?s on standby switch and number of tubes

[Beatnik57]

I've been shopping for a versatile tube combo amp in the $600-700 range for several months, and in my search have posted a few questions on this forum and have received some great feedback.

I think I've narrowed it down to the Peavey Classic 30-112 and the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. What concerns me about the Peavey is that it lacks a standby switch, which one guy at my local Guitar Center worries him because he thinks it would minimize tube life. The Fender has a standby switch, but not as many tubes as the Peavey. The upside to this of course is lower tube costs. They both have 3 pre-amp tubes, but the Peavey has 4 power tubes to the Fender's 2, so I'm wondering if this gives the Peavey any advantage.

So what do you guys think about a standby switch - necessary or not? And what about the number of tubes - is more better?

Thanks for any input!

 

[revelroy]

the fender hot rod runs on 6L6 tubes, which gives classic 'american' sound,
the peavey runs EL84 tubes [like the vox ac-30] and has a different 'voice'.
i say ya gotta have BOTH!! not only that, but you should also have an amp that runs on 6V6's as well [like a princeton reverb, or deluxe reverb, or vibro champ.
different tubes/voices for differing applications.
THAT is the REAL way to go! good luck to ya!

 

[philosopher]

[quote author=Beatnik57 link=topic=15762.msg201113#msg201113 date=1196632526]
So what do you guys think about a standby switch - necessary or not? And what about the number of tubes - is more better?
[/quote]

No worries for the standby switch. You can have the volume knob to 0 for half a minute when you turn it on. It'll do the trick, since it's not Class A.
As about the tubes, well it's not about the number of them. It's how the amp uses them.
Apart from that, the two amps have different tube types. A 6l6 tube gives about 15-25Watts, while an el84 5-10W.
So, the number of them depends on the wattage of the amp, nothing else.

 

[revelroy]

actually, there's ALOT more to it than that..
when you hit a chord on the guit it sends alot of current to the tubes. if you don't have a standby switch in order to let the tubes 'warm up' properly, you may then stip the cathode in the power tubes of their 'electro material' [for lack of the proper terminology]. in amps that didn't have 'standby switches', you would usually find a tube 'rectifier' that took a minute or so to warm up the tubes. a 'soft start' if you like.
as far as tube types, it makes a hell of alot of difference!
as i stated previously, the 6L6/6V6 types are classified as being more 'american' sounding [as the old fenders used those], and the EL34/EL84 types are more 'british' [as in VOX/marshall.]
there is even more to it than that, but that is a quickie way of differentiating.

 

[Beatnik57]

Thanks Revelroy and Philosopher - that's helpful info regarding the tone and wattage differences between the two types of tubes. Sounds like you guys are split on the necessity of the standby switch though. It seems like the Peavey is somewhat unique in lacking one which makes me wonder if they came up with a workaround in the circuitry or just took a shortcut to keep costs down.

 

[revelroy]

what philosopher said before applies. JUST LET THE AMP WARM UP FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE HITTING ANY STRINGS. btw, read some of gerald weber's books. they are really cool to learn about amps..
interesting point:
you can take a great guitar, and play it through a shitty amp and it'll sound like ****.
on the other hand, you can also take a mediocre guitar, but play it through a great AMP, and it'll sound GREAT!
bottom line: do NOT DISCOUNT the importance of your AMP in getting your sound! it is JUST as important as the guitar you play!

 

[Beatnik57]

Thanks revelroy, that's good to know.

 

[SG dan]

it's in the type of tube, bit the number.