Lifespan of an amp.

[arthurhenry]

Is the lifespan of an amp affected more by age or usage? For example would a ten year old head which had been used once a month be less likely to develop problems than an identical ten year old head which had been used eight times a month? I have found that amps tend to develop problems with dry joints after 8-12 years.

[bubinga5]

Surely anything electronic used now and again is going to last longer than something with day in day out usage.

Edited October 9, 2016 by bubinga5

[lefrash]

I actually think it doesn't matter. I've had electronic goods that just don't work after been sitting unused for ages. Can't explain it.

I'm convinced it's just down to luck.

[RhysP]

I would say it's affected by quality of components & workmanship than anything else, which is why I've got old stuff that has worked fine for decades & new stuff that packs in almost as soon as the warranty runs out, if not before.
I'd be surprised if any of the digital class D, PCB based stuff will keep going as long as, for example, an old Vox or Marshall valve amp has. The problem with most of the new stuff is that it's not designed to be easily repairable.

[mikel]

Depends on the amp, Valve or not valve. One of our guitarists uses an ancient Jazz Chorus tranny amp, and it just goes on and on. The other guy has lots, and I mean lots, of valve amps and seems to have nothing but problems with them. I do prefer the sound of his Dual Showman though.

[JTUK]

I'd expect 20 years plus without missing a beat... but only if you buy quality in the 1st place

[Cato]

I got my hartke 3500 in 1990 and it's had a fair bit of use over years and never given me a moments trouble.

The 4x10 Carlsboro I bought at the same time is another story though.

[TimR]

There something called mean time to failure MTTF. It's a combination of use, cycles, amount of work it has to do. Electircal components will usually last 1,000,000 hours plus, statistically their MTTF are measured in failures per billions of hours.

With PCs you get more failures with PCs that are turned on and off a lot than you do with PCs that are left running 24/7.

It also depends where you store them. Sheds and garages will see them rust fairly quickly.

Edited October 9, 2016 by TimR

[Twincam]

Capacitors actually like to be used rather than left to sit for any long periods of time especially bigger or older ones.

If you have an old amp 15+ years, its best to use it. I've seen old amps that were working fine being used regular then after a period of time (even a month) of not being used the next time they are switched on a capacitor goes.

An older amp should be switched on at least once a month if not every fortnight really.

Newer amps don't need to be but again should not be left sitting for months.

And as said things should be left in a stable atmosphere as possible things kept in a garage with drafts, moisture, atmosphere fluctuations etc will be more likely to have issues.

Letting cold equipment get to room temp before switching them on would also help. Instead of having them go from cold to hot quickly therefore making connections etc expand quickly.

[bubinga5]

Quality components. Kept inside a room apart from gigs. Does this mean my Aguilar AG 500 is going to last a long time. I've had it for 9 years now. I do love it.

Edited October 9, 2016 by bubinga5

[Basszilla]

My matamp gt200 will last me the rest of my life and I can't see me ever buying anything else. All valve is the way for my musical needs.

Sure the valves need replacing every once in a while and maybe a few caps replaced but that's it.

I've played it hard since 2009 and only had it recently revalved. Upgraded the kt88s to kt120s and I must say I'm smitten ❤

I've had several amps in the past that have fried after a couple of years use, markbass little mark (the original yellow one) and an old trace head.

[Twincam]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1476034655' post='3150664']
Quality components. Kept inside a room apart from gigs. Does this mean my Aguilar AG 500 is going to last a long time. I've had it for 9 years now. I do love it.
[/quote]

Probably since its one of the best constructed amps I've peaked into. I'm not an amp expert at all but they are very very well made. However they have been known to fail but when I owned one and researched online the failure rate was very low. Think I seen two online that failed both were repaired successfully and not by aguilar either so they seem to be able to be worked on by other amp techs.
The capacitors might need replacing at some point many many years from now.

[warwickhunt]

I used to work in cassette duplication (yes I'm that old) and we had reference cassette/amp systems that were left on 24hrs a day week in week out, year after year and I can't recall one failure. Obviously tape heads and belts wore out (we replaced them) but the amps never missed a beat.

[Roger2611]

I fully expect that class D technology comes with a built in expiry date, probably based on hours used rather than dates otherwise certain models of amps would all fall over at the same kinda time....hang on didn't the Ampeg Portaflex do that pretty much from new?

[Phil Starr]

As ever there won't be a simple yes/no answer to this.

Every design is going to have a weak link in the chain, more liable to break than something else. The Hartke mentioned above for example has some heavy capacitors mounted straight onto a thin bit of circuit board and if it is banged about it will break there. Who would know?

