Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? - Page 60

MartyStrat54 · 10-17-2009, 10:16 PM

Yeah, the Amperex is still my favorite even though we are all suffering from Telefunken fever. An Amperex in V1 with the BP is a killer one, two punch. The Sylvania's in V3 and V4 add reliability. ROCK ON!

solarburnDSL50 · 10-17-2009, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MartyStrat54

Joe...

I was doing some looking for real 6CA7's. I cannot believe the prices that KCA wants. Most places were $250 for a pair NIB. KCA wants $390 for a pair NIB. I did however find this little ditty about the 6CA7EH. Apparently I would not be able to use them in my 602.

electro harmonix 6ca7eh (matched pair)

Man what the hell. The descriptions of these point to how well they will handle higher voltages and how stout of a tube they are. According to KCA I shouldn't be running them either. My PV is 475v right now with them in. I'll get ahold of the Tubestore and Doug's(he tells me what tubes to avoid even if he sells them)and see if they confirm what Mike has on his site about them. Thanks for the heads up.

ProfChaos · 10-17-2009, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jupiter89

I remember in the late 60's early 70's when my dad would send me to the local Super X drug store to test and buy new tubes for either the Zenith TV or the tube equipped stereo we had. At the front of the store was the tube tester that indicated something like poor, fair, good on a meter after you plugged in the tube into its appropiate socket. In the drawers below in pristine RCA and Sylvania boxes were brand new tubes for just a few bucks. I wonder what happened to all those old gems when the solid state TV's, radios and stereo came around ?

The greedy people who now sell NOS tubes online--for wayyy too much money--went around like pack-rats and collected them from the drawers below those tube testers, out of old TV's, from drawers in grandpa's garage, etc.

MartyStrat54 · 10-18-2009, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfChaos

The greedy people who now sell NOS tubes online--for wayyy too much money--went around like pack-rats and collected them from the drawers below those tube testers, out of old TV's, from drawers in grandpa's garage, etc.

I wouldn't call every person who went tube hunting greedy. A lot of us have been on tube hunts. I personally sell tubes and I don't think any of my customers would call me greedy. I hope that they would call me fair.

There are sellers that are off the charts, but no one forces you to buy from them. I shop around and buy smart. The price of tubes varies greatly. Right now, tubes are on the upswing and have gone up by around 30 per cent. There are many reasons for this. The bottom line is there is a demand and there are a lot of buyers. The average selling price on EBAY has spiked, especially on choice tubes, Black Plates, old RCA's, Telefunkens, Mullards, Amperex and such. These sellers aren't greedy, they are just benefiting from the active market.

solarburnDSL50 · 10-18-2009, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MartyStrat54

I wouldn't call every person who went tube hunting greedy. A lot of us have been on tube hunts. I personally sell tubes and I don't think any of my customers would call me greedy. I hope that they would call me fair.

There are sellers that are off the charts, but no one forces you to buy from them. I shop around and buy smart. The price of tubes varies greatly. Right now, tubes are on the upswing and have gone up by around 30 per cent. There are many reasons for this. The bottom line is there is a demand and there are a lot of buyers. The average selling price on EBAY has spiked, especially on choice tubes, Black Plates, old RCA's, Telefunkens, Mullards, Amperex and such. These sellers aren't greedy, they are just benefiting from the active market.

Those last tube pics you took were crystal clear persuasion.

RiverRatt · 10-18-2009, 01:12 AM

I didn't intend to go tube hunting today, but we were in a town an hour or so away that we don't know that well. We were cruising downtown and there was a nice looking thrift store. They had a Conn organ right up front for only $800 (these people are very optimistic). I'm looking at the thing and walk around back and there's like this slot that you could kinda fit your hand in if you tried. There were AT LEAST six vertical rows of preamp tubes in this beast with six tubes in each row, plus an amplifier on one side that I couldn't see well, possibly with 6V6s. Anyway, I'm standing there trying to get my hand into the back of this thing, just to wipe the dust off the tubes and see what they are of course. I think each row was a different kind of tube. I know that one row was six clear top RCA 12AU7As, and the row that I was messing with when the store person gave me the "Can I help you?" cue to move on was definitely all Raytheons, but I couldn't see a number. I'd heard people say that organs were a good source of tubes, but holy shit, I've never seen so many tubes in one appliance in my life. I doubt seriously if there's enough in there to justify the $800 price tag, but I'd love to see what all is in there.

