100 watts vs. 50 watts-pulling tubes

[Dirtyking]

Ok, I'm going deaf playing through my 100 watt head. I'm thinking of pulling 2 power tubes to cut the power in half and save whats left of my hearing. I wish to get the sound, tone and breakup I get when I crank it beyond 7, but at a lower volume. I know alot of you fellow members have done this to your rigs already and I wish to hear your experiences good and bad.

Questions???? Will I have to pull any of the preamp tubes if I do this. Will it have any other effect I've missed or should know about.

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[Willis]

Re: 100 watts vs. 50 watts-pulling tubes

It will still be very loud with 2 tubes pulled. Even a 10 watt tube amp can be too loud to crank at 'bedroom' volumes.

Assuming it's a push/pull class AB amp, pull either the two outer power tubes or the two inner power tubes. Do not pull any preamp tubes.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: 100 watts vs. 50 watts-pulling tubes

The tubes run in tandem, so, as n00b said, pull only the outer two or the inner two. I prefer to pull the outer two.

If your amp has rectifier tubes, pull one of the pair, as well.

Doing this will also double your impedance, so if you're running into an 8 ohm cab, set your amp to 4 ohms, and the load will match. 16 ohm cab? Set the amp to 8 ohms, etc.

It won't have much of a volume difference, but it will breakup earlier. Not twice as earlier, but it should be noticable.

 

[Dirtyking]

Re: 100 watts vs. 50 watts-pulling tubes

Doing this will also double your impedance, so if you're running into an 8 ohm cab, set your amp to 4 ohms, and the load will match. 16 ohm cab? Set the amp to 8 ohms, etc..

Thanks for the info. That's one I missed.