Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Has anyone else experienced having new tubes actually sound better after they've been "played in" a bit?
I have a new Traynor YCV 20WR which I really like and which I recently played a two hour gig using. I liked the sound of the amp before the gig and believe it or not---- it actually sounds even better to me now that the tubes have been "pushed" a bit. Am I imagining this
Thanks---
Bob

Nope, not your imagination.

If it is a brand new amp, some of what you are hearing is the speakers breaking in.

Tubes do have a short break-in period and change of tone, but the speaker break-in is definitely the most important factor if the amp is still fairly new and hasn't been run hard before.

It's also a well-known observation that almost all tube amps sound better (and sometimes get louder) when they've been on a while, especially when played hard - it happens every time they're used, not just the first time... then they go back to 'not quite as good' when they're cold. It is to do with them getting hot, although I'm not totally sure why it happens from a physics point of view - but almost everyone who has used a tube amp will have noticed it.

Speaker break-in is permanent, though.

I think the warmed up amp sounding better than the cold one is due to emissions - the hot tube cathode emits electrons easier/better than the cold tube. I've noticed that with a tube stereo after about 20 minutes or so it sounds and images better.