Your Standby Switch Is A Lie!

Forget everything you've been told about how the Standby Switch on your amplifier protects your valves, it's all lies.
Your amp simply doesn't need one.

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[coleemmersonhallman]

"WAIRS MY STENDBY SWITSH?! WELL MY AMP BREEK?!"

[RobertBakerGuitar]

First the cake was a lie and then you drop this on!!!

[HolyMoses]

Using a standby switch instead of the volume control can be more useful when recording in a studio though because it means you maintain the same volume before and after muting the amp.

[broderick.]

2:05 that is probably one of my favorite Collin moments of all time.

[alvagoldbook]

I build my own amps, from my own schematics, that I created from scratch. The info in this video is 99.9% true. But it didn't go into how standby switches came into existence in the first place. The problem is that when you switch on an amp, the voltage will be applied to the circuit before it can start drawing current. Which means the voltage spikes sky high at turn on and then settles down over the course of 11-20 seconds. For most circuits in an amp, this is just fine, but when Leo Fender first made the Fender Bassman he used a cathode follower to drive the EQ controls. What's a cathode follower? Well, without getting too technical, Leo Fender decided to use a CF because it had a more ideal output impendence to drive EQ controls. However, the down side is that the output of the CF circuit means that the pre-amp tube's cathode is sitting at a high voltage. Pre-amp tube cathodes typically only sit at 2-6 volts, while on a CF circuit, the cathode can sit at HUNDREDS of volts! Unlike the plate of the preamp tube, the cathodes weren't really designed to handle this much abuse, and Leo Fender found that at start up those cathodes saw even higher voltages, which could cause them to ark, which could cause damage to the amp. The kind of damage you need a repairman to fix. So, Leo Fender's solution was to add a standby switch to the Fender Bassman. And of course, Marshall copied the Bassman when they made the JTM45, and Marshall didn't make too many more chances to their designs for many years, and now we're all stuck with standby switches. Which isn't really all that bad because like the Bassman, almost all Marshalls have cathode follower circuits. At this point, the CF is a big ingredient to what makes the Marshall sound.

The good news is that even with a CF circuit, a standby switch isn't really necessary, because any decent amp engineer can create a CF circuit that built in ark protection. If all this sounds too confusing and has you worried, then there's a few simple rules you can use that shouldn't fail you. 1) If it's an old hand wired amp that dates before the 1980's, then that stand by switch is pretty important. 2) CF circuits are almost always the pre-amp tube closest to the phase inverter and the phase inverter is almost always closest to the power tubes. So the 2nd pre-amp tube closest to the power tubes is typically your cathode follower. NEVER use an old NOS tube for a CF and don't use new production Tung-Sols. Ideally, you should use beefy short plate pre-amp tubes here like a Chinese 12ax7 or perhaps a JJ. Note that even under ideal situations, some cathode stripping will happen to all CF circuits, and you should replace them regularly (say once a year if you play 12 hours a week).

I sometimes use CFs in my own circuits, but by and large I don't use them. I prefer to drive tone controls from the output of the pre-amp tube's plate, which is how Fender Blackface amps do it. I find I prefer EQ response more. Ironically, the one Marshall amp that did drive it's EQ from a pre-amp tube's plate was the venerable Silver Jubilee.

[totalrobot]

I'm extra safe. I have 2 standby switches.
One of them is labeled "Standby To Standby"

[adrboe]

I see this one replacing the tonewood argument

[peteplaysmusic]

And in just a single video, everything I thought I knew is in the bin. Knowledge is power as they say, and you don't need a standby switch on that either ha ha! Great video Colin! :)

[moonlight-reveals]

Well, every Mesa Boogie manual: "The STANDBY switch turns off the high voltages inside the amplifier while allowing the tube filaments to stay warm and ready for immediate use. It’s a good practice to turn on the A.C. power with this switch in the STANDBY position, allowing the tubes 30 seconds or so to warm up. This procedure prevents tube problems and increases their toneful life substantially."

