The holy grail

[Pills Are Yummy]

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/ele/3627155213.html

Omigod

[Rooster009]

Wow!

[B-string]

But there may not be one tube in there that is common to audio use. A gamble unless you go through them before you buy.

[Pills Are Yummy]

Trust me, it gets better

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/ele/3618433456.html

[salcott]

Same problem-unless proven otherwise, they're all gonna be tubes useless for audio purposes.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by Pills Are Yummy

Trust me, it gets better

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/ele/3618433456.html

That guy is on crack!
Word to the wise: Old service cases contain a lot of tube types that you will not have a use for. It was also common practice to swap tubes from a malfunctioning unit as though the tube maybe "good" to a tube tester, the unit is the best tester and used tubes in "new" boxes is pretty common.

In short....don't get overly excited without a "hands on" inspection.

[Pills Are Yummy]

Originally Posted by B-string

That guy is on crack!
Word to the wise: Old service cases contain a lot of tube types that you will not have a use for. It was also common practice to swap tubes from a malfunctioning unit as though the tube maybe "good" to a tube tester, the unit is the best tester and used tubes in "new" boxes is pretty common.

In short....don't get overly excited without a "hands on" inspection.

Dangit

[two fingers]

Originally Posted by B-string

But there may not be one tube in there that is common to audio use. A gamble unless you go through them before you buy.

This. I actually went to meet a guy who had something like this for sale. I took my smart phone so I could Google some of the tubes. Not one single tube (of the HUNDREDS he had) was any good for typical amp applications. Most were oddballs. He even had some that were commonly used in old TV cameras (according to the interwebs). I even had a site bookmarked that cross referenced interchangeable tubes. Just because it's a vacuum tube, that doesn't mean it will do anything for an amp.

Consider this. The first computer had 18,000 of them (so many that if it was turned on at night it would dim the lights of west Philly). And I'll bet none of them were any good for audio use.

[two fingers]

Originally Posted by Pills Are Yummy

Trust me, it gets better

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/ele/3618433456.html

Yep. My father in law has a box that looks a lot like that. Unless you are going to start a side business repairing TVs that are currently worth about $20 (the TVs, not the tubes) then they are useless. And $2K is insane. Even if it were full of 12AX7s and 6550s I doubt they would command that price.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by Pills Are Yummy

Dangit

Go look before you buy! And not $2000 for a service case. Last one I bought off flea bay had about what I thought. $100 worth of tubes and I paid $58 with shipping.

[Pills Are Yummy]

Originally Posted by B-string

Go look before you buy! And not $2000 for a service case. Last one I bought off flea bay had about what I thought. $100 worth of tubes and I paid $58 with shipping.

Well I know that the price was insane, I just thought posting this would make you guys be all like "wow! Look at all tose tubes " lol

[B-string]

Sorry practical side of me responded.
WOW!

That's better

[Catanova]

As an antique buyer, I occasionally get lucky an find a caddy full of tubes. HOWEVER, I am amazed at how many tubes in the caddy are not useful for music amplifiers at all! Check the tube types prior to buying, and also expect to find tubes that dont match the printed type and/or brand on any individual box....

Buyer beware! Service techs back in the day were thrifty and installed a new tube, but occasionally would put the replaced (old) tube in the box because it "still had life left in it" This can be heart-breaking after opening an old Mullard or Amperex box and discovering another brand tube that is damn near exhausted

[Matt Dean]

I live in Santa Rosa... I might go look at the $250 box for recreational purposes, but I feel properly warned.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by Matt Dean

I live in Santa Rosa... I might go look at the $250 box for recreational purposes, but I feel properly warned.

Then we did the job properly Good luck on the visit.

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Pills Are Yummy

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/ele/3627155213.html

Omigod

Anyone who can't be bothered to even take a minute to actually explain what his thread is about - and instead expects us to click on his dopey links in order to figure it out - is someone who is going to go straight to my "Ignore" list from now on.

Buh-bye now! Buh-bye!

MM