tk said:
Is it safe to remove 1/2 the power tubes on a 60 watt MK IIB? My goal would be to be able to get power tube saturation and break-up at a lower volume. Would this work and essentially turn the amp in to a more manageable 30 watter? Or would it not work or even harm the amp?
Thanks
There's 2 "big" tubes, right? 60 watt model, right? 100 watt models have 4 power tubes (6L6s).
No, you need BOTH tubes!!!!!!! Most amplifiers work in a "push-pull" configuration, one tube for + voltages, the other for - minus voltages. Envision a sinewave, the middle point between peak and trough being 0 volts.
With some Boogies, like my DC-3 or the Maverick, you can safely remove the outer pair of EL84 tubes and switch to the 4 ohm speaker jack. It has 4 tubes, arranged in....... you guessed it (by now) PAIRS!
However, I'm told by the Boogie folks, you CANNOT remove 2 of the 4 tubes in Simul-Class amps, like my Mark IV.
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You could opt to go for a pair of YellowJackets, to convert your 6L6s to EL84s. You could get your power down to about 15 watts. 15 vs 60 isn't that much of a difference. REmember, a 100 watt amp sounds "twice as loud" as a 10 watt amp. 10xlog(power1/power2)
The Smicz TAD offered a conversion to an 6AK6 minature tube, about 1 watt. Smicz went out of business.
2 suggestions:
An attenuator, like a Hotplate.
A nice all tube Boogie preamp that you connect to your computer and monitor via headphones. I'd be lost without my Boogie Formula Pre. Fantastic BOOGIE sound and nobody hears a thing.
