New New Stock U.S. tubes promised

[DeArmond Hammer]

Western Electric has announced that it plans to produce amp tubes in Georgia, and not the R*****n Georgia but the U.S.A. Georgia. You can vote on their website for the kind of tubes you want:

We Make Electron Tubes — Western Electric - Maker of electron tubes and high fidelity

Need vacuum tubes? Western Electric is assessing plans to expand operations to accommodate other tube types. Read the full message, share your feedback.

www.westernelectric.com

Guitar.com wrote an article:

Exclusive: Western Electric confirms plans to tackle the tube crisis with its Georgia factory

The pro-audio brand tells Guitar.com how it plans to bring US-made guitar amp tubes back – and why it doesn’t want to charge a premium for doing so.

guitar.com

 

[chazmo]

That's great news!

 

[Default]

It will be pricey, but I'm in.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

Western Electric has announced that it plans to produce amp tubes in Georgia, and not the R*****n Georgia but the U.S.A. Georgia. You can vote on their website for the kind of tubes you want:

We Make Electron Tubes — Western Electric - Maker of electron tubes and high fidelity

Need vacuum tubes? Western Electric is assessing plans to expand operations to accommodate other tube types. Read the full message, share your feedback.

www.westernelectric.com

Guitar.com wrote an article:

Exclusive: Western Electric confirms plans to tackle the tube crisis with its Georgia factory

The pro-audio brand tells Guitar.com how it plans to bring US-made guitar amp tubes back – and why it doesn’t want to charge a premium for doing so.

guitar.com

Don't think the people in Georgia would like their country being described as "R*****n"!

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

Don't think the people in Georgia would like their country being described as "R*****n"!

My apologies to sovereign Georgians! I guess I can't rely on the geography I learned from Beatles albums.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

My apologies to sovereign Georgians! I guess I can't rely on the geography I learned from Beatles albums.

To be fair, The Beatles were actually right It all comes down to the difference between Russia and the USSR. the song mentions both Ukraine and Georgia, both of which were in the USSR, but not in Russia. There were 15 republics in the USSR, of which by far the biggest was Russia. Before the break up of the USSR, it was very common practice to simply refer to the USSR as Russia
It's a bit like people referring to the UK as England!

 

[Rich Cohen]

Finally. May US manufacturing rule the world.

 

[chazmo]

Getting close, guys... Please watch yourselves.

 

[Default]

How much would you pay for new tubes? Not even sure what NOS Sylvania 6L6GTs go for...

 

[JohnW63]

I often read or catch videos where folks talk about " I bought a bunch of XXX tubes when I could, because you can't get these anymore. ". Seems like enough of those statements would indicate a market that needs to be filled.

 

[Midnight Toker]

When I look at the prices of other Western Electric products...like their $15,000 home stereo amplifier, I doubt I'll be getting any newly manufactured tubes from them anytime soon. Tubes are NOT the rarity many folks claim they are. There are numerous NOS suppliers online that sell tested/guaranteed US made tubes for very reasonable prices. (actually no more than brand new foreign made tubes!) I just bought a couple oddball tubes for my early 40's National amp. (6J7, 6SC7) Stock from the 50's in their original boxes. Tested and guaranteed, w/ return. $15 per.

Vacuum Tubes Radio Tubes - 5,000 different tubes in stock - Over 10 million tubes!

NOS Vacuum Tubes for Sale | Tubes Unlimited

#1 ONLINE Source for NOS Vacuum Tubes

www.nosvacuumtubes.net

There are many more sites like those....and if you simply type the letter/number designation of the tube you need followed by the word Tube on an ebay search. Those online stores also sell their wares there as do many others. Still plenty of good tubes out there.

 

[fronobulax]

When I look at the prices of other Western Electric products...like their $15,000 home stereo amplifier, I doubt I'll be getting any tubes from them anytime soon. Tubes are NOT the rarity many folks claim they are. There are numerous NOS suppliers online that sell tested/guaranteed US made tubes for very reasonable prices. (actually no more than brand new foreign made tubes!) I just bought a couple oddball tubes for my early 40's National amp. (6J7, 6SC7) Stock from the 50's in their original boxes. Tested and guaranteed, w/ return. $15 per.

Source? I believe you but I don't buy or hunt for tubes and a lot of people complain that they cannot find new, MIA tubes. If there really are several sources for "tested/guaranteed US made tubes for very reasonable prices" I think advertising for them would help the community.

 

[GAD]

Popular NOS US-made power tubes are not $15.

 

[Midnight Toker]

Source? I believe you but I don't buy or hunt for tubes and a lot of people complain that they cannot find new, MIA tubes. If there really are several sources for "tested/guaranteed US made tubes for very reasonable prices" I think advertising for them would help the community.

