does turning an amp of with the volume up cause damage?

[Niccolai]

I was told once that if you don't turn the volume down before turning the amp off, it can be unhealthy for the amp.

I never bothered looking into this, but i turn my volume down before i turn my amp off every time. I figure it's not a bad habbit to have.


I've also heard having the amp on can be bad if there's no cable plugged into it, or there is no guitar plugged into the cable.


Does anyone else do this/hear this?

[CharvelRocker]

Well the feedback from having no cable in the amp can damage your amp speakers at high volumes, as can any feedback. I would think it would also be a good idea to turn it down all the way before turning it off if the volume is up high, but I'm not sure about that.

[toejam]

Nah, it's not unhealthy. You don't have to turn the volume down, but make sure you don't have it blasting your ears when you turn it back on.
And it also doesn't matter if you have a guitar cable in or not. However, you cannot turn an amp on if there's no speaker cable connecting the head to the cabinet. Keeping it on standby is okay, but don't hit the on switch without the speaker connected.

[charvel750]

Joe, that's only if it's a tube amp. Solid state amps can run all day long without a load connected to them.

[emperor_black]

Nah, it's not unhealthy. You don't have to turn the volume down, but make sure you don't have it blasting your ears when you turn it back on.
And it also doesn't matter if you have a guitar cable in or not. However, you cannot turn an amp on if there's no speaker cable connecting the head to the cabinet. Keeping it on standby is okay, but don't hit the on switch without the speaker connected.

If you dont have a guitar cable with a guitar plugged in, some solid state amps give out a loud squeal.