MartyStrat54 · 10-18-2009, 02:43 PM

Two of my main sellers do nothing but "pull" tubes from organs. Some have way more tubes than what you saw. Some have up to 60+ 12AX7s in them, plus other 12XX7 tubes. The power tubes can be anything from 6BQ5's all the way up to BP RCA 6L6GC's. Boy, I'd love to rob a big organ. That would be nice. Oh...did I say a lot of the early 60's models used Raytheon BP's?

RiverRatt · 10-18-2009, 09:01 PM

The Ei tubes aren't bad. Their website says they used the old Telefunken machinery and the tube is supposed to be a knockoff of a smooth plate Tele. It definitely leans in that direction. I tried one in V1 and it's a tone I could live with. They are a little more gainy than I like, but the tone is well rounded with nice upper mids and smooth highs. That extra gain seems to make it a good PI candidate, too. It's nice to find good tubes in your own stash.

How do these do with high voltages? Will they burn up quick in V3 and V4?

MartyStrat54 · 10-18-2009, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RiverRatt

How do these do with high voltages? Will they burn up quick in V3 and V4?

V4 should never be a problem. The Ei was a good tube and should not have a problem with V3. As I said, Marshall was glad to have their tubes. All of the 90's Marshall amps had Ei's. Ever see any Marshall's with these?

Ei EL34's One of the few EL34 tubes I've ever seen with a tip like a smaller tube.

MartyStrat54 · 10-18-2009, 10:05 PM

Here you go Alan. Another country of manufacture. These are copies of the Sylvania Fat Boys. Made in South Korea for the U.S. Military. Era approximately 1982.

South Korean 6CA7's The Sylvania's have three round holes on the plate.

racko7566 · 10-18-2009, 10:38 PM

So heres my starting line up. The gruesome foursome.

MartyStrat54 · 10-18-2009, 10:56 PM

Hello!!! Are you new to the thread? Here is a primo four pack of 12AX7's. These would make any tube amp sing.

V1-Amperex
V2-Raytheon Black Plate
V3-Sylvania Gray Plate
V4-Sylvania Gray Plate

Super picture by RACKO!

solarburnDSL50 · 10-18-2009, 10:57 PM

I like that you guys are posting pics now. Helps getting to know them for everyone.

solarburnDSL50 · 10-18-2009, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MartyStrat54

Here you go Alan. Another country of manufacture. These are copies of the Sylvania Fat Boys. Made in South Korea for the U.S. Military. Era approximately 1982.

South Korean 6CA7's The Sylvania's have three round holes on the plate.

I shed a tear...

Cause they're real.

Now that's a fatty!

MartyStrat54 · 10-18-2009, 11:11 PM

I'd like to have about eight of them. I'll bet they were very well made. They had to be...they were MIL SPEC tubes.

racko7566 · 10-19-2009, 12:21 AM

Sorry for the jumbo pic, I have to figure out how to size them right. Guess I got a little exited.

solarburnDSL50 · 10-19-2009, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racko7566

Sorry for the jumbo pic, I have to figure out how to size them right. Guess I got a little exited.

That's a good pic. Can see everything...

Off to work now. Have a good one guyz!

racko7566 · 10-19-2009, 12:49 AM

Don't work too hard solarburnDSL50.

RiverRatt · 10-19-2009, 01:03 PM

What tubes had pinched or seamed tops other than Mullards?

MartyStrat54 · 10-19-2009, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RiverRatt

What tubes had pinched or seamed tops other than Mullards?

