50 YEARS OF WRONG?
I read an online article (www.wiredguitarist.com/2016/11/13/tube-amp-destruction) that says you don’t need to warm up your power tubes on guitar amplifiers, and standby switches might even be damaging your tubes.
Your thoughts on this and maybe some investigation would be very interesting. Dan Horne, Stevenage Well, well, well, Dan. It seems that the article you reference points to a whole load of other articles contributed to (and written by) people who not only should know better… but they do! Brian Wampler, James Hamstead, Roland Lumby (The Amp Clinic, UK) and Mike Fortin (Fortin Amps, Randall) all broadly agree that when it comes to the vast majority of valve guitar amps (that’s to say all valve amplifiers that we’re aware of ), the standby switch is, gulp, not in fact necessary. We also asked Martin Kidd of Victory Amplifiers for his opinion, and he concurred.
The main argument here goes that the standby switch is a hangover from How Fender Decided It Should Be, back in the day – a mixture of believing that including one (restricting the B+ voltage to the plate, while supplying a small voltage to the heaters) may prolong the life of certain components – not just the valves but the filter caps, too (if they’re under-spec’d!). Moreover, it was very handy for servicing purposes. It’s now a customer expectation, so most brands would rather include one than answer the three million questions as to why there isn’t one!
One argument often cited for including the switch is to prevent ‘cathode stripping’. This is where the cathode is not at full operating temperature. Full voltage is applied to the plate, which attracts electrons from the cathode. It’s not emitting them properly (because it’s not at temperature), so they effectively get mechanically ‘stripped’ from the cathode material itself: shortened life.
Equally, it’s argued that while it can be a problem in other kinds of amplifiers that use very high voltages/electric field strength – ie, much higher than you’d find in a guitar amp – ‘cathode stripping’ is insignificant for valve guitar amps. Moreover, leaving your amp in the standby mode for a long time may cause a phenomenon called ‘cathode poisoning’. This is where the cathode forms a layer chemically within its structure that eventually degrades the valve. That is the principle potential damage to which your article refers.
Now that we’re all really scared, we should introduce some perspective. Guitar amps have had standby switches for about 60 years and they’ve been operated largely by clueless idiots (ie, us) for most of that time. We’re doing okay, nobody panic. The main advice seems to be simply to not leave your amp on standby for ages and ages. Use it, don’t use it, but don’t worry too much about not using it. Definitely don’t worry about it when turning the amp off.
Clearly, there’s plenty more on this, expanding the arguments to bring in valve rectifiers and more, so we’ll see if El Editoré fancies a longer discussion in the form of a full feature. Great question, thank you… but don’t panic.
MIDI ME GENTly
I play guitar and sing in a duo using backing tracks, with a hybrid system of multi-effects (Boss ME-25), plus a few dedicated pedals (clean boost, Echorec, tuner/buffer, etc), into a Bose system. It gives me the flexibility of a multi-effects unit and minimises tap-dancing, allied to the pedals for specific needs not properly met by the multi.
I often find myself looking somewhere for an effects change several times during the number, in particular at the end of a solo, at the same time as ending a riff, checking the vocals, enjoying
eye contact here and there, and getting up to the mic. Yes, I know it’s not really that complicated, but backing tracks can be particularly unforgiving, and I double-track my voice regularly, so coming in with a different verse can be quite noticeable!
What I think I need is MIDI to select all the changes at the right moment, right? The next chapter in your Fractal FX8 story will be interesting, especially after Mr Govan’s comments about using a different effects set for each number – that’s exactly what I was thinking of, covering everything from Joan Jett to The Yardbirds, The Eagles and Everlys, via Shadows and The Stones, and I also note that Mr Marten has gone all Line 6 Helix (one of the units I’ve been looking at).
I use mp3 backing tracks, recorded on GarageBand using my iMac, and use my iPad with an app to drive them on stage.
And now we finally get to the question: do I really need to go to a full DAW and a computer to play the tracks, in order to use a multieffects with MIDI input? Or is there another way – for instance, using the iPad to play audio and MIDI tracks simultaneously? Or will the FX8/Helix or similar do the lot, pedals an’ all? Weedsy, via email
As you’ll know, you have two problems. The first is getting all your effects to switch with one touch. You’re correct that something programmable – involving MIDI if you want to include digital effects – is the way to go. You can go digital via the Line 6 Helix/ Kemper/Fractal route if you want, or you can stay analogue by using a switching system such as TheGigRig G2. G2 also enables you to mix analogue and digital devices for onetouch switching. Your decision is about how wedded you are to your pedals. The fact you’ve given up your guitar amp for the Bose nudges our advice towards Helix/Fractal/ Kemper solution. If you had a traditional guitar amp, we’d be advising traditional pedals and TheGigRig G2, but that’s depends on how loud you play.
Your second problem is getting the backing tracks and guitar sound changes to sync. As an Apple person, you might be interested in a program called MainStage, which enables you to take full recordings to a performance environment (yes, you need almost a full DAW and computer). All the sounds are provided by plug-ins (amp and effects sims, for example) that can be controlled by an Apogee foot controller. There are other software DAWs/applications that can send MIDI program change information.
The other option is to use any of the above (G2, Helix, Kemper and so on) and program in all of your changes into an order that works for your performance. Multiple banks and presets give you endless options for onetouch switching, though you will have to switch manually, rather than having the backingtrack player do it for you. Fuzzes are very fussy gain pedals. However, the only thing you’ve changed is the amp, so… our best guesses are twofold. First, that there’s something about the headroom and EQ characteristics of the Series One that’s making the Rufus sound thinner and more sterile than it does in the HT40; and second, it’s to do with your speaker/ cab. Try switching the Rufus’s modes. It might be that Normal/ Fat works better in one amp than the other. Also change the treble switch; again, you’ll find one of the modes works best with your amp settings. Once you have the pedal where it’s happiest, try running the amp with a little more front-end gain (although not necessarily overdriving) and see if the pedal starts pushing everything a little more happily. Or, it might be you’re running too much front-end gain. Either way, you’ll find a level of amp gain where it’s happiest. After that, the same goes for all the other controls: EQ, ISF, preamp type and so on.