I have a few tube pedals like the Kingsley Page and Jester. I normally bypass them but leave the walwart in, and I was wondering if this affects the life of the tube? Do I need to actually unplug the wall wart or unplug the adapter or is it fine to leave them bypassed and plugged in? Thanks!
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Can I leave tube pedals plugged into the mains, but bypassed when not using?
- Thread starter Bodhi46
- Start date
99% sure that once power is connected, the tubes will be fed voltage.
A cold tube will take at least a few seconds to come to life - and when you step on the foot switch, I guess it's there instantly.
So leaving your pedals plugged in will result in the tubes being constantly heated which will not only be an unnecessary drain of electricity, but also shorten their life expectation considerably.
A cold tube will take at least a few seconds to come to life - and when you step on the foot switch, I guess it's there instantly.
So leaving your pedals plugged in will result in the tubes being constantly heated which will not only be an unnecessary drain of electricity, but also shorten their life expectation considerably.
Thank you. This makes sense.
It looks like i should just bite the bullet and build a pedalboard so i can turn everything off at the mains instead.
Thank you.
It looks like i should just bite the bullet and build a pedalboard so i can turn everything off at the mains instead.
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I run pedalboard power supplies connected to a Furman AC215A. Power switch on the Furman turns everything off. If your pedals have high power needs (tube ones frequently do), check out CIOKS for the supplies.
Do 9v powered tube based pedals stress the tube enough for it to reach end of life? It seems like that would be the case but you never really hear of people finding a blown preamp tube inside their pedal.
It's not a high-stress environment. In fact, it's power tubes that suffer the worst operational stresses, and are by far the more likely tubes to fail in an amp. That said, leaving a preamp tube running continuously in a 9v pedal will most definitely shorten its lifespan. Whether that is a significant amount of shortening, or something the user may never notice is certainly debatable, but I think the negative impact on a tube's lifespan is not.
My understanding is big recording studios leave tube gear powered up all the time. They also test and service gear regularly, which means replacing tubes and performing other repairs and adjustments.
My understanding is this is done mostly for consistency. It takes a few seconds for a tube to warm up enough to start working. It takes much longer for the tube to actually reach full operating temperature and stabilize. There is also the argument that cycling gear on and off is harder on it than letting it run all the time. While I don't debate this, I have had multiple electronic items damaged by grid power surges.
I turn all of my gear off when I will not be using it for 20 minutes or more. This includes tube and solid state. If you are present when a piece of gear starts letting out the magic smoke, you may have a chance to turn it off and minimize damage. If you are not present, maybe the hole house gets burned down. I would say odds of a house fire or small but not 0.
It's your gear and your money.
My understanding is this is done mostly for consistency. It takes a few seconds for a tube to warm up enough to start working. It takes much longer for the tube to actually reach full operating temperature and stabilize. There is also the argument that cycling gear on and off is harder on it than letting it run all the time. While I don't debate this, I have had multiple electronic items damaged by grid power surges.
I turn all of my gear off when I will not be using it for 20 minutes or more. This includes tube and solid state. If you are present when a piece of gear starts letting out the magic smoke, you may have a chance to turn it off and minimize damage. If you are not present, maybe the hole house gets burned down. I would say odds of a house fire or small but not 0.
It's your gear and your money.
A preamp tube (what you have in your pedals), if treated well by its power supply and the circuit around it, can last for decades in normal use. I've had amps with 40 year old preamp tubes that worked just fine. "Normal" use includes unplugging it/powering down when you're not using it. If I'm leaving the room for a few minutes, I'd leave something running. If I'm leaving for a few hours, I'd power it down.
I think of it like a car. It is expending energy every time you start it up. I have had amps with preamp tubes and pedals with tubes. I just leave them on for the gig. I play an average of 4-5 gigs a month. That is about an average of around 20 hours a month. I think they will be ok. If I was using them multiple hours every day, I may look at it differently.
How long are we talking about? A couple hours or a few days?
Kingsleys are pretty nice pedals to be leaving tied to a cheap power supply.
Kingsleys are pretty nice pedals to be leaving tied to a cheap power supply.
I run a cioks DC7 to the pedals, but Cioks doesn't have a mains switch on it and its tied into a strip with other plugs in it on my desk. Probably the next step is to actually build a board out with a on/off at the mains.
Some random mentioned that best boost for bass is the left side of a Kingsley jester, which intrigued me, since I have one from my guitar playing days. Its being shipped out of storage to me at the moment. I do have the Page with me and i plug it in after my compressor. It has a LF and HF switch which keeps the lows. The tone is warmer and rounder, definitely some tube vibes going through it. Its very noticeable to my ears. The Page does not sound bad at all, but I leave as a always on pedal. Once the Jester arrives at the end of this month, I will AB both and keep one, hence my question about leaving it plugged in/bypassed.
I'm not actually interested in running either the page or the jester as a boost, just to add some tube flavor to the setup. I do prefer the sound with the Page on. Looking forward to trying it with the jester.
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Do you like the Furman and does it help with hum? When I plug the page is there is a bit of noise. Nothing noticable when playing but it's there. Might just be the nature of tubes. I'm wondering if a Furman would help with that.
Sorry I couldn't edit my comment anymore, but just to elaborate a little more on what I find the Page does. More dynamic range, warmer fatter sound, no loss of bottom end at all, more touch sensitive ( forces me to play better). I can also run it as a light OD if I turn the gain knob up and it sounds great.
The down side is there is a little bit of hum with the pedal in the chain, but you can't hear it when playing. I'm thinking a Furman might solve this as the cioks shares a strip with other adapter and outlets.
My chain right now is EBMM Stingray 76 retro -> tuner -> doom 2-> Becos twain pro comp -> Kingsley Page -> PJB double 4 plus.
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Your understanding is correct. Someone I knew worked at Ocean Way and the tube mic pres. tube compressors, EQs and channel strips are at the minimum 8-10 hrs. If they have a contract , they just keep them on for the entire week , If the artist gets inspired at 11PM or 2 AM they are ready to go.
I like it for use as a power switch and surge protector. No abnormal hum issues with or without it so cannot comment there.
I would not be surprised if preamp tube life would be longer for one that was continuously powered verses one that was operated intermittently.
I am not aware of any real world use cases that support this, but I would not be surprised if there is some common knowledge about it in the recording studio business.
I am not aware of any real world use cases that support this, but I would not be surprised if there is some common knowledge about it in the recording studio business.
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