Well as I said in other areas of this thread, you have to look at Philips. Philips was the giant towering over everyone else...European or US. Philips had financial interests in just about every tube company. Philips actually bought Amperex in 1955 so they could sell their new line of small signal tubes such as the ECC81, 82 and 83 in the US market. Philips also had a huge share in Mullard. Remember, Philips bought Sylvania in 1984 and the company became Philips ECG. It produced tubes until 1988. The last giant standing.

Amperex and all of the tubes produced under Philips has a pinched top. Now the pinch isn't as coarse as what is on a Mullard, but it is still there. Apparently their technique was a little better than Mullard.

Here is a Canadian Philips/Amperex relabeled as Electrohome. This was a very popular brand in Canada and if you come across any, buy them. Make sure that they have the pinched top.

In the first shot, I tried to get the "pinch" in focus. The pinch is located at a 2 and 8 o'clock position. You can see a white reflection near the 8 o'clock position. Anyway, all Philips, Amperex, MiniWatt, Valvo, POPE, etc. are all made the same.

In the top picture, you can see the pinch at about 2 o'colock. The yellow tip denotes the tube underwent special testing for medical equipment use.

MartyStrat54 · 10-19-2009, 09:52 PM

Here is a page I stumbled across. I love finding stuff like this, because I am a knowledge buff in regards to tubes. What I liked was the Sylvania story. They actually made the best tubes until the early 60's. Their equipment lasted until the 70's, but they had lost the "magic" to make the best tubes. Basically, they say the later stuff (Philips era of ECG tubes) were junk. I'll take that to heart. I have told you that some of the ECG military tubes sound just awful. They are rugged and last forever, but they have no soul.

History of Tube Companies

MartyStrat54 · 10-19-2009, 10:00 PM

Here is my latest acquisition from EBAY. A real pair of high test, double getter Philips 6CA7's. I got them for about one third of what the online stores want for tubes like this. $104.

Pair of Philips 6CA7/EL34 Vacuum Tubes - NR - eBay (item 140351951821 end time Oct-19-09 11:35:48 PDT)

Click on the "Enlarge" under the picture to see them in all of their glory.

solarburnDSL50 · 10-20-2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MartyStrat54

Here is my latest acquisition from EBAY. A real pair of high test, double getter Philips 6CA7's. I got them for about one third of what the online stores want for tubes like this. $104.

Pair of Philips 6CA7/EL34 Vacuum Tubes - NR - eBay (item 140351951821 end time Oct-19-09 11:35:48 PDT)

Click on the "Enlarge" under the picture to see them in all of their glory.

Well you know I'm chomp'n on the bits to hear how these sound.

Much better price than those stores...

Oh shit those 6CA7EH's are loud! They make lead 2 sound pretty damn good. Usually I don't play on lead 2 but these tubes make it sound raw and fat in a good way. In a naughty way. This is the second day of cranking them and I just got done. I like it without a boost too. Just a slight boost is ok. Any more and it diminishes the great lows coming through. Actually after this last session I'm liking them more. I haven't spent any time on lead 1 yet so I can't comment there. The Clean & Crunch is very warm and fat. So for blues and rock they are delivering some fat raw tones. The women tones are pure sex.

Alright I gotta hit the hay now.

solarburnDSL50 · 10-20-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MartyStrat54

Here is a page I stumbled across. I love finding stuff like this, because I am a knowledge buff in regards to tubes. What I liked was the Sylvania story. They actually made the best tubes until the early 60's. Their equipment lasted until the 70's, but they had lost the "magic" to make the best tubes. Basically, they say the later stuff (Philips era of ECG tubes) were junk. I'll take that to heart. I have told you that some of the ECG military tubes sound just awful. They are rugged and last forever, but they have no soul.

History of Tube Companies

This is cool.

MartyStrat54 · 10-20-2009, 02:40 PM

Unfortunately the entire R.C.A. receiving tube division was liquidated in a 12 day auction during the fall of 1976, this basically broke the back of the tube manufacturing industry (and the supporting industries) in the U.S.A.

