shar-vell Dan
Well-known member
Pricey bastids tho ...
Pricey bastids tho ...
JohnnyGtar
Well-known member
G
Geo
Well-known member
What's with the dildo on the bookshelf?
LP Freak
Well-known member
I think it actually takes eight tubes to qualify as a “stash”
shar-vell Dan
Well-known member
2 more quads in amps.
Those are just backups.
Im only buying as many as my wife will allow LOL.
ChuggNorris
Well-known member
I went down a nos tube rabbit hole over a long period with high gain amps.
At the end of the day. After hundreds of tubes.
I can only remember really liking the original mullard cv in PI, the rft always did wonders for a marshall on v1, and the military spec fat short plated JHS green labeled 12ax7 were cool in v2 or the 5751 green spec, the square better eras....
Every one of them eventually failed in the circuits. The power tubes were the same, old matched nos power tubes just didn't last in moat of the amps I tried them in after basing. I've never had a set of expensive nos power tubes NOT blow at least 1tube in less than a year.
And the longest lasting rft was maybe a year, with the rest failing after a month or so.
In the end, the money spent, vs the reliability, not even close to worth the hassle especially when people found out they could charge triple what they worth anyway .
At the end of the day. After hundreds of tubes.
I can only remember really liking the original mullard cv in PI, the rft always did wonders for a marshall on v1, and the military spec fat short plated JHS green labeled 12ax7 were cool in v2 or the 5751 green spec, the square better eras....
Every one of them eventually failed in the circuits. The power tubes were the same, old matched nos power tubes just didn't last in moat of the amps I tried them in after basing. I've never had a set of expensive nos power tubes NOT blow at least 1tube in less than a year.
And the longest lasting rft was maybe a year, with the rest failing after a month or so.
In the end, the money spent, vs the reliability, not even close to worth the hassle especially when people found out they could charge triple what they worth anyway .
psychodave
Well-known member
Nice. Hope you enjoy them and that they last forever. 
R
Racerxrated
Well-known member
Wow.
I guess I've been lucky then. Not one failure, ever, on a vintage pre/power tube from my stash. Now, I don't buy NOS anything. But, I did buy used/strong vintage tubes (called ANOS) and they have been fantastic. Siemens, Winged C, Mullards, Sylvania, Tesla etc. Amperex, Chinese 8/9th gen, Tungsram, Ei, RCA, GE...no issues ever.
In fact, the only failures I've had have been New Production power tubes. The latest was a TAD 6L6GC in a new amp. Took out one of the bias resistors for the test points. Prior to that experience, I've had random JJs fail. Thankfully not at a gig. Fun fact....The TAD 6L6s tested at 85% in my tube tester. These were new tubes, matched etc. The Sovtek 5881s from the 90s I replaced them with, tested at over 100%.
Go figure.
shar-vell Dan
Well-known member
Its getting harder to find ANOS & NOS that test above 50% good except if you're going to shell out $1600 bucks. [not me].
I always try to see testing data especially pics as tested.
Couple months ago i bought a quad of Amperex that were used but tested 80% good and the harmonic overtones id never heard so good.
So naturally i wanted more but they were hard to find.
I took a chance on a seller that had a quad, no pics but i was assured they were 65%+
I saw his data in print for every tube.
When they arrived one 6CA7 tested 'replace" [bad] on my tester.
I fired off a message and he again assured me they were what he said.
So i put them in my Friedman Kitchen Sink and they sounded glorious for about 5 minutes and then "POP" there went the HT fuse.
Pulling too much Z. You always run the risk with the NOS stuff even if it tests new.
Ive never had a problem with that amp in 14 years and i havent popped an HT fuse since the 80's.
I was pissed and got a partial refund. My buddy Obeid Khan told me to come to his shop and i got some spare fuses.
After 50-60 years im surprised any of this stuff works.
But when you do find the good one's it makes worth the trouble.
I recently had a seller give me an extra good 6CA7 as a spare with a pair i bought for free. That was pretty cool.
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R
Racerxrated
Well-known member
I trust my tester. Even though it's ancient, it's never steered me wrong. Personally I'd have avoided using that tube. Thankfully the fuse did its job. In these older amps, It's simply a fact that older tubes sound WAAY better than any new production. Yep, they're getting old but they were built to last ten thousand hours unlike the new, worse sounding stuff. I get it, there's no real market for tubes like 50/60 yrs ago. So they cut corners, and the EPA prevents the older process used to make tubes so they just aren't going to be as good.Its getting harder to find ANOS & NOS that test above 50% good except if you're going to shell out $1600 bucks. [not me].
I always try to see testing data especially pics as tested.
Couple months ago i bought a quad of Amperex that were used but tested 80% good and the harmonic overtones id never heard so good.
So naturally i wanted more but they were hard to find.
I took a chance on a seller that had a quad, no pics but i was assured they were 65%+
I saw his data in print for every tube.
When they arrived one 6CA7 tested 'replace" [bad] on my tester.
I fired off a message and he again assured me they were what he said.
So i put them in my Friedman Kitchen Sink and they sounded glorious for about 5 minutes and then "POP" there went the HT fuse.
Pulling too much Z. You always run the risk with the NOS stuff even if it tests new.
Ive never had a problem with that amp in 14 years and i havent popped an HT fuse since the 80's.
I was pissed and got a partial refund. My buddy Obeid Khan told me to come to his shop and i got some spare fuses.
After 50-60 years im surprised any of this stuff works.
But when you do find the good one's it makes worth the trouble.
I recently had a seller give me an extra good 6CA7 as a spare with a pair i bought for free. That was pretty cool.
I bought up my stash starting back in 14, and always looked for used/strong vs nos. Re labels can be a steal too. Just have to know what to look for. I've got 100 EL34s, most are Siemens and the rest Winged C, a few Mullard/Amperex/Sylvania 6CA7s. Pre tubes also.