Vacuum tubes are making a comeback.

[ac100X]

Semiconductors are a fad. We can't afford to fall behind in vacuum tube technology.

Look what happen to VOX when they switch to those transistors, ....out of business. Should have kept the tubes.

 

[agedhorse]

There are two remaining active audio tube manufacturing plants in the world since the Shugang plant in China burned.

One is in Saratov, Russia, and is operated in partnership with Electro-Harmonix for seven brands including Sovtek, TungSol, Gold Lion, EH Gold and Mullard. Prices for popular 12AX7, EL34 and 6L6/5881 derivatives have skyrocketed since the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, with most 12AX7 preamp tubes currently at $50-52 each.

The other remaining factory is in Slovakia where JJ tubes are made. 12AX7/ECC83 tubes have gone up, but are currently at $20/ea. Of course if Russia were ever to try to invade Slovakia, all bets would be off. though a fire or other costly event would more be a more likely end for JJ's operations.

Less than 20 years ago, there were four plants - Shugang, Winged-C/Svetlana (St Petersburg Russia - also possible victim of a fire, though never confirmed), and JJ (Slovakia), and Electro-Harmonix (Saratov Russia).

Not quite true, there are several smaller Chinese manufacturers that ended up with some equipment from the Shuguang plant.

 

[Grinderman]

So what's the verdict?

A thing called a magazine apparently declared "Twilight of The Guitar Hero" while tubes might coming or going or they're front or back...

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

This thread motivated me to buy an extra pair of JJ backup tubes for my Noble preamp. So I've got two sets of backups. I bought them from Invalid Link Removed. After placing the order I asked them if there were issues they're experiencing with availability of tubes, with Ukraine and all. Their reply:

There are still tube manufacturing plants that have stayed (relatively) unaffected by the Russia/Ukraine conflict. Both Invalid Link Removed and Invalid Link Removed have had consistent stock since around last summer.​

 

[Leo was right]

Sorry, I just love this amp.

 

[SteveCS]

D class is ruling the market.

Rightly so. My 15-year-old Shuttle 6.0 with 2 12" excelled again on Saturday night, with several compliments on my bass tone. OK, it has a tube preamp but that has next to no bearing on the amount of air being moved or the manner in which it is moved. What an amp.

 

[baddarryl]

McIntosh is now making a lot of their old classic all tube amps and preamps due to demand after not making them for a few decades because tubes were 'dead'.

Take your pick, not cheap though. Mc1502 and 2152 are 150 Watts/channel, the bottom one is a 350 watt mono amp, you need two. (used at Woodstock) R bottom is a 300 watt mono


McIntosh Mono, Stereo & Multi-Channel Amplifiers for Home Audio & Home Theater

My son works at a shop that sells those. You better bring a beefy check book and honestly I don't hear the difference between them and stuff 1/10 their price. They are a status symbol it seems now. Massive value of diminishing returns.

 

[6thplanet]

My opinion, the hybrid tube pre/class D power is a great platform for bass instrument amplification. It gets you 80-90% of the way a full tube amp sounds.

 

[agedhorse]

My opinion, the hybrid tube pre/class D power is a great platform for bass instrument amplification. It gets you 80-90% of the way a full tube amp sounds.

Maybe even better IMO.

 

[agedhorse]

My son works at a shop that sells those. You better bring a beefy check book and honestly I don't hear the difference between them and stuff 1/10 their price. They are a status symbol it seems now. Massive value of diminishing returns.

That's certainly an example of a lifestyle product, combining feel good with status.

 

[basscooker]

I still haven't plugged into any amp, hybrid or not, that has the same magic as my Ampro. I can't define it; I can't accurately describe it...

But derrrrn there's something about it that just makes it FEEL alive, and the hairy but defined tones simply drip with loveliness.
Admittedly it does still have a tube rectified power section and 50+ y.o.. 6V6GT bottles... but no tone control whatsoever. Quite literally input and output. Not even volume control....