Just doing a lot of reading and it blows my mind that solid state devices had overwhelmed the tube companies since the early 50's. They knew well in advance that tubes would be history. Based on what I have said before, RCA crumbled well before several other giants. When RCA folded, it destroyed the foundation of the remaining tube companies. Like Philips/Sylvania, a few made it to 1988. That seems to be the final year of production for USA tube companies. 1989 was a dead year and that's when everyone was looking at RFT and Tesla. Damn good tubes, maybe not as good as some, but still above average. Solid state amps were not going to hit this part of the world for some time and tube production flourished. I was sad to see RFT, Tesla, Tungsram and Ei fail. If these four companies could have remained, they would be blowing the Russian and Chinese tubes out of the water. We would have decent, good working tubes. One's that would be safe to use in the power section. These were some of the last giants to fall. Some made it as far as 2003.

thefyn · 10-20-2009, 03:55 PM

I'm open for opinions on current production pres for the 3 pre slots on my 50 watt JCM800.

racko7566 · 10-20-2009, 04:43 PM

Do you think with the rising demand for quality tubes that some small american companies might consider making tubes? Not super mass produced, but more like a specialty product.

MartyStrat54 · 10-20-2009, 05:02 PM

Here's some codes for you tube hounds. They were talking about an FB code on a Mazda tube. I don't know what FB code is...perhaps it
could be related to the Mazda stuff such as date or lot codes.

KB = tube factory

D = Mullard

DA = Mullard but in different location

FE = STC (Standard Telephone and Cables)

Z = M.O.V

DA = Brimar

In the early 1960's STC spun off Brimar to "Thorn-AEI Radio Valves and
Tubes LTD." The history gets a bit complex.

This company made tubes under the Mazda and Brimar names, as well as
Ediswan. FYI, Mazda was a British company for those who don't know, and
in the 1920's Ediswan and Mazda were major makers of radio tubes.
Ediswan being the world's first radio tube maker (A joint effort started
in 1883 by Edison Eletric Light Co and Swan Electric Lighting Co.)

All of the tube makers, all of them, started out as light bulb companies.

Many of Mazda's later tubes were made in French factories and are
excellent. I have some of the 6V6GT's someone mentioned, and they are
very nice sounding, and extremely durable. They are early production
made for the war dept labeled "services plublic guerre". Guerre meaning
war in French.

In fact one of the earliest 12ax7's I've ever seen was a Mazda made in
France. It has the exact same plate as the first Amperex 12ax7 (I'm
talking before Bugle Boy). This Amperex tube is very rare and may not
have even been made in Holland, though the label says it was. The
getter ring of the Mazda is unmistakably Telefunken. It's very nice.

Mazda 6V6's are probably French, or at least I've heard of French
Mazda 6V6-GT. I did miss British maker, there were Cossor 6V6-G, too,
made in UK, and Cossor did use at least some US numbers, eg: I have
a Cossor 6J5-G here. BTW, the price was 7 bob & sixpence, plus
1 bob & 8d PT, for a total of 9s/2d. Out of a guinea you'd have
recieved 11/10 in change. Got that?

Don't quote me, but I believe Mazda is another head of the
Philips hydra, there was British Mazda, French Mazda, plus
another Belgian cousin, Adzam, which is Mazda spelled
backwards.

I'd bet FIVRE in Italy and Neotron in France made
6V6-G, too. Just to confuse matters further.
ADZAM did make 6SQ7-GT, so I'd bet they made
(or sold) 6V6-G or GT, also.

More INFO on the big headed HYDRA...Philips. Man, they owned everybody.

Tube Questions FAQ

RiverRatt · 10-20-2009, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MartyStrat54

Here's some codes for you tube hounds. They were talking about an FB code on a Mazda tube. I don't know what FB code is...perhaps it
could be related to the Mazda stuff such as date or lot codes.

