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Post by infant on Mar 13, 2022 5:13:58 GMT
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Post by zontar on Mar 13, 2022 7:09:14 GMT
Fortunately this will potentially only affect my hybrid. And maybe my old bass amp if I decided to use it. I was considering selling it--so the question is will this make it easier to sell so the buyer has more tubes? Or harder because they will be concerned about replacements if needed. Maybe I should just sell the tubes?
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Post by infant on Mar 13, 2022 13:21:42 GMT
The thing is the there are still tubes available from China and some other former Soviet countries….well, until Putin attacks them and China attacks Taiwan. Then we’ll be screwed.
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 13, 2022 13:48:07 GMT
Luckily I have hundreds of spares. I went on a spares buying binge several years ago while I was building up my tube amp collection and now I have many spares that I don't need because most of the amps are gone. I need to figure out a way to sell some of them.
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Post by johnreardon on Mar 13, 2022 14:00:35 GMT
Luckily I have hundreds of spares. I went on a spares buying binge several years ago while I was building up my tube amp collection and now I have many spares that I don't need because most of the amps are gone. I need to figure out a way to sell some of them. My amp builder mate has a load as well including many of what he considers among the best, Mullard valves
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Post by infant on Mar 13, 2022 14:17:07 GMT
Luckily I have hundreds of spares. I went on a spares buying binge several years ago while I was building up my tube amp collection and now I have many spares that I don't need because most of the amps are gone. I need to figure out a way to sell some of them. I’ve got a few spare rectifier tubes, 12AX7 and 12AT7 and a half dozen 6V6 tubes which is great as my Deluxe Reverb and Champ both use 6V6s. So I’m pretty set for a while. However, I am pretty intrigued by Fender's new Tonemaster series. They’ve mimicked the sound and dynamics of the Deluxe/Twin/Super Reverb in a lightweight solid state amp. When I was trying out my PRS before I bought it, I played through the DR Tonemaster and I was impressed at how close it sounded to the tube version. It’s something to think about.
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 13, 2022 14:33:30 GMT
Luckily I have hundreds of spares. I went on a spares buying binge several years ago while I was building up my tube amp collection and now I have many spares that I don't need because most of the amps are gone. I need to figure out a way to sell some of them. My amp builder mate has a load as well including many of what he considers among the best, Mullard valves I have a couple Mullards too, as well as some Telefunkens and Dutch Amperex but mostly my spares are GE, Raytheon and RCA. Those Mullards fetch a pretty penny...
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Post by infant on Mar 13, 2022 14:38:27 GMT
Luckily I have hundreds of spares. I went on a spares buying binge several years ago while I was building up my tube amp collection and now I have many spares that I don't need because most of the amps are gone. I need to figure out a way to sell some of them. My amp builder mate has a load as well including many of what he considers among the best, Mullard valves If they are NOS Mullards they are excellent tubes. Any of the newer Mullards, Tung-Sol and Svetlana are made at the New Sensor (EHX) Reflektor plant in Russia.
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Post by johnreardon on Mar 13, 2022 18:18:37 GMT
My amp builder mate has a load as well including many of what he considers among the best, Mullard valves If they are NOS Mullards they are excellent tubes. Any of the newer Mullards, Tung-Sol and Svetlana are made at the New Sensor (EHX) Reflektor plant in Russia. They are the NOS
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 13, 2022 22:10:00 GMT
If they are NOS Mullards they are excellent tubes. Any of the newer Mullards, Tung-Sol and Svetlana are made at the New Sensor (EHX) Reflektor plant in Russia.They are the NOS Mine are all nos too. All that other stuff is just an old brand name thrown on Russian or Chinese tubes, as you said
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Post by infant on Mar 14, 2022 12:59:48 GMT
I’ve got a few RCA 6V6s and GE and Sylvania 12AX7s. Otherwise the rest are pretty much all Russian EHX or Sovtek.
