Using 2 power tubes instead of 4 - just pull out?

[spuds]

I've got a 100 Watt Fender amp thats too loud for my uses.
I heard you can remove 2 power tubes to drop it down to 50 Watts... I've also heard that it doesn't make that much difference, but something is better than nothing. =)

Which 2 do I take out (I heard 2 middle tubes)?
And do I just remove them? Will it need rebiasing?

Thanks!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Using 2 power tubes instead of 4 - just pull out?

Pull the inner or outter 2, then turn your ohms selector to half of what your cab is. On a Fender amp, the ohms are set to match the combo's speakers, so I'm not sure if you can, or should do it.

A better idea would be to sell your amp and buy one that suits your needs, volumewise. An attenuator will just cost you $250-$300, and only drop your volume a little. It's better to just find a different amp, IMO.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Using 2 power tubes instead of 4 - just pull out?

It would probally be better to use lowpower speakers instead, just do not cranck the beast

 

[spuds]

Re: Using 2 power tubes instead of 4 - just pull out?

Thanks guys... so not a good idea huh?

Well, I'm not selling my amp... I love it to bits and its pretty much one of a kind. Its actually an old Fender Super Six Reverb from way back. It orginaly was a monster of a "combo" with SIX(!) 10" speakers. It probably was like moving a piano so the previous owner chopped the top off and turned it into a head. I found it at the store for a great price... probably coz most ppl couldn't figure out what it was! So I got a custom 2x12 cab made and it sounds great!

Just thought it would be good if I could crank it a bit more without such high volumes...

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Using 2 power tubes instead of 4 - just pull out?

Try it anyway. An impedence mismatch isn't the best thing, but it rarely hurts an old tube amp like yours. Just keep an eye on the two tubes you leave in to make sure they don't heat up or anything.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Using 2 power tubes instead of 4 - just pull out?

a Fender Super Six, Twin, Dual Showman and Quad are all the samp amps with different speakers (6x10's, 2x12's, head, and 4x12's respectivly)...the only thing with doing that (pulling 2 of the power tubes) is that your spoeaker impedence will go up 100%...for example...I play through a Twin...(same guts as your Super Six), the impedence on a Twin is 4 ohms, if I pull 2 of the power tubes the impednecs goes to 8 ohms so I should disconntec one of the spakers...this makes a Twin the biggest/heaviest 50 watt 1x12 combo EVER and to be honest...it's still pretty damn loud AND clean. The other problem for you is that having 6 speakers in a combo makes a funky impedence anyway then you'd have disconnect 2 or maybe even 3 of those 10's to get it to work right and to be honest...hauling around an amp that big for 50 watts thats still gonna be very loud and very clean is a little nuts! If you are able to get a tone you are looking for from that amp but it's just too loud you should look into an attenuator, if the amp is not working for you then the best thing to do is to save up and buy a new amp...good luck!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Using 2 power tubes instead of 4 - just pull out?

:smack: :laugh2: :smack:

I just noticed that you're running it as a 2x12 piggyback set up...what is thte speaker impedence on a Super Six?

 

[shreder75]

Re: Using 2 power tubes instead of 4 - just pull out?

I've got a 100 Watt Fender amp thats too loud for my uses.
I heard you can remove 2 power tubes to drop it down to 50 Watts... I've also heard that it doesn't make that much difference, but something is better than nothing. =)

Which 2 do I take out (I heard 2 middle tubes)?
And do I just remove them? Will it need rebiasing?

Thanks!

you don't have to bias but you DO HAVE TO HALF YOUR IMPEDANCE!!!

so, if you normally run to a 16 ohm cabinet at 100 watts, you have to put the impedance on your amp to 8 ohms!