According to the Philips book I posted a few pages ago, it most likely stands for:
F = La Radiotechnique, Suresnes
B = February

If you don't have the book (you probably do), it's a great source for factory and type codes.

http://www.audiotubes.com/PhilipsCodeList.pdf

MartyStrat54 · 10-20-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RiverRatt

According to the Philips book I posted a few pages ago, it most likely stands for:
F = La Radiotechnique, Suresnes
B = February

If you don't have the book (you probably do), it's a great source for factory and type codes.

http://www.audiotubes.com/PhilipsCodeList.pdf

The one I have is an actual printed copy. I don't know where to look for it though. It was unrevised and didn't have the revision numbers crossed out. It's around here somewhere.

The thing that's blowing my mind is that Philips owned Mullard and Amperex and a whole lot of other tube companies. I did some reading and before Philips bailed out, they were getting a lot of their tubes from Japan. Also, when they sold the rights to Mullard, Tung-Sol and Amperex, they turned around and bought out Sylvania and part of GE. This was the Philips ECG brand. As I said, they were all toast by 1988. The Multi-Headed Hydra was slain. Like they said in one of those articles, most Amperex made in Holland were MiniWatt tubes. The one's made in German were Valvo. Then they had their hands in Mullard, Brimar, Mazda and many others. Where did you say that Amperex tube was made? It could say, Made In Holland," but it could have been made in Japan.

Rule of thumb. Always try to buy tubes prior to 1966. The hanky-panky all started after that. That's why I prefer White Label RCA's over Red Label. With the White Label, you can assure yourself that they were made in the USA. I like the Red Labels, but the country of origin can be misleading.

Even an Amperex Bugle Boy is still a Philips tube, that was probably made at the MiniWatt plant.

Oh I need to add this. Avoid ECG preamp tubes. They were made on worn out Sylvania equipment and they are a poor USA tube. The ECG power tubes, like 6550's, 6L6GC's and 6CA7's are okay, not as good as a 60's model, but could still take high plate voltage.

10-17-2009, 10:16 PM	#1771 (permalink)
MartyStrat54 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Formerly Phoenix, now north of KC Posts: 2,583	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Yeah, the Amperex is still my favorite even though we are all suffering from Telefunken fever. An Amperex in V1 with the BP is a killer one, two punch. The Sylvania's in V3 and V4 add reliability. ROCK ON! __________________ MARTY 2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine 1989 Fender Strat Plus USA 2008 Fender Tele USA 2004 Schecter Elite w/DiMarzio's TSL100 with custom 4x12 cab. TSL122 with Man 'O War Speakers. TSL602 #1 with JBL D123 Speakers and 602 #2 with Altec 417 Speakers. "Oh so sweet my friends." DSL401 #1 with Red Fang Speaker and 401 #2 with JBL D123 Speaker. Tubes: Let's just say they are NOS that kick ass.

10-18-2009, 01:12 AM	#1776 (permalink)
RiverRatt Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Between Memphis and Nashville Posts: 517	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? I didn't intend to go tube hunting today, but we were in a town an hour or so away that we don't know that well. We were cruising downtown and there was a nice looking thrift store. They had a Conn organ right up front for only $800 (these people are very optimistic). I'm looking at the thing and walk around back and there's like this slot that you could kinda fit your hand in if you tried. There were AT LEAST six vertical rows of preamp tubes in this beast with six tubes in each row, plus an amplifier on one side that I couldn't see well, possibly with 6V6s. Anyway, I'm standing there trying to get my hand into the back of this thing, just to wipe the dust off the tubes and see what they are of course. I think each row was a different kind of tube. I know that one row was six clear top RCA 12AU7As, and the row that I was messing with when the store person gave me the "Can I help you?" cue to move on was definitely all Raytheons, but I couldn't see a number. I'd heard people say that organs were a good source of tubes, but holy shit, I've never seen so many tubes in one appliance in my life. I doubt seriously if there's enough in there to justify the $800 price tag, but I'd love to see what all is in there.

