The Rebel's twin power tubes are like a reserve parachute

[danelectro]

I had a gig this past weekend and my Rebel 30 took a tumble off the two-wheeler cart as we were carrying in the gear. I didn't realize it until the end of the night that one of the 6V6's had broken during the fall. The glass bottle was broken completely off of the base, yet the amp performed just fine the whole night. I was using a Dr. Z Air Brake with the amp for the first time that evening and so all my amp settings were different than they usually are. Consequently whatever change there was in the volume went unnoticed.

 

[Steedee]

Wow, thats incredible!
I guess it ran off the 84's all night.
I wonder if the lone 6v6 was pumping anything out?

 

[danelectro]

I wonder if the lone 6v6 was pumping anything out?

After I got home and realized what happened, I hooked the amp up just to see if it was completely dead on the 6V6 side. The amp still played with the mix knob turned all the way to 6V6, however it was at a lower volume. I don't know if that is the one 6V6 running at half power or bleed-over from the EL84's.

 

[warlok1965]

I wonder if the lone 6v6 was pumping anything out?

After I got home and realized what happened, I hooked the amp up just to see if it was completely dead on the 6V6 side. The amp still played with the mix knob turned all the way to 6V6, however it was at a lower volume. I don't know if that is the one 6V6 running at half power or bleed-over from the EL84's.

You can still play through amps if one of the power tubes is removed. It just lowers the volume and makes them break up a lot sooner. Not sure if it is healthy for the amp though.

 

[Steedee]

I wonder if the lone 6v6 was pumping anything out?

After I got home and realized what happened, I hooked the amp up just to see if it was completely dead on the 6V6 side. The amp still played with the mix knob turned all the way to 6V6, however it was at a lower volume. I don't know if that is the one 6V6 running at half power or bleed-over from the EL84's.

You can still play through amps if one of the power tubes is removed. It just lowers the volume and makes them break up a lot sooner. Not sure if it is healthy for the amp though.

Yeah, but look at that pic. I cant believe a fuse didn't blow.

 

[danelectro]

Yeah, but look at that pic. I cant believe a fuse didn't blow.

Nothing is shorted. The glass simply cracked around the base and popped off.

You can still play through amps if one of the power tubes is removed. It just lowers the volume and makes them break up a lot sooner. Not sure if it is healthy for the amp though.

BRUCE: Is there any risk to the amp if I were to pull a power tube to run the amp at half wattage?