Marshall Plexi manual: "The Standby Switch is used in conjunction with the Power Switch (item 1) to ‘warm up’ the amplifier before use and to prolong the life of the output valves. When powering up the amplifier always engage the Power Switch (item 1) first. This allows the application of the voltage required to heat the valves to their correct operating temperature. After about 2 minutes, when the valves are up to the correct temperature, the Standby Switch can be engaged. Upon doing this the H.T. (High Tension) which is the high voltage required by the output valves to pass signal (and hence produce sound) is applied. Your amp should be completely powered down before the selector is turned. To prolong valve life, the Standby Switch alone should be used to turn the amplifier on and off during breaks in a performance. Also, upon full power down, always disengage the Standby Switch prior to the main Power Switch (item 1)"

EVH 5150 amps manual: ". STANDBY—Place this switch in the OFF position to put the amp in STANDBY mode. This should be done when taking a break from playing or before turning the amp POWER to OFF as outlined above in the POWER section. Using the STANDBY mode prolongs the life of the tubes in the amp."

Ampeg V4B: ". STANDBY—Place this switch in the OFF position to put the amp in STANDBY mode. This should be done when taking a break from playing or before turning the amp POWER to OFF as outlined above in the POWER section. Using the STANDBY mode prolongs the life of the tubes in the amp."

So, I assume all these tube amp manufacturers have no idea about the sacred truth of no need for a Standby switch, right?

[jugipesonen]

When taking a break I like to use the standby switch to make it quiet. It's just easier than the volume knob. I would propably forget the exact position of the knob and it would mess up my in-ear mix. Even though the switch doesn't protect the valves in any way it's a nifty little thing to have.

[ofadetergentsud]

It's great for taking a break in the studio. You cant mess with the volume once you're tracking. It's also good to use if your amp has a speaker pop when you turn it on. If you are using an amp in the studio it's preferred to have a standby. That's why most high end amps include them.

[ScienceofLoud]

All of you seem to have a real problem with getting your knobs in the right place.

Can't say I've ever had that issue.

[ScienceofLoud]

To save myself a whole bunch of time answering things individually, I'm going to post links as replies to this thread so you can do your own research.

[Just-Michael]

I kinda like the standby. What if I want my amp to be quiet while taking a break from recording and I don't want to mess with any of the settings for the sake of continuity?

Edit July 2022: I have a solid state now, it's no longer an issue. 😂

[tylerswcu]

After doing some research it seems like amps with older solid state rectifiers need to be turned on before the standby switch is flipped on to prevent high voltage from surging into tubes that aren't ready for it, or amps that have indirectly heated tubes and a directly heated rectifier. However, most modern tube amps have inrush current limiters to prevent this from happening and thus eliminating the need for a Standby switch, for older amps though it's still necessary to flip the standby on after the tubes warm up. I found some pretty reliable articles from manufacturers like Peavey and Fender that explain that it is not as black and white as you mention.

[gorbrushthreepwood]

It's like pressing B + Up when I'm catching a Pokémon.
I've been doing it for over fifteen years, and know it does absolutely nothing, but it FEELS like it helps.

I don't play guitar.

[zibbezabba]

Standby switches were designed long before guitar stands. Whenever I finished playing, my bass would either be left leaning against the cab or laying on top of the amp. The standby switch disables any mad feedback howl that would inevitably happen 5 seconds after walking away from it. Very useful in live pub jam sessions.

[andreafiorini]

I've been making amps for 30 years and... You're totally right! But if I make an amp without sdby they get mad at me. So I keep putting it. Sad bu true...

[ericsmadis]

You're absolutely correct! Since I stopped using my standby switches (over a decade ago), I rarely have problems with amps or tubes. My tubes remain quiet and eventually wear down gracefully. I just turn the amps on with volume, gain and reverb turned down completely. I turn volume and gain down before turning amps off. On set breaks, I simply turn the volume down. The amp builder who made several of my amps quit installing standby's on his amps a number of years back.

[DM-kvkj]

Far too many people now are obsessed with equipment and technicalities yet the music they make is utterly pedestrian mulch...