KillTone
Well-known member
Just a question: Can you pull 2 power tubes out of the RM100 to bring the power down to 50 watts? If this is possible, which 2?
Thanks!
Thanks!
KonkeyDong said:Do you have to account for impedance changes on the amp? I've heard something to this effect.
KonkeyDong said:Do you have to account for impedance changes on the amp? I've heard something to this effect.
ashishk said:I heard that doing this reduces the output volume by half. Is this true?
Cos I followed all the steps above, but still, the output volume is the same.
I basically wanna run the power tubes hard to force more compression at lower volumes.
What am I doing wrong?
Cheers,
Ashish
JKD said:ashishk said:I heard that doing this reduces the output volume by half. Is this true?
Cos I followed all the steps above, but still, the output volume is the same.
I basically wanna run the power tubes hard to force more compression at lower volumes.
What am I doing wrong?
Cheers,
Ashish
It reduces the output *power* by half but I believe the perceived volume difference is 3dB...i.e. not much at all.
If you want to push the amp harder at lower volumes, look into an attenuator - sits between amp and speaker and soaks power. THD Hotplate is an example. I use one but never usually more than 8dB of reduction, since it affects tone and squishes the signal too much at 12 and 16dB settings.
8dB of reduction is still more than 2x the power tube reduction though....
I deliberately bought a 50W MTS because a) I think they sound better and b) 50W is still too loud
Alternative methods of power reduction are - use THD YellowJackets and run EL84s ... this will be another power halving but even the 22W is still bloody loud and EL84s will change your tone a lot...maybe also look at 6v6 power tubes.
The master volume on these amps is pretty good, there are two ways to run it:
1. MV high and a trickle on the module Level control...produces a thinner, more metallic/agressive tone
2. Module level at 11 to 12 o'clock and a nudge above 1 on MV...produces a thicker, rounder tone.
ashishk said:JKD said:ashishk said:I heard that doing this reduces the output volume by half. Is this true?
Cos I followed all the steps above, but still, the output volume is the same.
I basically wanna run the power tubes hard to force more compression at lower volumes.
What am I doing wrong?
Cheers,
Ashish
It reduces the output *power* by half but I believe the perceived volume difference is 3dB...i.e. not much at all.
If you want to push the amp harder at lower volumes, look into an attenuator - sits between amp and speaker and soaks power. THD Hotplate is an example. I use one but never usually more than 8dB of reduction, since it affects tone and squishes the signal too much at 12 and 16dB settings.
8dB of reduction is still more than 2x the power tube reduction though....
I deliberately bought a 50W MTS because a) I think they sound better and b) 50W is still too loud
Alternative methods of power reduction are - use THD YellowJackets and run EL84s ... this will be another power halving but even the 22W is still bloody loud and EL84s will change your tone a lot...maybe also look at 6v6 power tubes.
The master volume on these amps is pretty good, there are two ways to run it:
1. MV high and a trickle on the module Level control...produces a thinner, more metallic/agressive tone
2. Module level at 11 to 12 o'clock and a nudge above 1 on MV...produces a thicker, rounder tone.
Would you say this is a better set up, i.e. running 2 tubes instead of 4 in the long run if the amp never gets turned up past 10 o'clock on the Master Volume? Are there any downfalls to doing this?
Lastly, if running on 2 tubes, do they need to be the same kind? e.g. 2XEL34s as opposed to 1XEL34 and 1X6L6.
JKD said:When I had a 100W head(Mesa DR), I used to pull two tubes and preferred the feel/sound of it. Downfalls are I guess it wears two tubes..but you can switch 'em round and get twice the lifetime
Tubes pairs need to be same...not sure of technical reason other than they'd be mismatched on output.
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