Decreasing wattage of 3 Channel Rec

[Pmaurer]

Alright, So I've heard that it's possible to remove tubes from my 3-Channel Dual and halve the wattage to 50W. I have a couple questions before doing this...

1) What is the point of doing it? Does it allow me to crank the amp into the power tube section easier in a smaller room? (sorry...I'm still learning all of this bit by bit!)

2) What is the procedure? What I've heard is that you remove tubes from the left and right sides (I often switch between using the rectifier tubes as well as the 6L6's, will I be removing both sets of tubes?) I've also heard this will lower the impedence so I will need to move the output to 4ohms in the back...

By diagram, if you're looking at the tubes from the back, the x's are the ones that would be removed?
0 0 0 0 0 0
x x x
6L6 Recto

3) If I do this, will the tubes left in there be operating under more stress leading to them having to be replaced more often?

4) Overall, is it worth doing?

 

[94Tremoverb]

Alright, So I've heard that it's possible to remove tubes from my 3-Channel Dual and halve the wattage to 50W. I have a couple questions before doing this...

1) What is the point of doing it? Does it allow me to crank the amp into the power tube section easier in a smaller room?

Yes, although only marginally.

2) What is the procedure? What I've heard is that you remove tubes from the left and right sides (I often switch between using the rectifier tubes as well as the 6L6's, will I be removing both sets of tubes?) I've also heard this will lower the impedence so I will need to move the output to 4ohms in the back...

By diagram, if you're looking at the tubes from the back, the x's are the ones that would be removed?
0 0 0 0 0 0
x x x
6L6 Recto

Yes, all correct (for some reason your diagram doesn't show up right until you go to 'quote', but it is right). Technically it *raises* the amp's impedance, so you need to raise the cab's impedance relative to which jack it's plugged into as well. If your cab is 8 ohms, connect to one of the 4-ohm jacks.

3) If I do this, will the tubes left in there be operating under more stress leading to them having to be replaced more often?

Not much - if you reset the impedance, the tubes will be under exactly the same stress at the same amp settings... but you will need to run it very slightly harder for the same final volume. Of course, you aren't wearing out the tubes you pulled at all! So if after a while you swap them round to equalize the wear, it probably works out at worst the same overall, or more likely less wear with half the tubes in.

4) Overall, is it worth doing?

Only your ears can tell you that. Some people like the slightly tighter and more pushed sound, others find it makes the tone a bit flatter and less complex. I prefer four tubes and an attenuator, but I'm not looking for a typical Recto sound.

 

[Pmaurer]

I was looking through the manual and it says "on the dual solo head it is possible to run two 6l6 tubes pulling the two center tubes, leaving far left and far right tubes intact"...which is completely the other way around from what I said earlier....

My cab is just the stock recto slanted 4x12...so I would just keep that on 8 ohm and then plug the cable into the 4 ohm jack on the head, correct? so that basically I wouldn't be changing anything on the cab end?

Reducing the wattage will give the tone a more tighter, pushed sound? Or were you saying that the tighter pushed sound is apparent in the 100W?

 

[YellowJacket]

The tone of two power tubes is brighter and clearer, and it breaks up a hair sooner. When running four power tubes, the tone is a bit darker, thicker, and beefier. The amp also feels different to play in either mode. With 50 watts, it feels somehow stiffer or more firm. When running 100watts, it feels like the whole amp 'flexes a bit' to accommodate the massive power running through it.

I think if you want lower levels for home use, a 2 x 12 will help with that.

 

[94Tremoverb]

I was looking through the manual and it says "on the dual solo head it is possible to run two 6l6 tubes pulling the two center tubes, leaving far left and far right tubes intact"...which is completely the other way around from what I said earlier...

It doesn't matter which pair you pull as long as it's one from each side of the power section - you can pull tubes 1 and 4, 2 and 3, or even 1 and 3 or 2 and 4, it makes no difference. Just don't pull 1 and 2, or 3 and 4.

