Hi all
I was just wondering how long is a normal warming up time for valve mics. I know a lot of people like to leave them for 45 minutes, but I have noticed that my AT4060 sounds best after about three hours. I now leave it turned on for as long as possible before using it on anything serious. I think it sounds nicer when the body warms up. It's being fixed by AT at the moment, who reckon the power supply is faulty.
I have an Oktava MKL 5000, but warm up time for that is about five minutes and it doesn't sound any different after that amount of time, but I have noticed that it starts to crackle after about five hours. I'm assuming that this has something to do with the other components warming up. I'm going to re-build it anyway, as the internal build quality is appalling; I've opened it up a few times to change the valve and now it's falling apart! I'm hoping that this will get rid of the crackles.
Thanks
John Stafford
Comments
Thanks gentlemen Yes, I've noticed that they tend to improve mo
Thanks gentlemen
Yes, I've noticed that they tend to improve more when they are in use, but I've always assumed it was the performer warming up. I suppose it's a little of each. Either way it takes time, but it's wonderful when everything is working at its best
John Stafford
45-min is the least amount of time, a good hour to hour and a ha
45-min is the least amount of time, a good hour to hour and a half is what I do with any tube gear. It is not just the warm up time as it is warm and stabilize time. Depending on the tubes, their age, circuit and the temp/humity of the room, the stabalize time could be 2+ hours. If your finding it takes 3-hours for best results, then it takes 3 hours.