Tube questions

[Knightstick]

Hey all. I'm pretty much new to tubes, and have a few questions I'm hoping can be answered. First off I have the crack, and was wondering if I need to let the tubes warm up before I start listening? I've  heard you should with guitar amps.
Also do I have to bias the preamp tube with the power tube? I saw the drop in equivalents thread but am unsure if anything else that should be obvious to anyone but a newbie should I know if I wanna roll tubes.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Paul Birkeland]

The tubes will sound a bit better after they have been running for a while, but you don't absolutely have to let them run for that amount of time before listening.

The circuit is self biasing, so no adjustments are necessary. 

 

[Larpy]

One tip I'd add is that, when you listen to the amp and then decide to roll one of its tubes, leave the amp  off for a few minutes before turning it back on (at least 5 minutes).  Turning on an amp with one hot tube and one cold one can induce arcing in the cold tube.  If your headphones are plugged in, you'll hear quite an unpleasant pop.

 

[johnsonad]

I enjoy listening to the tubes warm up and settle.  They will reach their peak performance once burned over time and fully warmed up but that initial warm up is part of the experience for me.