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TUBE MIC-Leave it on forever to age the tube?


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I am planing on buying AVANTONE CV-12 tube condenser microphone. I never had a tube piece of gear.

So I started doing a research and people say it should be put ON and left "cooking" (being TURNED ON) for at least 15 min - 30 min or even an hour to two prior to actual use so the tube gets to warm up and reach it's optimal working temperature. GOOD. Makes complete sense. If you have any input on how long do you personally think it would be the best to leave it on I'd like to hear about it.

 

But...my actual question is..

 

Some other articles and videos suggest that I leave it turned on ALL THE TIME. Just like that, basically turn it on and forget about it because from what they say, 1) constantly turning it on and off wears tubes off faster and 2) It should be on to AGE THE TUBE.

I guess the second one means to gets most of the character out of the tube. They suggest microphone being in the upside down position all the time if left turned on forever so the tube heat do not go up and dry out or burn sensitive diaphragm.

 

I found a couple of problems I feel I might run into.

 

1) Isn't tube gonna die at some point and need to be replaced anywa ? It's not like it will age for 5 or more years. It's not a bottle of scotch or wine.

 

2) This mic ships with it's own power supply box, so no need for 48v phantom power but this box doesn't have any GAIN on it but 9 selectable polar patterns knob. Still If I leave this box turned on forever and mic itself, isn't this gonna become a huge electricity hog after a while ?

 

3) Also isn't this going to wear out microphone as well as tube even faster ? Being constantly on ?

 

 

Please I would like to hear your opinions on this.

 

Thank you so much people.

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If you have any input on how long do you personally think it would be the best to leave it on I'd like to hear about it.

I usually aim for about 30 minutes but that's just to be safe.

5-10 minutes is probably enough with modern valves.

 

leave it turned on ALL THE TIME

 

Sure, if you are running a commercial studio 15h/day that could make sense.

If you are recording a couple of hours/day I would just turn it off

 

1. Yes!

 

2. Yes!

 

3. Maybe. It's not a huge deal to replace the valve anyway...

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