"No More Russian Vacuum Tubes in 2022"

[Reeltarded]

That is a long video... Any specific highlights?

Yes.

At 00:00:01 he needs content.

[Phil_S]

At 00:00:01 he needs content.

I'm ashamed to admit that it took me 5 minutes to figure that out. I must be getting old.

[professormudd]

In the spirit of showing off our tube stashes, this is all I have that is not installed in an electronic device. It ain't much, but I am glad I have what I have considering current availability.

[Matthews Guitars]

As I do work as an amp tech, I feel like I need a bigger tube inventory of new tubes than I have now.

While I've got a very respectable stash of used and "pulled" tubes, and many of them are sought after USA and European made types,
a working amp tech has to keep a supply on hand to serve the needs of a working musician who just needs his reissue Twin retubed
and who isn't looking to spend his whole paycheck on a set of NOS black plate RCA 6L6GBs.

For personal needs, my prizes are my stash of Sylvania and Philips 6L6GCs, mostly STR 387 double getter types. I reserve those for my
own Mesa and Fender amps.

I have a cautionary tale for you all:

A bit over a week ago I bought a quad of matched Groove Tubes branded Shuguang KT66 tubes from Angela Instruments. At the time they were 100 bucks for a set of 4.

I have a set of the same tubes, marked Valve Art, in my restored '69 Plexi Marshall Superlead. I adjusted the bias circuit to run these tubes properly and I simply love them.
They're great tubes and I recommend them without hesitation.

They arrived poorly packed. Each one was in a bubble mailer, wrapped around it, and all four were just dropped into a cardboard box with no other protective padding.

Although none were physically broken, when I went to test them I found that one had a transconductance of zero. The filament glows normally, but otherwise it's as if
the tube isn't plugged in.

Close visual inspection of the internal connections shows no visible issues. It might be a failed solder connection inside the base pins. I MAY opt to go in there and try to determine
if that is the problem and fix it. There is a chance....assuming I keep the tube.

So, I contacted Angela Instruments to request that they send me one replacement tube with the same matching number as marked on this quartet. (Which incidentally is 32.)

They contacted me back and want me to return all four for a refund.

I don't want to do that. I want them to send me one replacement and I'll send back the one bad one.

They have doubled the price since I bought them.

They have not promised or even suggested that they would sell me another set for the original price.

I told them again that I don't want anything but one replacement sent out.

They stated again that they want me to return all four for a refund. They ignored my proposal to return ONE for replacement.
They did not acknowledge my question about getting a replacement set at the original price.

Clearly they have decided that they want me to return three good tubes I paid 25 dollars each for, and resell them for the current
price of 50 dollars each. Or even more. And give me 25 dollars for the bad one, too.

This is clearly a ripoff.

I'm keeping the set. They're just spares anyway. And I found a vendor that has unmatched tubes of the same type for a reasonable price,
and bought three on the chance that one will match up well enough. It's not like tight tube matching is actually a requirement when
the sound of slightly mismatched power tubes can be desirable anyway. That adds a distortion harmonic.

So be careful if you buy from Angela Instruments. My experience is that their customer service is not good. And they don't pack tubes worth a damn!

[dbharris]

Forgive me if this has already been posted, but all hope is not lost. Tube Amp Doctor has been getting their own factory up and running in China and aims to be at scale in a few months. Here is an English article: https://audioxpress.com/news/update-reg ... amp-doctor

Looks like TAD has a link to a similar article in German in the bio of their instagram. Interesting that they predicted the Shuguang factory wouldn't reopen. Seems that they are up to scale on most power tubes we would need and the 12ax7 family will be next. Of course TAD has always been some of the priciest options for new production. But I have been happy with their product. I would expect it to get better with them in full control of the factory.

Hopefully this is just a blip on the radar for 6 months max. I worry more about all of the boutique builders who can only sell amps if they have tubes and the working musicians way more than somebody like me, who is a hobby builder.

