Why can’t we produce vacuum tubes in the USA?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mr. Willy
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I wonder how many small amp builders and amp repair shops are going to finally be shut down for good, after the lockdown, followed by the lack of available parts and now this tube issue. What's happening for the last few years have been brutal on these businesses.
I feel very sorry for them.
 
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Sneerim said:
it's not EPA, it's all the other costs. From https://legendarytones.com/aspen-pittman-interview/:

Aspen Pittman: Oh man, this is a 2 hour answer, but suffice to say after doing dozens of audio projects/products over the last 22 years, including the Speaker Emulator development, the development of the original Groove Tubes tube performance matching systems, the many tube mics with parallel capsule development, the many tubes we started up in the 4 foreign tube factories…that this was by FAR the toughest adventure to date.

It’s not the common "EPA restrictions" that people site, because there is relatively little of that really, much less than making PCB’s for example, but the lack of material and processing that is tube specific that makes the job so hard. Where to get the Nickle or Plate materials, or mica, or the wire needed to make grids…all those suppliers are GONE! I had to develop new sources or resurrect old ones. And as for machines to make the grids or process the vacuum or sealing…these are not made anymore so you have to search out old ones and refurbish them…even the glass and stem are a BIG issue, and although they are relatively unimportant for achieving a tonal or performance goal…they still have to be specified and sourced. IT has taken me more than 4 years and more than 1 million dollars to get to this point, and we are still not doing all processes in house yet.
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Sounds like a really interesting, challenging and rad business to start up!
Anybody contact Elon Musk about any of this?
Machines..we need machines to make parts for the machines..that’s where I’d pierce the juggler.
If we all run out of tubes,?
Get with Bob from Eurotubes, he has a swimming pool full of pre amp & power amp tubes in the backyard.(faulty or intermittent tubes).
How can all those be dud’s?
Ya feel me?
 
JimAnsell said:
that big headed fuck isn't gunna want to go back in time tech wise. unless he can build tubes on mars, and get some PR for it, he ain't doin shit. :D
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Well Jimbo, buddy,
at least you can buy his tweets.?
I truely wished Elon would have accepted Mickey Rourke’s $250k offer for a fight.
I hear Mickey’s face is literally falling of his face.
That’s why he still fights, he’s gotta doing something, his face is cascading away as we speak, a rock in a hard face..?
 
Once the military moved to solid-state and commercial appliances did as well, its just down to music amplifiers. Nobody goes into business to lose money. It will settle down eventually, but tube prices are going to go up and they probably won't be coming back down.
 
There will never be tubes produced again --EVER !! I will buy you tube amps for .05 on the dollar !!
 
All Elon Bashing aside, i've been wanting to splurge on a full retube (thats 8 6l6' and 7 12ax7s for my rig...easy 250-300 before the war). When i can get them again, god only knows... Fuck i wish i hadn't put it off. last retube on the simul sat was in 2014 (says previous owner) and the mark IV in around the same time by me, so its certainly about that time. Everything is working and sounding fine, so thats good at least, but i know they're old.
 
Belarus isn't sanctioned fully yet are they? They can ship out tubes by the crate!

But realistically, sit tight. China will ramp back up. You don't think Bugera has a source? They brand their own. They are ready to go. They are chinese tubes. Bugera will save the day and the tubes sound pretty good to me anyway.
 
I wonder if this shortage will spark anyone or a company to do more research on alternatives that will work with tube amps like the retrovalves Jet City did a while back.
 
The market as a whole is nowhere like it use to be. The major amp companies are not even selling what they used to.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I wonder if this shortage will spark anyone or a company to do more research on alternatives that will work with tube amps like the retrovalves Jet City did a while back.
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I've brought this up before but it would potentially be cool if someone could take the Retrovalve concept and somehow get an algorithm in there to simulate power current fluctuations, bias drift, microphonics, feedback, and 'bounce' etc to replicate the feel.

Otherwise, no thanks.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
I wonder if this shortage will spark anyone or a company to do more research on alternatives that will work with tube amps like the retrovalves Jet City did a while back.
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I was thinking about those a few days back..never gained any traction. Besides saying they sounded like tubes, did they ever do a side by side?
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
I was thinking about those a few days back..never gained any traction. Besides saying they sounded like tubes, did they ever do a side by side?
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I saw an old comparison video yesterday. They were surprisingly close, but you could still tell they weren't tubes. Just sounded like really good solid state.
 
HarryCooter said:
I saw an old comparison video yesterday. They were surprisingly close, but you could still tell they weren't tubes. Just sounded like really good solid state.
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I guess in a pitch they would do..maybe more consistent and reliable for live use as well though I think power tubes would be the issue. I don't think they did anything with power tubes did they?
 
I have one of each of the Jet City Retrovalves just in case. They do kind of "SS-ify" your amp though

AMT has their own version called the Warmstones which are probably even better. They were supposedly working on power tube versions as well but I don't think those were ever released

As far as I'm concerned AMT makes the best sounding/feeling SS gear ever so if anyone can do it right it'd be them
 
Devin said:
I have one of each of the Jet City Retrovalves just in case. They do kind of "SS-ify" your amp though

AMT has their own version called the Warmstones which are probably even better. They were supposedly working on power tube versions as well but I don't think those were ever released

As far as I'm concerned AMT makes the best sounding/feeling SS gear ever so if anyone can do it right it'd be them
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AMT is russian though so forget that one! (aren't they?)
 
SBlue said:
I wonder how many small amp builders and amp repair shops are going to finally be shut down for good, after the lockdown, followed by the lack of available parts and now this tube issue. What's happening for the last few years have been brutal on these businesses.
I feel very sorry for them.
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I don’t know of too many builders that could rely on building as their sole source of income even befor lockdown. Most people don’t have an appreciation for handmade to justify the price and you really need to have a staff to donut at any profitable scale like BAD. Add transformers to the list of casualties. Mercury is really expensive and their main guy Patrick recently passed away. Classic Tone is gone. Heyboer is slow from what I hear and the New Sensor falls under EHX (Russian)
 
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