Leaving the guitar amp on is not a great idea. The tubes in an amp are extremely sensitive to heat and leaving the amp on all the time would deteriorate their life.
However, some amps do not have any tubes in them like the solid-state guitar amps or modeling guitar amps, so, leaving them on would not hurt much.
To understand why leaving guitar amps on all the time is not a great idea, you would have to know different types of guitar amps and their inner components e.g., tubes, transistors, etc.
I personally have used the tube amps because of their clear and warm tones, but they are surely hard and expensive to maintain. The tubes used in them can get damaged at the last moment, and that’s why I keep extra tubes with me whenever I go to any gigs and rehearsals. The solid-state guitar amps are good and reliable, but they are surely not the first option for many guitarists.
This is why in this article; I am going to go into detail on the following topics:
- Is it bad to leave the guitar amp on?
- Is it bad to leave the tube amp on all the time?
- Does the tube amp gets damaged every time I turn it on?
- How long can you keep an amp on?
- Do you have to let the tube amp warm-up?
- Which guitar amps can be kept on all the time?
- Is it bad to leave solid-state guitar amps on?
- Can a guitar amp overheat?
- What does a standby switch do on an amp?
- Is it bad to leave an amp on standby?
Is it bad to leave the guitar amp on?
Leaving guitar amp on is bad for a guitar amp’s life. The tubes in an amp would get damaged and can also result in overheating which can lead to other serious issues.
It is asked on many forums and many people do it on purpose to keep their amps on after using it to save the hassle of turning it back on. Apart from the electricity it is using, while keeping on, it can lead to damaging your amp’s tubes if you are using a tube amp.
If you are using a solid-state guitar amp, then it is often said that it would not get damaged anyhow while keeping it on. However, there are other issues like power surges, someone tripping over the cable, humidity, which can damage the amp. We would discuss further about the solid-state amps in this article.
Is it bad to leave the tube amp on all the time?
It is undeniably bad to leave tube amps on all the time. Tube amps are the most sensitive among all amps out there and keeping it on all the time would burn the tubes or worse.
The vacuum tubes used in the tube amps are very much sensitive to heat and their life even deteriorates when you use the amp, let alone keep it on all the time. The tubes get warm when you are using the amplifier and the heat in the tubes can expand the tubes which can result in tubes getting useless.
Consider tubes just like a light bulb which gets weaker and weaker the day you start using it. just like that, the filament in the vacuum tube gets damaged when it is heated.
However, it is not like the tubes get damaged on one use. They can last for up to 6 months, but if you are planning to keep your tube amp on all the time, then you are definitely going to complain about tube amps.
Tube amps are the most sensitive among all amps out there and keeping it on all the time would burn the tubes or worse.
Does the tube amp gets damaged every time I turn it on?
Tube amps do not get damaged every time we turn them on. However, the filaments can get degraded when they are turned on and off in a short period of time.
There is also a debate about filaments getting degraded whenever we turn the amps on. To answer this, we should look at how filaments work. The filament is the inner component of the vacuum tube which lights up when electricity is passed through it.
The filament atoms get evaporated whenever it is heated and a time comes when the filament breaks.
However, this doesn’t mean that keeping it on all the time would elongate the filament’s life. keeping it on all the time would result in having electricity in the filament all the time and this would further degrade their life.
Therefore, the best way might be to turn it off after using it to elongate the tubes’ life, but if you are planning to use the amp after a short time, then keep it on for a maximum of 8 hours.
How long can you keep a tube amp on?
You can keep it on for about 8 hours only if you are planning to use it again after a break or so. However, it is often best to turn it off when you are done using it.
There is not a textbook answer to this question, but it is rather subjective to every person’s use. Some people play a little bit of guitar and then go to their class or eat something and then come back after an hour and play it again. So, it is not a great idea to turn the tube amp on after every short period.
Some people also find inconvenience in turning the tube amp on again and again because tube amps need some time to warm up to produce the best tones.