10-18-2009, 02:43 PM	#1777 (permalink)
MartyStrat54 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Formerly Phoenix, now north of KC Posts: 2,583	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Two of my main sellers do nothing but "pull" tubes from organs. Some have way more tubes than what you saw. Some have up to 60+ 12AX7s in them, plus other 12XX7 tubes. The power tubes can be anything from 6BQ5's all the way up to BP RCA 6L6GC's. Boy, I'd love to rob a big organ. That would be nice. Oh...did I say a lot of the early 60's models used Raytheon BP's? __________________ MARTY 2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine 1989 Fender Strat Plus USA 2008 Fender Tele USA 2004 Schecter Elite w/DiMarzio's TSL100 with custom 4x12 cab. TSL122 with Man 'O War Speakers. TSL602 #1 with JBL D123 Speakers and 602 #2 with Altec 417 Speakers. "Oh so sweet my friends." DSL401 #1 with Red Fang Speaker and 401 #2 with JBL D123 Speaker. Tubes: Let's just say they are NOS that kick ass.

10-18-2009, 09:01 PM	#1778 (permalink)
RiverRatt Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Between Memphis and Nashville Posts: 517	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? The Ei tubes aren't bad. Their website says they used the old Telefunken machinery and the tube is supposed to be a knockoff of a smooth plate Tele. It definitely leans in that direction. I tried one in V1 and it's a tone I could live with. They are a little more gainy than I like, but the tone is well rounded with nice upper mids and smooth highs. That extra gain seems to make it a good PI candidate, too. It's nice to find good tubes in your own stash. How do these do with high voltages? Will they burn up quick in V3 and V4?

10-18-2009, 10:05 PM	#1780 (permalink)
MartyStrat54 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Formerly Phoenix, now north of KC Posts: 2,583	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Here you go Alan. Another country of manufacture. These are copies of the Sylvania Fat Boys. Made in South Korea for the U.S. Military. Era approximately 1982. South Korean 6CA7's The Sylvania's have three round holes on the plate. __________________ MARTY 2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine 1989 Fender Strat Plus USA 2008 Fender Tele USA 2004 Schecter Elite w/DiMarzio's TSL100 with custom 4x12 cab. TSL122 with Man 'O War Speakers. TSL602 #1 with JBL D123 Speakers and 602 #2 with Altec 417 Speakers. "Oh so sweet my friends." DSL401 #1 with Red Fang Speaker and 401 #2 with JBL D123 Speaker. Tubes: Let's just say they are NOS that kick ass.

10-18-2009, 10:38 PM	#1781 (permalink)
racko7566 Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Lancaster, Pa. Posts: 72	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? So heres my starting line up. The gruesome foursome.

10-18-2009, 10:56 PM	#1782 (permalink)
MartyStrat54 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Formerly Phoenix, now north of KC Posts: 2,583	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Hello!!! Are you new to the thread? Here is a primo four pack of 12AX7's. These would make any tube amp sing. V1-Amperex V2-Raytheon Black Plate V3-Sylvania Gray Plate V4-Sylvania Gray Plate Super picture by RACKO! __________________ MARTY 2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine 1989 Fender Strat Plus USA 2008 Fender Tele USA 2004 Schecter Elite w/DiMarzio's TSL100 with custom 4x12 cab. TSL122 with Man 'O War Speakers. TSL602 #1 with JBL D123 Speakers and 602 #2 with Altec 417 Speakers. "Oh so sweet my friends." DSL401 #1 with Red Fang Speaker and 401 #2 with JBL D123 Speaker. Tubes: Let's just say they are NOS that kick ass.

10-18-2009, 11:11 PM	#1785 (permalink)
MartyStrat54 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Formerly Phoenix, now north of KC Posts: 2,583	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? I'd like to have about eight of them. I'll bet they were very well made. They had to be...they were MIL SPEC tubes. __________________ MARTY 2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine 1989 Fender Strat Plus USA 2008 Fender Tele USA 2004 Schecter Elite w/DiMarzio's TSL100 with custom 4x12 cab. TSL122 with Man 'O War Speakers. TSL602 #1 with JBL D123 Speakers and 602 #2 with Altec 417 Speakers. "Oh so sweet my friends." DSL401 #1 with Red Fang Speaker and 401 #2 with JBL D123 Speaker. Tubes: Let's just say they are NOS that kick ass.