I've put my shuttle 3's preamp into it and get a bit more volume, but still, 20-ish watts makes her a Living-Room queen. Wish I could take her out once in a while...

 

[Brian Patterson]

I’ll just add to agedhorse’s absolutely spot-on accurate post here that tube manufacturing is one of the most toxic, nasty, environmentally destructive processes in the world.

I think the last American tube plants closed in the late 80s. Certainly no later than the early 1990s.

So we should stock up on replacement tubes for our amps before they fade into nonexistence? I just put a new set in my old Roland Bolt 60 head amp - the previous set got very light use and lasted over 40 years.

 

[agedhorse]

So we should stock up on replacement tubes for our amps before they fade into nonexistence? I just put a new set in my old Roland Bolt 60 head amp - the previous set got very light use and lasted over 40 years.

I wouldn't worry about it too much currently.

 

[basscooker]

Which begs the question, @agedhorse , what about my ('scuse my probably wrong identification if I get this wrong, lol been a bit since I've had it in front of me) 5Y3GT rectifier?

Even "all tube" amps these days have solid state rectifiers (unless I've gleaned incorrectly) ... so as far as tubes used over the years; are there any, maybe odd ducks that used to be somewhat common, that have become less available?

I'd imagine, since even "tube snobs" accept a solid state rectifier in their amp that these kinds of parts might be getting scarce. Any reason to grab one or two "just 'cuz"?



Edit: maybe what rectifier tubes do makes no difference, whether solid state or not, to tone?

 

[Wasnex]

Which begs the question, @agedhorse , what about my ('scuse my probably wrong identification if I get this wrong, lol been a bit since I've had it in front of me) 5Y3GT rectifier?

Even "all tube" amps these days have solid state rectifiers (unless I've gleaned incorrectly) ... so as far as tubes used over the years; are there any, maybe odd ducks that used to be somewhat common, that have become less available?

I'd imagine, since even "tube snobs" accept a solid state rectifier in their amp that these kinds of parts might be getting scarce. Any reason to grab one or two "just 'cuz"?



Edit: maybe what rectifier tubes do makes no difference, whether solid state or not, to tone?

It doesn't hurt to have a spare, but I wouldn't go nuts. Sovtek appears to still make a 5Y3GT and JJ offers a 5Y3S.

Pretty sure you can buy a brand new amp with a tube rectifier if you want. Definitely boutique builders will make one for you.

 

[agedhorse]

Tube rectifiers were a commonly unreliable part, though they worked better with choke input filters. Solid state rectifiers are generally much better for bass guitar applications anyway.

 

[basscooker]

Ooohhhh

I thought that generally speaking solid state had taken over the rectifier duty and tubes doing that job were passe.

Thanks, Gents.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Ooohhhh

I thought that generally speaking solid state had taken over the rectifier duty and tubes doing that job were passe.

Thanks, Gents.

A solid state rectifier is not in the signal path so it doesn’t make it a solid state hybrid.

Solid state rectifiers do not sag like a tube rectifier can. Solid state can be cleaner because of the lack of sag.

A tube rectifier is much more limited in the current it can supply. As a result tube rectifiers are most often found in lower wattage tube amps such as under 50W. They can be operated in parallel but it takes up space, adds to the expense, and they require a beefier power transformer.

Tube rectifiers have other design related issues.

 

[agedhorse]

With an appropriate design, tube rectifier circuits can be made to perform very similar to tube rectifier circuits in the "sag department". The key parameter is that the dynamic impedance varies with current, it's not a fixed value.

 

[rickdog]

... 20-ish watts makes her a Living-Room queen. Wish I could take her out once in a while...

Got PA support? All you need is a DI with an input pad that can handle a speaker-level signal.

When playing somewhere with a real PA, I like to use an Ashdown CTM-30 (30W, about 2 dB more than your 20W) that has a DI that's its own separate winding on the output transformer.