Therefore, if you are planning to use it after every short time in a day, then keep it on for about 8 or so hours and turn it off when you are going to bed.
Do you have to let the tube amp warm-up?
Tube amps need around 15 to 30 minutes to warm up their tubes to produce the best quality tones. Usually, there is a warm-up time given in the instruction menu of the tube amp.
If you want your amp to produce the best quality sound, then it is the most important thing to warm up your tube amp. You can turn the amp on and then put it on standby and set your other instruments while the amp is warmed up properly.
The warmed-up tubes in the tube amp would only play the best sound. Therefore, look at the instruction menu for warm-up time or just keep it warm up for around 30 minutes.
Which guitar amps can be kept on all the time?
Keeping any guitar amp on all the time is not a great idea and you should turn it off at least when you’re going to bed.
Though, there are other types of guitar amps like solid-state amps, modeling amps, and hybrid amps which can be kept ton for a longer time without damaging any tubes.
Among them, the solid-state amp is one of the most popular. While leaving them on all the time doesn’t make any sense, some people don’t like the inconvenience of warm-up in the tube amps.
However, it doesn’t take much time to warm up in solid-state amps and they are ready to use in some seconds.
Leaving them on all the time is also a hazard. You are using your electricity and it can cause other damages like:
- You can spill something on it which can cause a short circuit
- Someone can trip over the cable of the guitar amp
- Power surges can damage the amp
- Humidity
Therefore, it is not a great idea to keep it on and you can just turn the amp on every time you want to use it and it would only take a maximum of 15 seconds to warm up.
Is it bad to leave solid-state guitar amps on?
It is bad to leave a solid-state guitar amp on for a long time. While it may not damage any transistors in it, it would damage the amp in other ways.
People in studios keep their solid-state amps on all the time. This is because they store it in a very good place where not many people go. However, if you are using a personal amp, then you should keep it off to avoid the conditions discussed above.
The solid-state guitar amps also don’t take much time to turn on and they are also not affected by turning on again and again. Therefore, it is just good to turn it off and turn it on whenever you need.
Solid state amps are more durable than tube amps – but regardless, shouldn’t be kept on for a very long time. Turn them off when you are done.
Can a guitar amp overheat?
Guitar amps get overheated and amplifiers like tube amps get overheated easily because of the tubes used in them.
Tube amps get overheated if you’re planning to use them for many hours straight. The tubes in them have filaments that suck electricity and get heated. This heat in the filament results in filaments getting blown. If your amp is getting overheated, then try to turn it off for some time, or change the side of the amp.
What does a standby switch do on an amp?
A standby switch comes in handy while warming up your amp or if you want to take a break and don’t want to turn your amp off to avoid the hassle of warming up the amp.
A standby switch is there to protect your tubes. When a tube amp is turned on, then tubes need some time to warm up, and using the amp straight away would damage your amp.
So, the standby switch comes into use in this situation. It blocks the electricity from entering the tubes and the tubes are warmed up properly before you start using the amp.
Is it bad to leave an amp on standby?
It is bad to leave an amp on standby for too long. However, if you are going to take a short break, then it is fine.
A standby switch is used when you don’t want to use the amp, but also don’t want to turn it off. There is nothing wrong if you are going to put an amp on standby for a short time. However, if you’re thinking about putting it on standby for a day or so, then it is bad for your amp because of the reasons mentioned above.
You can use the standby switch sparingly but definitely not for a full day. When you are done with the amp, turn it off.
Conclusion
Leaving the guitar amp on all the time is surely bad for your amp. It can blow your amp’s tubes or even worse. However, if you’re using solid-state amps, then it is not that harmful, but still, it is a hazard.
Keeping guitar amps on all the time is definitely not good. It is going to suck your electricity and the cables around the amp could cause damage to people walking around. It is even worse if you have a tube amp because the tubes would degrade even faster when the tube amp is on all the time.
Furthermore, if you want to keep it on for some time, then try to put the amp on standby. It would save the tubes of your tube amp, but try not to put it on standby all day.
