First Tube Amp: Advice? Keep spare tubes on hand?

Richard,
If the amp is new the tubes should last many thousands of hours....do not leave the amp on 24/7 but leave it on the day you listen and turn off when done for the day...try to avoid, on-off, on-off on days you listen...tubes are like light bulbs and on-off can stress them. I would not buy any extra tubes right now. Wait till you get used to the sound and then experiment with tube rolling to change the sound of the amp....not every tube in the design has a sonic effect on a change...you have to know which ones will make an impact. BTW what is the amp?

Don't start rolling tubes until you have given it enough time to really hear the sound with the tubes the designer intended. Only then will you have a realistic baseline for comparison if/when you try others.

If you are getting it used, make sure you know what tubes are being provided and whether these are standard design issue or custom tubes that a prior user rolled.

I really want to know if I should keep a spare set of
tubes on hand.

Richard
Rhanechak (Threads)

Unquestionably yes.

If a tube goes bad, you can't use the amp, so you need spares. A set of spare
stock tubes will be sufficient for now.

Also, the easiest way to determine if a tube has gone bad is to have a replacement available to see if changing a tube fixes the problem when you hear one.

Now I need to follow my own advice and pick up a spare tube or two for my own tube pre.....

Whadja get? Is it an autobias amp or one you would have to bias yourself? If you have to do it yourself, you will NEED a multi-meter at some point, and/or a friend to guide you. If it is fully autobiased and the amp doesn't 'eat' tubes, what you really need is time to listen :^)

Extra tubes are OK, but it may be premature. You are better off learning the foibles of the amp with regard to your speakers, your upstream components, and tubes. That takes time, but I expect you won't be overburdened.