JCM 800 bypassing cathode 10k reistor

[RockinRocket]

The normal 10k cathode resistor of the second gain stage makes a gain of around 8. When bypassed with a .68 ampbooks.com shows gain of 26 -60 depending on frequency. That's a pretty common amount of gain from a bypassed stage

Now heres the question. The 10k produces lots of a asymmetrical clipping. When the 10k is bypassed is the clipping still heavily asymmetrical?

[Stevem]

The top or the bottom clipping first is somewhat a matter of how that gain stage is biased by the DC conditions placed on it, the by pass cap will really not change that but for making the clipping / cut off take place sonner.

How good a tube you have will in and of itself change the way the wave form clips .

In a perfect world ,if you according to how much plate voltage you had you biased the gain stage to operate in the middle of its load line then the top of the wave form would saturate and clip, and the bottom would cut off and clip, and hence the you issue you post about.
Just like turning off a light switch , when cut off takes place to the bottom of the wave form your clipped, where as Saturation is not instantaneous .

If you do not want asymmetrical clipping and the type of harmonic over tones it adds you need to do so by means of two gain stages and the phase inversion that takes place, or used one whole duel triode like a push pull type stage.

[RockinRocket]

Thanks!I assumed the asymmetrical clipping was not changed. It confused me when I noticed how a unbypassed 10k stage had a gain factor of only 8 compared to a normal biased stage of 20-30. The baffling part was the max gain was equal when that stage was bypassed with any bias point.

[Badside]

I don't know about the science of it, but I prefer the sound of it unbypassed.

I've had my 2204 configured a few way: hot 2nd stage, cold 2nd stage with bypass cap, and now I'm back to good old 10k with no cap.

Bypassing it didn't change the sound a lot though, I just like it with a big less gain in the preamp.