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Post by edwardbloom on Mar 14, 2022 16:50:55 GMT
i wish i had the money for a spare set of tubes for both amps. i learned about this yesterday from rhett schull
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Post by infant on Mar 14, 2022 17:17:25 GMT
I’ve got a fairly new pair of EHX 6V6 tubes in my Deluxe Reverb that should last me a few years since I’m not currently playing the amp a lot. If it comes down to it and I need new tubes, The Tube Store is located here in Hamilton and I can take a ride up there and get a set of JJ or TAD tubes that I can substitute without having to rebids the amp. These guys are quite good
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Post by infant on Mar 14, 2022 17:25:11 GMT
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Post by johnreardon on Mar 14, 2022 18:59:23 GMT
I’ve only ever had a power valve go on an amp & that was on an AC30 in the 60s. We were playing 2-300 gigs a year back then, so it may have been hours played, but was probably a duff valve. We managed to get through the gig by me playing through the PA. After that, I started carrying a couple of spare valves, but never had to use them. I started using valve amps when I started playing again in the 90s, but never had a problem. When I started gigging again in 2013, I asked my amp mate to give my Orange Tiny & Dual Terrors a service. He changed the valves on the Tiny Terror only because one el84 was slightly ‘underpowered’ and could have gone anytime.
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Post by spellcaster on Mar 14, 2022 21:50:52 GMT
I gave away all my backup stock of tubes when I disposed of my guitar-building supplies in the process of moving on News Years 2021. Since then, I've replaced the two preamp tubes for V1 and V2, the reverb 2nd gain stage V4, and a quartet of new matched TAD short-bottle output tubes in my Twin Reverb. So, I don't anticipate needing to do any tube replacements in the near future. I've never used any Russian-made tubes in any of my amps, so I don't have any anxiety about Sovteks not being available. I've heard, on the Facebook Vintage Amp Owners page, that all this talk of potential tube shortages has created a rush to buy up remaining stock, so it's created a hoarder's shortage that's basically artificial...There's still lots of alternatives in Chinese and Czechoslovakian tubes and lots of NOS American tubes available, so these hoarders are basically creating a problem that doesn't need to exist at this point. I wouldn't panic at this point....It only artificially drives up prices and gives solid state amplifier manufacturers a reason to think they can squeeze us on gear prices. If you're going to panic about anything, turn your attention to the fuel issues where there's a genuine cause for concern.
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 15, 2022 0:18:58 GMT
I gave away all my backup stock of tubes when I disposed of my guitar-building supplies in the process of moving on News Years 2021. Since then, I've replaced the two preamp tubes for V1 and V2, the reverb 2nd gain stage V4, and a quartet of new matched TAD short-bottle output tubes in my Twin Reverb. So, I don't anticipate needing to do any tube replacements in the near future. I've never used any Russian-made tubes in any of my amps, so I don't have any anxiety about Sovteks not being available. I've heard, on the Facebook Vintage Amp Owners page, that all this talk of potential tube shortages has created a rush to buy up remaining stock, so it's created a hoarder's shortage that's basically artificial...There's still lots of alternatives in Chinese and Czechoslovakian tubes and lots of NOS American tubes available, so these hoarders are basically creating a problem that doesn't need to exist at this point. I wouldn't panic at this point....It only artificially drives up prices and gives solid state amplifier manufacturers a reason to think they can squeeze us on gear prices. If you're going to panic about anything, turn your attention to the fuel issues where there's a genuine cause for concern. The only Russian tubes I ever used are EL-84/ 6BQ5 because the originals are just not easy to find. I had some good European NOS ones but used them in a gigging app and one blew on a job years ago
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Post by infant on Mar 15, 2022 0:21:30 GMT
I’ve only ever had a power valve go on an amp & that was on an AC30 in the 60s. We were playing 2-300 gigs a year back then, so it may have been hours played, but was probably a duff valve. We managed to get through the gig by me playing through the PA. After that, I started carrying a couple of spare valves, but never had to use them. I started using valve amps when I started playing again in the 90s, but never had a problem. When I started gigging again in 2013, I asked my amp mate to give my Orange Tiny & Dual Terrors a service. He changed the valves on the Tiny Terror only because one el84 was slightly ‘underpowered’ and could have gone anytime. I had a brand new Sovtek 6L6 tube fry itself inside my old Peavey Classic amp about 1/2 hour before the gig. The keyboard player was standing behind the amp and said the tube just started flashing and sparking before everything went dead. Luckily it didn’t take out any other components and I brought along the old tubes so I just replaced them with the old tubes and played the gig with no problems.
