Can I place my amp sideways?

[tonymanero]

Hello,

I have an ENGL Powerball amp and an Orange TT. Because of the new layout in my studio I wanted to place the heads on top of a piece of forniture vertically, so as to use space more effectively. I have seen it done before but was sondering whether it has any negative effect on the amp?

Thank you very much!

[Chuck H]

I don't know about the ENGL, but the TT is biased quite hot at idle. Placing it sideways will cause the heat from one of the power tubes to rise to the other. This MAY cause a problem. Hard to say. I do know that some hot biased amps that hang the tubes without much venting seem to have more power tube and blown OT failures.

All the tubes in those amps are designed to operate in any mounting position. I might go ahead and try it. But make sure not to block vents and check periodically for awhile for excessive heat concentrating anywhere.

Chuck

[tim]

...also, most power tubes used in a guitar amp are designed to be used in a vertical plane...the reason is because the distance between elements is very small. As the elements heat up, they tend to move around a bit...with gravity working against them with the tubes mounted sideways, elements can sag into each other, causing internal shorts.

Marshall had a series of amps that mounted EL34's sideways (I forget the series designation), and besides the fact that they are a PITA to work on, the tubes would short internally more often than their counterparts that had the tubes installed vertically.

[Chuck H]

Marshall had a series of amps that mounted EL34's sideways (I forget the series designation), and besides the fact that they are a PITA to work on, the tubes would short internally more often than their counterparts that had the tubes installed vertically.

Hmmm. Thats interesting because the specs for EL34 and 6L6 tubes say "any mounting position". So, sans personal experience with it, that's good info to have.

Chuck