you've learned serves you wel l.