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Post by infant on Mar 15, 2022 0:24:52 GMT
I gave away all my backup stock of tubes when I disposed of my guitar-building supplies in the process of moving on News Years 2021. Since then, I've replaced the two preamp tubes for V1 and V2, the reverb 2nd gain stage V4, and a quartet of new matched TAD short-bottle output tubes in my Twin Reverb. So, I don't anticipate needing to do any tube replacements in the near future. I've never used any Russian-made tubes in any of my amps, so I don't have any anxiety about Sovteks not being available. I've heard, on the Facebook Vintage Amp Owners page, that all this talk of potential tube shortages has created a rush to buy up remaining stock, so it's created a hoarder's shortage that's basically artificial...There's still lots of alternatives in Chinese and Czechoslovakian tubes and lots of NOS American tubes available, so these hoarders are basically creating a problem that doesn't need to exist at this point. I wouldn't panic at this point....It only artificially drives up prices and gives solid state amplifier manufacturers a reason to think they can squeeze us on gear prices. If you're going to panic about anything, turn your attention to the fuel issues where there's a genuine cause for concern. Kinda like the rush on toilet paper and paper towels when Covid broke out. I’m sure there are people still using up the Toilet paper and paper towels they bought 2 years ago! 😂🤣😂🤣
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 15, 2022 0:26:43 GMT
I gave away all my backup stock of tubes when I disposed of my guitar-building supplies in the process of moving on News Years 2021. Since then, I've replaced the two preamp tubes for V1 and V2, the reverb 2nd gain stage V4, and a quartet of new matched TAD short-bottle output tubes in my Twin Reverb. So, I don't anticipate needing to do any tube replacements in the near future. I've never used any Russian-made tubes in any of my amps, so I don't have any anxiety about Sovteks not being available. I've heard, on the Facebook Vintage Amp Owners page, that all this talk of potential tube shortages has created a rush to buy up remaining stock, so it's created a hoarder's shortage that's basically artificial...There's still lots of alternatives in Chinese and Czechoslovakian tubes and lots of NOS American tubes available, so these hoarders are basically creating a problem that doesn't need to exist at this point. I wouldn't panic at this point....It only artificially drives up prices and gives solid state amplifier manufacturers a reason to think they can squeeze us on gear prices. If you're going to panic about anything, turn your attention to the fuel issues where there's a genuine cause for concern. Kinda like the rush on toilet paper and paper towels when Covid broke out. I’m sure there are people still using up the Toilet paper and paper towels they bought 2 years ago! 😂🤣😂🤣 Look at this: temporarymaintenance.thetubestore.com
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Post by infant on Mar 15, 2022 0:36:12 GMT
Kinda like the rush on toilet paper and paper towels when Covid broke out. I’m sure there are people still using up the Toilet paper and paper towels they bought 2 years ago! 😂🤣😂🤣 Look at this: temporarymaintenance.thetubestore.com Yikes!Luckily, I’m okay for now! Besides, my Katana is a perfect backup amp.
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Post by spellcaster on Mar 15, 2022 0:39:16 GMT
In the early 70's, I bought a spare 6L6GC Sylvania power tube because I was gigging with Fender amps. I never had to use it and eventually gave it away a year ago when my guitar supplies left before I moved. I've retained the one good T.A.D. 6L6WGC from my last set of power tubes and probably will start packing it round when I play out, simply because I'm now using my Twin Reverb head for everything, guitar and bass. I'd be really surprised if I ever needed to use it though.
I hadn't shopped for any preamp tubes for years because my Twin was loaded with all vintage NOS tubes. When the tech recently replaced my V4 tube (an ancient Rogers 12AX7) with a new JJ, I scanned through eBay, just because I'm a bit of a snob and always thought JJ's were cheapos that you'd buy if you couldn't afford NOS tubes. I was thunderstruck when I saw the prices people are asking in auctions for old RCA 12AX7 long plates....Like 80.00-120.00 isn't unusual, and I mentally filed the idea of getting something better than the JJ, unless it fails quickly. But it seems that all the vintage American 12A_7 group tubes are commanding real top drawer prices these days.I can't imagine bending over and paying a premium price for any preamp tube, unless I ran into a deal on a real vintage 7025.
