Orange Or120, power attenuator or pull tubes?

[jwojtysiak]

I have a 73 Orange OR120 that I love, but it's too loud, even in a loud band situation. Suggestions on what to do to get the most out of this amp. Thanks!

[doommeow]

Depending on your volume/breakup needs, both?

I'd also consider - if someone with more amp knowledge tells you it's safe - some of the high test JJ 6V6s. They've helped knock a few DB off my Traynor, making it much more usable for my decidedly low volume needs.

[bigchiefbc]

I had the same problem when I first got my Bugera 1960 (super lead clone). First I pulled two tubes and ran it at half power. It sounded great and the amp ran just fine like that. I spoke to people who had done that for years without hurting the amp. Just remember that when you use half the tubes, the amp should be set for half the impedence of the speakers.

I ended up getting an attenuator eventually, because I wanted an adjustable amount of attenuation. I ended up finding an old Tom Scholz Power Soak from the 80s on eBay for short money and I love it. It's exactly what I wanted.

[friendship]

I've always been leary of pulling tubes since the time I pulled two in my Twin and there was a loud popping sound and the new tubes were fried.

[goroth]

I wouldn't pull tubes without knowing more about how that will affect your particular amp - depending on the design it can work ok or not.

Try less efficient speakers maybe. If you can shave 3dB there that'll make a difference. Maybe an attenuator at a light setting for an additional couple of dB. Heavy attenuation sounds ass.

[Gone Fission]

I wouldn't pull tubes without knowing more about how that will affect your particular amp - depending on the design it can work ok or not.

Good point. Amps with cathode-biased output stages (AC-30 for example) mostly don't do the pull-a-pair trick because the quartet is biased together with rare exception and the bias goes out of whack. The OR type Oranges of old are fixed bias designs, though, and should be fine. In fact, the OR-70s used the exact same transformer set as the OR-120s, so pulling tubes gets you to roughly the same amp.

[Bon Hoga]

I have a 73 Orange OR120 that I love, but it's too loud, even in a loud band situation. Suggestions on what to do to get the most out of this amp. Thanks!

Sell it to a real man