How long do you let tube gear warm up before using it?

[Waltz Mastering]

How long do you let "tube gear" warm up before using it?

1 hour ?
1/2 hour ?
Leave it on ?
Doesn't Matter ?

Just Curious....

[Riccardo]

At least one hour. Yes I do switch them off at the end of the day.

[Cellotron]

Generally I like to turn on the one piece of tube gear used here (a Pendulum OCL-2) an hour prior to the session - although on a couple occasions I've used it without any noticeable difference in the results after around only 15 minutes after turning it on.

fwiw - All my gear gets turned off when I'm not using it.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[tenchijin2]

I'd really be surprised if the tubes get any warmer after 10 minutes of being on.

[bgrotto]

I turn the stuff on as I'm setting up; usually end up getting signal through it in a half-hour to an hour. If I'm just starting a mix and plug signal through cold tubes, I notice a gradual change in sound for about forty minutes or so, sometimes longer with certain pieces. Oddly enough, I actually prefer the sound of certain "cold" tube pieces every now and then.

I also notice a change in sound quality as my clock and/or convertors "warm up"...particularly with my mixdown A/D (an Apogee Rosetta).

[MASSIVE Master]

I let everything (tube, solid state, amps, compressors, EQ's, converters, I don't care what) warm up for around 15 minutes before I start moving signal.

[Greg Reierson]

My Requisite L2M seems to want about an hour to stabilize. That's about how long it takes between when I turn it on in the morning and when I want to start capturing sound through it.


GR

[Lagerfeldt]

Originally Posted by tenchijin2

I'd really be surprised if the tubes get any warmer after 10 minutes of being on.

The sound will change in a period of up to 30 minutes in my G14. So 10 minutes is way too short.

You can hear and measure the gain level change until it stabilizes at around 30 minutes.

[Spartacus]

30 mn for me

[24-96 Mastering]

30 mins or more

[Silvertone]

Originally Posted by Greg Reierson

My Requisite L2M seems to want about an hour to stabilize. That's about how long it takes between when I turn it on in the morning and when I want to start capturing sound through it.


GR

Yep and even then she'll drift a little bit depending on where she is placed in the console or racks. I found moving it out of my console and putting it into my rack with nothing above it or below it (by at least one rack space) keeps her the most stable... but the tweaker is never too far just in case!

[bob katz]

Originally Posted by Waltz Mastering

How long do you let "tube gear" warm up before using it?

1 hour ?
1/2 hour ?
Leave it on ?
Doesn't Matter ?

Just Curious....

5 minutes, but it continues to warm up for a couple of hours while I'm working on the sound, because I work on several songs before committing anything to a new master file. If I'm doing a single, it's probably an hour before I cut a new file, so the tubes have been warming up for an hour (while they're being used). The changes in sound after 5 to 15 minutes are so subtle you can still get to work on your sound.

[krytikal1]

for the most part i wait 20 - 30 minutes before passing signal through it. (that includes converters) i feel it is usually pretty locked in at that point, with only subtle changes from then on. i'm generally not printing anything within the first hour anyways.

some of the older pultecs i used to use, the owner would make me wait an hour before using them. gentle up front, then i would abuse them


k

[Mike Bruce]

About 20-30 minutes here, like someone in another thread suggested, I use my lava lamp to help me remember when I started...when it's warmed up, so are my tubes! thumbsup

Mike Bruce
Auricle Audio Mastering
Auricle Audio Mastering | Home
myspace.com/auricleaudiomastering

[Alécio Costa]

10 to 30 minutes.

[Waltz Mastering]

Originally Posted by Mike Bruce

I use my lava lamp to help me remember when I started...when it's warmed up, so are my tubes! thumbsup

Classic...

[mdjice]

20 to 30 mn and about 12h and a half for my class A toobes

[AUDIOBOMBER]

i turn it on and start to work but it takes some time till hitting the record button..

[dcollins]

A half hour at the minimum, but I leave everything on all the time.

DC