I gave two direct links in my post...the first has a price list in their menu. In the past 30-40 years, as mom and pop radio repair shops and the like went belly up, these current tube vendors bought up all their inventory. Plus today I still regularly see big boxes of assorted old tubes in their original boxes at estate auctions. They are buying all those up as well. The amount of replacement tubes still in existence around the time tubes were phased out of most common applications far outweigh their necessity since. (not to mention, the amounts of foreign made tubes most players have no problem buying/using to this day) Sure, you have your tone snobs that swear by vintage Mullards and the like, but truth is very few can blindly tell the difference. I even have a local tube guy that advertises in the Annapolis Craigslist for tube testing...and will buy any old tubes, and has a massive supply for sale as well. I've dealt with him before, and likely won't again. (he's a bit of an oddball that turns a typical 5-10 min transaction into an hour long affair)

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

It's probably easier to find some of the unusual tubes right now. I wanted 6L6 tubes last week and it was easiest to find them in Europe. (Good exchange rate and fast shipping, too.) The more exotic 6EU7 I needed was about the same price for the NOS Mullard as for the new Tung-Sol.

 

[Midnight Toker]

I would also expect NOS tube vendors to know exactly what tubes they can easily gouge prices on....for vintage Fender/Marshall type amps. Not because of any extreme rarity...just because they can. Either way, I suspect 95+% of the folks on this site, if given an blind A/B audible test on what sounds better loaded into the same vintage blackface amp.. a set of vintage Mullards, or a brand new Mullards, it would go either way, if even discernable. Just saying.

And from my memory, guitar players have only really cared about vintage tubes in recent years. During the height of electric guitar playing...the 80's, when your local high end music stores were packed like sardines with wannabe rock stars buying amps, nobody was talking NOS tubes. They all wanted the latest. GT's, Sovtek, JJ, Tungsol, etc. It's still what today's very expensive boutique amps are stocked with...with no complaints. https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/the-best-guitar-amp-tubes-you-can-buy-right-now

 

[Walter Broes]

I would also expect NOS tube vendors to know exactly what tubes they can easily gouge prices on....for vintage Fender/Marshall type amps. Not because of any extreme rarity...just because they can. Either way, I suspect 95+% of the folks on this site, if given an blind A/B audible test on what sounds better loaded into the same vintage blackface amp.. a set of vintage Mullards, or a brand new Mullards, it would go either way, if even discernable. Just saying.

And from my memory, guitar players have only really cared about vintage tubes in recent years. During the height of electric guitar playing...the 80's, when your local high end music stores were packed like sardines with wannabe rock stars buying amps, nobody was talking NOS tubes. They all wanted the latest. GT's, Sovtek, JJ, Tungsol, etc. It's still what today's very expensive boutique amps are stocked with...with no complaints. https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/the-best-guitar-amp-tubes-you-can-buy-right-now

Plenty of Euro and US made tubes were sold as new in the 80's, and not yet "NOS". In the mid 80's, you could buy a duet of Groove tubes 6L6's and get sylvanias.

And about "hearing the difference" - first of all, the difference can be very audible , especially V1 preamp tubes, second, it's a little beside the actual point. Current production Russian, Chinese and Yugo tubes can sound good, but they don't last like the Euro/US tubes used to. A blackburn Mullard GZ34 rectifier lasts 20 years in the average Fender amp that's getting worked pretty hard. A Sovtek GZ34 will last two or three years if you're lucky.
Most of my amps are fully loaded with preamp tubes that haven't been made in 30 years but measure new, even after some pretty intense use. Can't do that with current production.

If it turns out Western electric can supply tubes that are Mullard/Sylvania/Siemens/Philips/TungSol quality when it comes to sound and lifespan, I'll gladly pay two and a half times the price of what's available now.

And make no mistake : plenty of complaints. Most people who design tube gear and circuits these days have some NOS stuff on hand because the new stuff drifts SO fast it's impractical/impossible to use in that application. Most techs I know install backup diode circuits and protection into amps that use GZ34 rectifiers because most people won't/can't shell out $200 for a NOS Mullard and the new stuff are time bombs that can take out your power transformer.

 

[fronobulax]

I gave two direct links in my post...

OK. My browser did not render the links or even hint that there was something there. But they are there now. Weird unless "edit silently" is being used to gaslight. ;-)

 

[Nuuska]

Before the break up of the USSR, it was very common practice to simply refer to the USSR as Russia
It's a bit like people referring to the UK as England!

And very similar - but other way - USA is often called America on this side of The Pond. . . . . . Pond - James Pond

Simply - only - language thing - nothing political.