Powering an amp up

[Hotrod]

Hey guys -
Long time no post. Here's the deal:
Almost 3 years ago, I moved from Oregon to Idaho. Consequently, I haven't really played at all since we moved (new job, new house, family etc..) so my amp has been sitting covered in the bottom of our closet since then. I've been thinking about powering it up and playing some. My question is: would you think it'd be OK to just plug it in and power it up after all this time or is there some precaution I should use? It worked just fine before I packed it. It's a Boogie head, so it's the tubes/caps I'm concerned with. My inclination is to plug it in and let it sit on standby for a while to warm up and recharge caps and whatnot, then turn off standby and play it for a bit at low volume before increasing the volume. Good plan?

Thanks

[Rsmacker]

That should be fine. If it's been seriously knocked about in transit, or been sitting in a mouldy damp garage for ages, I'd perhaps be careful, but not if it's just been in your cupboard.

You might want to get a dry paintbrush and give the valves a sweep if the back of the amp is open and they have a layer of dust on them. It's a frightening smell when dusty valves start to heat up, you think your house is on fire!

Before you switch the standby off, go through the pots one at a time and turn them up and down fully, back and forwards, like you are tweaking a nipple!! That should loosen out any crud which may have settled on the tracks. (If you do it while the amp is playing normally, you might discover a nasty pot, which will rip your eardrums out with that nasty tearing/crackling sound!) If they are binding or really shitty and it comes through when you are playing, get someone to clean the pots out with some Tri-c (Trike?)

Don't worry about caps and valves too much, if they are used properly, even long periods of storage shouldn't be detrimental. There are still 60's amps surfacing that have been under beds since 1973, yet still work fine, first time plugged in. It should be years before you need to worry about caps. Valves - depends on how often, hard etc you use the amp.

[Hotrod]

Thanks for the reply. I'll give that a try and see what happens. It's always a shame to see a good amp go unplayed .....

[Rsmacker]

Damn right, and such a sweet surprise for your new neighbours, who for the past 6 months have thought what a nice person you are.