Someone has mentioned capacitors and electrolytic do need to be switched on and charged up from time to time. My Exposure hi fi amp recommends leaving it on and it has basically been on for thirty years apart from a couple of house moves. It still sounds good though my ears haven't fared so well.

Valves however evaporate some of the metal parts inside when they are switched on and these slowly deposit inside the glass. Eventually they need to be replaced so leaving them on doesn't make sense if you aren't using them, but neither does turning them on and off four times a gig. They are also prone to direct damage if you move them whilst still warm.

However for most components two factors comeminto play. When stored they are likely to get damp and corrode, using them will warm them and dry them out. At the same time using them warms them and the rate of all the breakdown of the components will double for every 10degree temperature rise. That's down to simple physics as the molecules that make up everything double their random movement with increased temperature.

Confusing?

[sbrag]

Peavey amps from the 80s will still be working in a millenia when the cockroaches are ruling the world!

Edited October 10, 2016 by sbrag

[ivansc]

Funny you should say that! I was given a Combo 300 back in 1983 by Peavey in Nashville. Within a few weeks the dust cap fell off the speaker and rather than go to peavey weith it, I had carlo cases stick a jbl one on in its place - same size.
That and changing the transformer for a european one when I returned to europe is the only work ever done on that amp.
Used it in a working pro band in the USA for 9 years, then 4 years in a band that did mostly outdoor gigs in the mountains of corsica, then back to the UK and trundling round the UK country circuit. Finally sold it to a bass pupil who needed an amp and had very little money in the late nineties. Much to my amazement, I spoke with him recently and it is still soldiering happily on in his metal band!

PEAVEY - one thing they can do right is build strong bass amps.

Edited October 10, 2016 by ivansc

[stuckinthepod]

Law of Sod applies. When you are gassing for something new your gear will be stalwart and unbreakable. When you are finally happy with everything... breaksville!

[Wayne Firefly]

[quote name='stuckinthepod' timestamp='1476105344' post='3151300']
Law of Sod applies. When you are gassing for something new your gear will be stalwart and unbreakable. When you are finally happy with everything... breaksville!
[/quote]

For touring duties I change them out every two years or so but Sod's Law does apply !! I bought one of those new VT500 heads couple of months back, plugged in and switched on at a gig, squeal and pop. Refund and back to the Gallien Im using and still using. GAS does invite Sod !!!

[scalpy]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1476031608' post='3150635']
Capacitors actually like to be used rather than left to sit for any long periods of time especially bigger or older ones.

[/quote]

They never used to turn off the desks at AIR Studios on Oxford Street for that reason. But one morning they found a desk out of power and a very hungover engineer on the couch. They asked him if he knew why the desk wouldn't fire up and he didn't. But when they did manage to turn it on they found out the night before, in a drunken stupor, he'd tried pushing all the buttons that would turn on leds that would spell his name in giant capitals across it.

[kev b]

My amps are a Hiwatt from 1972 and an HH from 1974, I bought the HH in 1976 and the Hiwatt in 1998, used regularly now but both stood unused for over ten years when I had a break from performing.

Neither have ever been opened up and they work perfectly despite the HH being rattled around the country during the seventies.

On the other hand our 2013 Behringer mixer was faulty after a year.

[Twincam]

[quote name='kev b' timestamp='1476138816' post='3151765']
My amps are a Hiwatt from 1972 and an HH from 1974, I bought the HH in 1976 and the Hiwatt in 1998, used regularly now but both stood unused for over ten years when I had a break from performing.

Neither have ever been opened up and they work perfectly despite the HH being rattled around the country during the seventies.

On the other hand our 2013 Behringer mixer was faulty after a year.
[/quote]

I would say your taking a huge risk. Things may work fine but there is always a chance an old capacitor can let go. And they will sooner or later, why take the risk for parts that cost a few quid.

[TimR]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1476182681' post='3151985']


I would say your taking a huge risk. Things may work fine but there is always a chance an old capacitor can let go. And they will sooner or later, why take the risk for parts that cost a few quid.
[/quote]

They'll all be through hole mounted and easily replaced. No surface mount technology like in the behringer.

[taunton-hobbit]

I've got a clutch of Orange/Matamps, they are mostly over 20 odd years old (one is nearly 50) and work perfectly (they have all been checked over, recently, and caps etc replaced as necessary) - If the stuff is gigged a fair bit, I think a yearly check is a good idea, even if it's just to check the bias - it's not just the reliability here, there is also a safety factor...........

[toneknob]

[quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1476027666' post='3150554']
I've had electronic goods that just don't work after been sitting unused for ages. Can't explain it.
[/quote]

I know drummers like that.