tube went out.. Help!

[legion1capone]

My tube amp just had an EL34 tube go out. I am wondering if it is fine to run the amp with only 3 power tubes until I get a replacement or if I should wait to get the tube replaced before playing it again?

[Johnloudb]

My tube amp just had an EL34 tube go out. I am wondering if it is fine to run the amp with only 3 power tubes until I get a replacement or if I should wait to get the tube replaced before playing it again?

I think playing it with one less tube, assuming you can do that is a bad Idea because the other tubes, or at least one other tube that is in parallel with the broken one, will carry too much of the load. This will cause other tubes to fail, or shorten there life.

I'm certainly not an expert on tube gear ... just my 2 cents.