My cab is just the stock recto slanted 4x12...so I would just keep that on 8 ohm and then plug the cable into the 4 ohm jack on the head, correct? so that basically I wouldn't be changing anything on the cab end?

Correct.

Reducing the wattage will give the tone a more tighter, pushed sound? Or were you saying that the tighter pushed sound is apparent in the 100W?

50W is tighter and more pushed, 100W is looser and more relaxed.

 

[Pmaurer]

Will lowering it to 50 watts essentially just make it a Single Rec? or are there still differences between the single rec and a dual brought to 50 watts.

Also, will it be logical to assume my amp tone settings will sound different and may even need to be changed to reflect the new wattage?

 

[rocknroll9225]

itll basically make it a single rec with all of the dual rec's features (3rd channel, tube rectifier, variac, etc). i dont have as much experience with single rec's tho so im not sure about the little stuff (like how the single's ch 2 presence curve compares to the 3 ch dual's), but i believe they should be pretty much the same.

basically, lowering wattage will decrease headroom (headroom is pretty much how loud you can crank the amp before the power amp starts to clip). lower wattage settings are also quieter, but wattage and volume dont relate linearly. 100 watts is NOT twice as loud as 50 watts. in order to get a perceived doubling in volume, wattage needs to increase tenfold. so 100 watts would be twice as loud as 10 watts. lower wattage = fuller power tube saturation (at equal volumes). i cant remember where i saw this, but i saw on some guys post on another thread, he compared the amp to a car. think of the volume as miles per hour, and wattage as horse power. twice as much horse power doesnt mean the car will go twice as fast, but there is still a correlation between speed and power. one thing to remember though is that you need wattage to push bass frequencies. thats why most guitar amps are 100W or less, and you constantly see bass amps packing like 700 watts. to get the full potential of the huge recto sound, it would be to your advantage to utilize all 100 watts. BUT, if you, like most people, dont get too many chances to open up a recto's power section by cranking it, you might prefer the earlier clip of 50 watts. its one of those things youre just going to have to try for yourself and see which one you like better.

 

[Pmaurer]

thanks for the replies guys, I did give it a try, first went to 50watts then went back to 100, then BACK to 50....and I must say...I'm liking the 50 watts. It tightens up my tone while I did in fact have to add much more bass to it in order to equal what I had with 100 watts.

On a side note, one of the 6L6s tubes has formed a brownish burn around the top of it....I'm worried this means it may be either close to dying completely or could be dangerous to have in....?

 

[vuhaer]

By diagram, if you're looking at the tubes from the back, the x's are the ones that would be removed?
0 0 0 0 0 0
x x x
6L6 Recto

Not correct , like this : x o o x o x (or) o x x o x o

 

[YellowJacket]

By diagram, if you're looking at the tubes from the back, the x's are the ones that would be removed?
0 0 0 0 0 0
x x x
6L6 Recto

Not correct , like this : x o o x o x (or) o x x o x o

????????????????? {edit} HAHA, I thought you were saying XO OXOX, not XOOX OX, if that makes sense . . .

=-/

R R P P P P would look like the following:
_ R _ P P _ (outside power tubes removed and one rectifier tube removed)
R_ P _ _ P (Inside power tubes removed and the opposite rectifier removed)

It does sound similar to a single rec but using the tube rectifier does change the tone. Also keep in mind that both amps are voiced slightly different. It essentially sounds like a brighter, tighter, and clearer (thinner?) Dual Rectifier.

Oh, I should mention that using Yellowjacket tube converters or the like can really reduce the power of the amp as well. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on what you're after) they also really change the tone and character of the amp too. I personally love them for clean and vintage crunch. While they are underpowered for a 240watt 4 x 12, they sound great with any flavour of Celestion G12m Greenbacks in a 2 x 12 or a 4 x 12. The lower power handling matches well with the reduced power, giving much more responsive than you would otherwise get with just 20watts or less power.