Are there any circumstances where....

[Riffmeister]

A solid state head has to warm up before comeing to full volume?

My Brother got a Randall RH -100 head and he had it out in the cold for about 2 hours before practice and when he hooked it up, it was very low and crackly sounding. It took about 5- 10 minutes and after that it sounded fine.

The head was brand new right out of the box and the first time it was ever used, except for with headphones a few times. Yea , it has a sorry headphone jack.

I must say that it did sound good after it started working. It was very thick and full sounding, and the second gain channel was just way too much it was insane!

[zeegler]

Re: Are there any circumstances where....

Um, yeah, okay, tell him he shouldn't do that again, unless he wants to destroy his new amp. He got lucky. Whenever you have any electrical equipment out in the cold, and then bring it inside where it's warm, condensation will form on any cold surface such as circuit boards, etc. Do you see where I'm going with this. Enough condensation (water) in the right place, and something is going to short out. That's probably what the crackling sound was.

When I'm transporting my amplifier, it always goes straight from my house to my warmed-up truck, and straight into the rehearsal space immediately upon arrival. If this is not possible, then you should let the amp warm up to room temperature for at least a couple of hours before plugging it in.

[markD]

Re: Are there any circumstances where....

yeah, what he said

[Shotgun]

Re: Are there any circumstances where....

First, yes, solid state gear does have to warm up, especially if left in the cold. Some gear more than others. Some people (I’m not one of them) swear that their solid state gear sounds better after about an hour of warm up.

Second, yes, the warm up should be gradual if it cannot be avoided. And yes, condensation can form.

But whether or not condensation caused what you described is speculative. And since the amount of condensation that will form is a factor of the severity of the temperature change, the speed of the change, and the amount of moisture present in the air, and since indoor heated air is usually dry as a witch’s tw*t, and the amp works just fine now, then I wouldn’t conclude that it was full of water as a result of the temperature change.

Could be, but I wouldn’t put any money on it.

Tell him to not do that again, and rock on!
Keith