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 15, 2022 0:52:27 GMT
Yikes!Luckily, I’m okay for now! Besides, my Katana is a perfect backup amp. Although I don't mean to say that I would want to profit off the current situation, I wish I knew how I could offload my tubes now that there is a rush. I have hundreds of tubes that I will never need to use again.
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Post by spellcaster on Mar 15, 2022 1:02:45 GMT
Yikes!Luckily, I’m okay for now! Besides, my Katana is a perfect backup amp. Although I don't mean to say that I would want to profit off the current situation, I wish I knew how I could offload my tubes now that there is a rush. I have hundreds of tubes that I will never need to use again. My suggestion, dB, would be to either use the classifieds in guitar forums (such as TDPRI or Moe's Tavern 2.0, which replaced the old Fender Discussion Page) which would undoubtedly get a lot of attention, but would probably be fairly service-intensive with a lot of small orders/package mailing, or better yet, talk to one of the big tube distributors, such as KCA NOS Tubes, or possibly The Tube Store, and I'll bet they'd make you an offer for the lot that would contribute mightily to your gear fund (or maybe your sports car-acquistion fund, lol)
(Edited to add:) I'm reading all kinds of tube-anxiety posts in the vintage tube amp pages on Facebook. I just posted a link to this thread, thinking it may give the forum fresh exposure to more new members, and it may get you some inquiries on your tubes, dB. link
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Post by edwardbloom on Mar 15, 2022 1:59:50 GMT
if you're a true socialist, you should share the wealth by redistributing some of those tubes to the needy (read: me)
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Post by infant on Mar 15, 2022 3:56:19 GMT
In the early 70's, I bought a spare 6L6GC Sylvania power tube because I was gigging with Fender amps. I never had to use it and eventually gave it away a year ago when my guitar supplies left before I moved. I've retained the one good T.A.D. 6L6WGC from my last set of power tubes and probably will start packing it round when I play out, simply because I'm now using my Twin Reverb head for everything, guitar and bass. I'd be really surprised if I ever needed to use it though. I hadn't shopped for any preamp tubes for years because my Twin was loaded with all vintage NOS tubes. When the tech recently replaced my V4 tube (an ancient Rogers 12AX7) with a new JJ, I scanned through eBay, just because I'm a bit of a snob and always thought JJ's were cheapos that you'd buy if you couldn't afford NOS tubes. I was thunderstruck when I saw the prices people are asking in auctions for old RCA 12AX7 long plates....Like 80.00-120.00 isn't unusual, and I mentally filed the idea of getting something better than the JJ, unless it fails quickly. But it seems that all the vintage American 12A_7 group tubes are commanding real top drawer prices these days.I can't imagine bending over and paying a premium price for any preamp tube, unless I ran into a deal on a real vintage 7025. Don’t worry about those preamp tubes. The JJ preamp tubes are supposed to be pretty tough. Besides if one of the V1 or V2 tubes goes microphonic, you can swap them with each other or even with one of the reverb or vibrato tubes. The microphonic tube won’t be noticeable in the V3-V5 locations. I know that 6V6 JJs are pretty reliable as they can handle higher voltages. The only tubes that ever failed on me after a short period (less than a year) are the previously mentioned Sovtek that lit up like the 4th of July, a TAD 6L6 in my Blues Deluxe that just started humming and the first set of Sovteks in my Blues Deluxe….one of them would just start making a whistling noise like a tea kettle after being on for 5 minutes. Right now, I’m fairly happy with JJs.
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Post by spellcaster on Mar 15, 2022 4:55:43 GMT
From the reading I've done, and according to people who are tube-rollers, constantly trying to find something sonically superior, the recommendation generally seems to be that in V1 and V2 (preamp tubes in Fender amps) and V4 (reverb return/second gain stage) are the ones where there are real sonic differences. Those are the positions where you'd typically see Fender amps coming with 7025's (the high-performance, exceptionally quiet versions of 12AX7's) Those are the positions that I'd really like to find something better, if I could afford it. Right now, I've got new Groove Tubes 12AX7's in V1 and V2, and the JJ in V4. I don't necessarily think they're more likely to fail or become unreliable, but if I had dough to spend for better tubes, I'd really like to be able to buy vintage NOS glass for V2 and V4.
