Amp break in period

Warren Johnston · From: Blenheim New Zealand

I have read a couple of comments lately about giving new amps a break in time.

Would one of the knowledgable amp members mind explaining why and what needs to break in?
Thanks in advance.
Warren Johnston.
New Zealand.
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Carter Universal,Quilter Steelaire combo,
Zoom MS50G.

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

It's not that they 'need' to break in. It's that they naturally will improve in sound as they break in. By far the biggest break-in factor is a new speaker. The stiff paper will soften up and become more flexible with use. Typically a brand new speaker cone will have a hard, crisp, bright quality that tends to go away. Well used speakers seem to sound better.

Electronically, capacitors in the signal path tend to contribute to some tone qualities that also "break-in" over time. I've observed that brand new capacitors and perhaps other components as well have a "zingy" or "tinny" sound in the high treble and the midrange can be kind of one-dimensional. Once well used, it seems that the midrange becomes more deep and dimensional and interesting and the treble becomes a bit smoother, less hard-edged. This tone quality with the electronic components is far more subtle than the speaker issue. That's a glaringly noticeable. thing.

The other thing that in recent years people have noticed too is with Class-D type amplifiers. They have a very distinct transformation from when brand new compared to after 100 or more hours of use. Same qualities, becomes smoother, more "musical" or ear-friendly after time.

Often people mistake this "break-in" issues as something to be concerned about. It's not that at all. Just play the gear and play it hard and play it a lot. After a few dozen hours of run time, gear really comes to life and then sounds its best.

Brad
www.sarnomusicsolutions.com
St. Louis, MO - USA

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Will break in revert with disuse? My LTD has probably not even been plugged in for a couple years.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Interesting question. Probably not so much, but maybe a little. It seems that the components that demonstrate the most break-in change are electrolytic capacitors. In a Peavey amp, there are quite a few in the actual signal path. So an unused amp may need to re-form it's signal cap's a little bit, but I bet it's pretty slight compared to when brand new. I sure don't think a speaker would revert back to it's early ways.

B

Steven Husting · From: Germany

Might be a good idea to power it up a couple times a year to remind the electrolytics in the power supply what they are supposed to do.

steven

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Warren Johnston · From: Blenheim New Zealand

Thanks for your very concise answer Brad.
It nice to know I don't have to keep to a speed limit.
I have just bought a new Steelair so it will be interesting to hear the change in tone.
Warren.
_________________
Carter Universal,Quilter Steelaire combo,
Zoom MS50G.

Jack Hanson · From: San Luis Valley, USA

Tom Campbell · From: Houston, Texas, USA

I have/had a new Peavey NV112 that sounded "poorly"!

Per Lane Gray, I ran my MP3 through it for 30hrs (kept a log) and it improved immensely. Took about four days running it 7-8 hrs steady.

Michael Hummel · From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

I really don't know honestly. Lots going on in there, and definitely, absolutely capacitors break in over time. I don't know what else does, but when it comes to anything timed with a clock, digital, switching, etc., there is an audible difference between sloppy clock timing and stable clock timing. With digital converters we hear the quality improve as the temperatures stabilize and as AC power provided is more clean and pure sine-wave AC. With switching amps, I can only imagine that something about the performance of the cap's including those contained within integrated circuit devices settle in, self-heal (as capacitors do), and then acclimate to performance at a relatively stabilized temperature.

This is all speculation. But regardless of being able to explain it or not, the phenomenon is real. I'm also a mastering engineer by trade, and I spend many hours in front of high resolution audio. About 2 years ago I converted to class-D power for the studio rig, and just as I had read, the first 100 to 200 hours were a break-in period. The most easily observed quality was that the upper treble began with an almost sand-papery, wispy, lispy quality but eventually smoothed out to something quite neutral and true to the source.

Also, I make a tube preamp for guitarists that has the "Jerry Garcia" mod in it which includes special, mil-spec tantalum cathode bypass capacitors. Those things are almost unbearably harsh for the first 20 hours of use, but then they become quite fun and "juicy" sounding. That transformation is glaring. Normal electrolytics do this too but it's more subtle. High voltage cap's do this and it's been explained that it's largely the "self healing" process at work where microscopic arcings happen for a while until the vaporization/oxidization process is pretty much done and the cap is no longer micro-arcing. This is even explained by the cap manufacturers as a natural thing to expect.

B

Peter Harris · From: South Australia, Australia

...and after you've 'played in' one of those things for 20 hours straight, maybe your ears have 'broken in' too.. Laughing

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If my wife is reading this, I don't have much stuff....really!

Paul Arntson · From: Washington, USA

I think it's mostly the speakers that break in.
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Excel D10 8&4, Supro 8, Regal resonator, Peavey Powerslide, homemade lap 12(a work in progress)

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