10-19-2009, 12:21 AM	#1786 (permalink)
racko7566 Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Lancaster, Pa. Posts: 72	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Sorry for the jumbo pic, I have to figure out how to size them right. Guess I got a little exited.

10-19-2009, 12:49 AM	#1788 (permalink)
racko7566 Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Lancaster, Pa. Posts: 72	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Don't work too hard solarburnDSL50.

10-19-2009, 01:03 PM	#1789 (permalink)
RiverRatt Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Between Memphis and Nashville Posts: 517	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? What tubes had pinched or seamed tops other than Mullards?

10-19-2009, 09:52 PM	#1791 (permalink)
MartyStrat54 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Formerly Phoenix, now north of KC Posts: 2,583	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Here is a page I stumbled across. I love finding stuff like this, because I am a knowledge buff in regards to tubes. What I liked was the Sylvania story. They actually made the best tubes until the early 60's. Their equipment lasted until the 70's, but they had lost the "magic" to make the best tubes. Basically, they say the later stuff (Philips era of ECG tubes) were junk. I'll take that to heart. I have told you that some of the ECG military tubes sound just awful. They are rugged and last forever, but they have no soul. History of Tube Companies __________________ MARTY 2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine 1989 Fender Strat Plus USA 2008 Fender Tele USA 2004 Schecter Elite w/DiMarzio's TSL100 with custom 4x12 cab. TSL122 with Man 'O War Speakers. TSL602 #1 with JBL D123 Speakers and 602 #2 with Altec 417 Speakers. "Oh so sweet my friends." DSL401 #1 with Red Fang Speaker and 401 #2 with JBL D123 Speaker. Tubes: Let's just say they are NOS that kick ass.

10-19-2009, 10:00 PM	#1792 (permalink)
MartyStrat54 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Formerly Phoenix, now north of KC Posts: 2,583	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Here is my latest acquisition from EBAY. A real pair of high test, double getter Philips 6CA7's. I got them for about one third of what the online stores want for tubes like this. $104. Pair of Philips 6CA7/EL34 Vacuum Tubes - NR - eBay (item 140351951821 end time Oct-19-09 11:35:48 PDT) Click on the "Enlarge" under the picture to see them in all of their glory. __________________ MARTY 2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine 1989 Fender Strat Plus USA 2008 Fender Tele USA 2004 Schecter Elite w/DiMarzio's TSL100 with custom 4x12 cab. TSL122 with Man 'O War Speakers. TSL602 #1 with JBL D123 Speakers and 602 #2 with Altec 417 Speakers. "Oh so sweet my friends." DSL401 #1 with Red Fang Speaker and 401 #2 with JBL D123 Speaker. Tubes: Let's just say they are NOS that kick ass.

10-20-2009, 02:40 PM	#1795 (permalink)
MartyStrat54 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Formerly Phoenix, now north of KC Posts: 2,583	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Unfortunately the entire R.C.A. receiving tube division was liquidated in a 12 day auction during the fall of 1976, this basically broke the back of the tube manufacturing industry (and the supporting industries) in the U.S.A. Just doing a lot of reading and it blows my mind that solid state devices had overwhelmed the tube companies since the early 50's. They knew well in advance that tubes would be history. Based on what I have said before, RCA crumbled well before several other giants. When RCA folded, it destroyed the foundation of the remaining tube companies. Like Philips/Sylvania, a few made it to 1988. That seems to be the final year of production for USA tube companies. 1989 was a dead year and that's when everyone was looking at RFT and Tesla. Damn good tubes, maybe not as good as some, but still above average. Solid state amps were not going to hit this part of the world for some time and tube production flourished. I was sad to see RFT, Tesla, Tungsram and Ei fail. If these four companies could have remained, they would be blowing the Russian and Chinese tubes out of the water. We would have decent, good working tubes. One's that would be safe to use in the power section. These were some of the last giants to fall. Some made it as far as 2003. __________________ MARTY 2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine 1989 Fender Strat Plus USA 2008 Fender Tele USA 2004 Schecter Elite w/DiMarzio's TSL100 with custom 4x12 cab. TSL122 with Man 'O War Speakers. TSL602 #1 with JBL D123 Speakers and 602 #2 with Altec 417 Speakers. "Oh so sweet my friends." DSL401 #1 with Red Fang Speaker and 401 #2 with JBL D123 Speaker. Tubes: Let's just say they are NOS that kick ass.

