The VAMP four is solidly built with carefully laid out internal components.
Attention has been paid to correct spacing between components that
dissipate heat and those that don’t to ensure a reliable design.
When not in continous use we recommend the Vamp four be
powered down to preserve valve life.In addition please allow approximately 2
to 5 minutes for a complete warm up of the valves before commencing
recording.This is so the valves can stabilize in the conditions the unit is
powered up in. It’s not cruicial of course and you may wish to use the unit
immediately which is fine also but there still will be a warm up time of around
30 secs before the valves will begin to pass a decent signal.
-Valves 12AT7 ( ECC81 , CV4024 )
Sebatron uses J.J (Brand) 12AT7 or ecc81 valves exclusively in all the
current designs including the Vamp-Four.These valves are favoured because
of their realistic repesentation of the audio spectrum as well as their
low-microphony and open-ended frequency response.
Other recommended brands are : Amperax , Telefunken , Phillips ,
JAN , National Electric , Mullard .
Please note valves vary greatly not just in frequency response or
sound quality but also in noise floor and microphony.
Valve life varies from valve to valve but is generally three to five years
with average useage and up to ten years if used sporadically and kept in a
good enviroment. As valves approach the end of their lifespan there usually
is a rise in noisefloor ( hiss-noise ) and a narrowing of the sonic bandwidth.
However , usually the difference is negligable and it won’t be apparent until
new fresh valves are installed.If useage is minimal and within 10 hours a week
on average , then we would recommend valve replacement around the four to
five year mark.Heavier useage , twenty hours a week and upwards for exam
-
ple , we would recommend valve replacement within three years. In all cases ,
useage is simply having the unit on , not necessarily passing signals. Even in
an idle state with no signals there are still valves operating and it is
recommended that for general useage that the unit be left on for periods of no
longer than eight hours at a time . If longer periods are required it is recom-
mended that the unit be switched off for at least half an hour for some cooling
to occur before proceeding with the next shift.
7/ Maintenance