not regularly using a valve amp

midlifecrisis

my laney VC30 which up until about 6 mnths ago was used at least once a week for gigging and rehearsal has not been used recently. Im using a katana 100.   Now im not ready to sell the laney yet in case i change my mind, its stored indoors in a nice dry environment.. Is it wise to make sure i give it  a play every week or two or is it safe to just not worry about it and leave it as a convenient stand to put the katana on. ie do the caps and valves deteriorate if not used for a time?

ICBM

It's probably good to play it every few months, but you don't need to do more than that. It's the caps you would need to worry about, but relatively young modern caps shouldn't deteriorate until much longer than that. It's really just caps in vintage amps which haven't been used for years which tend to fail.

Valves last more or less indefinitely if not used, but be careful about storing an amp somewhere very cold - although in theory there shouldn't be a problem, I've seen quite a few crack when the amp has been left somewhere like a garage over winter.

midlifecrisis

thnx, yes its stored indoors so should be ok

ESBlonde

I'd plug it in and turn it on every couple of months just to wet the caps. I had my 40 year old marshall like that on the original caps until recently and it was fine.