10-20-2009, 03:55 PM	#1796 (permalink)
thefyn Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 24	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? I'm open for opinions on current production pres for the 3 pre slots on my 50 watt JCM800.

10-20-2009, 04:43 PM	#1797 (permalink)
racko7566 Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Lancaster, Pa. Posts: 72	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Do you think with the rising demand for quality tubes that some small american companies might consider making tubes? Not super mass produced, but more like a specialty product.

10-20-2009, 05:02 PM	#1798 (permalink)
MartyStrat54 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Formerly Phoenix, now north of KC Posts: 2,583	Re: Preamp Tubes? - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Here's some codes for you tube hounds. They were talking about an FB code on a Mazda tube. I don't know what FB code is...perhaps it could be related to the Mazda stuff such as date or lot codes. KB = tube factory D = Mullard DA = Mullard but in different location FE = STC (Standard Telephone and Cables) Z = M.O.V DA = Brimar In the early 1960's STC spun off Brimar to "Thorn-AEI Radio Valves and Tubes LTD." The history gets a bit complex. This company made tubes under the Mazda and Brimar names, as well as Ediswan. FYI, Mazda was a British company for those who don't know, and in the 1920's Ediswan and Mazda were major makers of radio tubes. Ediswan being the world's first radio tube maker (A joint effort started in 1883 by Edison Eletric Light Co and Swan Electric Lighting Co.) All of the tube makers, all of them, started out as light bulb companies. Many of Mazda's later tubes were made in French factories and are excellent. I have some of the 6V6GT's someone mentioned, and they are very nice sounding, and extremely durable. They are early production made for the war dept labeled "services plublic guerre". Guerre meaning war in French. In fact one of the earliest 12ax7's I've ever seen was a Mazda made in France. It has the exact same plate as the first Amperex 12ax7 (I'm talking before Bugle Boy). This Amperex tube is very rare and may not have even been made in Holland, though the label says it was. The getter ring of the Mazda is unmistakably Telefunken. It's very nice. Mazda 6V6's are probably French, or at least I've heard of French Mazda 6V6-GT. I did miss British maker, there were Cossor 6V6-G, too, made in UK, and Cossor did use at least some US numbers, eg: I have a Cossor 6J5-G here. BTW, the price was 7 bob & sixpence, plus 1 bob & 8d PT, for a total of 9s/2d. Out of a guinea you'd have recieved 11/10 in change. Got that? Don't quote me, but I believe Mazda is another head of the Philips hydra, there was British Mazda, French Mazda, plus another Belgian cousin, Adzam, which is Mazda spelled backwards. I'd bet FIVRE in Italy and Neotron in France made 6V6-G, too. Just to confuse matters further. ADZAM did make 6SQ7-GT, so I'd bet they made (or sold) 6V6-G or GT, also. More INFO on the big headed HYDRA...Philips. Man, they owned everybody. Tube Questions FAQ __________________ MARTY 2009 Gibson Explorer-Hell Raising Machine 1989 Fender Strat Plus USA 2008 Fender Tele USA 2004 Schecter Elite w/DiMarzio's TSL100 with custom 4x12 cab. TSL122 with Man 'O War Speakers. TSL602 #1 with JBL D123 Speakers and 602 #2 with Altec 417 Speakers. "Oh so sweet my friends." DSL401 #1 with Red Fang Speaker and 401 #2 with JBL D123 Speaker. Tubes: Let's just say they are NOS that kick ass.

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