I've seen, some time ago, mention of a couple of more current tube producers that are making what they call 7025's, such as the TAD 7025 and the Electro Harmonics 7025EH....I honestly don't know if they're anything like the old RCA 7025's that Fender was using in the 60's, but I'd like to try them on the off chance that they really are something superior to the average 12AX7's available now.
Here's what KCA NOS Tubes says about preamp tubes in Fender amps: "This tube is critical for the best tone for channel 2 (your reverb/tremolo channel). Experiment with different types to find your tone. Get the best tube you can afford. This position is particularly sensitive to microphonic tubes due the high gain of channel 2. Highly recommended:GE 12AX7, RCA 12AX7A, ANOS RCA 12AX7A, Brimar CV492 or , RFT 12AX7. Excellent: Raytheon 12AX7"
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Post by johnreardon on Mar 15, 2022 8:16:38 GMT
I gave away all my backup stock of tubes when I disposed of my guitar-building supplies in the process of moving on News Years 2021. Since then, I've replaced the two preamp tubes for V1 and V2, the reverb 2nd gain stage V4, and a quartet of new matched TAD short-bottle output tubes in my Twin Reverb. So, I don't anticipate needing to do any tube replacements in the near future. I've never used any Russian-made tubes in any of my amps, so I don't have any anxiety about Sovteks not being available. I've heard, on the Facebook Vintage Amp Owners page, that all this talk of potential tube shortages has created a rush to buy up remaining stock, so it's created a hoarder's shortage that's basically artificial...There's still lots of alternatives in Chinese and Czechoslovakian tubes and lots of NOS American tubes available, so these hoarders are basically creating a problem that doesn't need to exist at this point. I wouldn't panic at this point....It only artificially drives up prices and gives solid state amplifier manufacturers a reason to think they can squeeze us on gear prices. If you're going to panic about anything, turn your attention to the fuel issues where there's a genuine cause for concern. Kinda like the rush on toilet paper and paper towels when Covid broke out. I’m sure there are people still using up the Toilet paper and paper towels they bought 2 years ago! 😂🤣😂🤣 Our Government sent out weekly food parcels to those on the highly vulnerable list for a few months in 2020. My wife is on that list and every Monday someone would deliver the parcel around 6 am. The parcel contained not just food, but also household things such as toilet paper. We didn't need the stuff and tried to stop the delivery, but we couldn't. Anyway the toilet paper, which is extremely thin, is still being used in the toilet upstairs in the loft. Missus hates it but being ex military, I'm used to it. Think I have 4 more rolls to go.
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 15, 2022 12:19:46 GMT
if you're a true socialist, you should share the wealth by redistributing some of those tubes to the needy (read: me) I'm not sure I am that altruistic!
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 15, 2022 12:24:49 GMT
Although I don't mean to say that I would want to profit off the current situation, I wish I knew how I could offload my tubes now that there is a rush. I have hundreds of tubes that I will never need to use again. My suggestion, dB, would be to either use the classifieds in guitar forums (such as TDPRI or Moe's Tavern 2.0, which replaced the old Fender Discussion Page) which would undoubtedly get a lot of attention, but would probably be fairly service-intensive with a lot of small orders/package mailing, or better yet, talk to one of the big tube distributors, such as KCA NOS Tubes, or possibly The Tube Store, and I'll bet they'd make you an offer for the lot that would contribute mightily to your gear fund (or maybe your sports car-acquistion fund, lol)
(Edited to add:) I'm reading all kinds of tube-anxiety posts in the vintage tube amp pages on Facebook. I just posted a link to this thread, thinking it may give the forum fresh exposure to more new members, and it may get you some inquiries on your tubes, dB. linkThank you- yes, contacting a big tube warehouse is probably the way to go. The issue is that I have many that were sourced over a period of years from different places. Sure I have tube testers and can test the strength of the individual tubes but I'm not in a position to offer warranties to sell them individually to private people. Plus, some preamp tubes test strong but sound bad so the amount of time to do extensive testing and capturing individual data would be fairly considerable. We're talking about a lot of tubes-rectifiers, voltage regulators, preamp, power...
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