Out of pure dumb luck I actually ordered a bunch of NOS tubes from LA Vintage a month or so ago and I am set for my next 3 amps. Though I had different plans for some of these tubes, it wont interrupt my planned builds.

-Dan

[martin manning]

Some good info there, Dan, and there is a link to another article on WE 300B manufacturing in GA, US. Since TAD was primarily using Shuguang, I suppose they had early insight into that situation, and that has given them a head start in responding to the current supply interruption.

[Draal]

I'm keeping the set. They're just spares anyway. And I found a vendor that has unmatched tubes of the same type for a reasonable price,
and bought three on the chance that one will match up well enough. It's not like tight tube matching is actually a requirement when
the sound of slightly mismatched power tubes can be desirable anyway. That adds a distortion harmonic.

So be careful if you buy from Angela Instruments. My experience is that their customer service is not good. And they don't pack tubes worth a damn!

That is MESSED up! I'd keep em too. I run a paraphase on my octal 5D3 home-brew and don't mind some mismatch.

[Reeltarded]

Angela is not a great place to do remote business with.

+(-)1

[Charlie Wilson]

I ordered a quad of the TAD red base 6L6. Almost double what I paid for JJs before but nowhere close to the crazy $300+ people are asking on Ebay. I will report back on how long it takes to get them and my opinion of what they sound like. I do have some other makes of 6L6 to compare with including a NOS pair of Svetlana.
CW

[professormudd]

Western Electric has a survey to gauge interest in expanding their tube production.

https://www.westernelectric.com/expand

[Matthews Guitars]

The vendor of the other KT-66s came through for me. I bought three and one of them was a perfect match to my 3/4 set. Plus I now have one more that's close enough.

Unfortunately the third reads as shorted. Another case of inadequate packing leading to internal damage.

[Finom1]

Here is some additional information.

Hello,

Western Electric wants to know if you want them to start building all the vacuum tubes that you desire most in their factory in the USA!!!

This website is where you can make your feelings know about having Vacuum Tubes made here in the USA!!!

Here is the site - https://www.westernelectric.com/expand



" WE+-+Wordmark_Black.png
We make electron tubes

Western Electric is assessing plans to expand tube operations. Our latest factory is equipped to handle production of multiple tube types and, in light of recent worldwide events, we believe our capacity to do so may become vital to the industry.

While we continue to meet steady demand for the type 300B triode, we want to hear from you regarding other popular tube types. Click below. Fill the form. After you share your thoughts, be sure to share this page with others.

Western Electric has made quality tubes for over 100 years. Here’s to the next 100.
I'm Interested "

Please take the time and tell them you want them to expand their capabilities and build the highest quality Vacuum Tubes in the USA!!!

We have to unite and take action now, to make the USA independent and manufacture the highest quality in the world!!!

Put our people back to work again, in the USA!!!

Bless everyone reading this!!!

https://www.westernelectric.com/expand

[Finom1]

More information:
"
Gerald Weber
Mon, Mar 21, 11:00 AM (2 days ago)
to me

Thank you. I don’t think the tube shortage will last very long. I got an email from Mike Matthews that said he is now taking orders again. ( Mike owns the factory in Russia).

That factory makes the Mullard, the TungSol, Electro-Harmonix, Sovtek and New Sensor tubes and accounts for about 1/3 of the world market."

This is an amazing site for information!!!

[Stephen1966]

Don't know if anyone else has mentioned this yet. There's a new article in Guitar World

Amid supply crunch, Western Electric publicly floats expansion into guitar tube manufacturing

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/wester ... ube-crunch

There's also a link to Western Electric's pages where they are conducting a survey...

https://www.westernelectric.com/expand

Stephen

[Edit: Aha! I should read before I post ]

[martin manning]

Western Electric would have to change their business model a bit to get into the guitar amp market. At present they are selling pairs of 300B's direct to a few Hi-Fi geeks for $1500. At that rate I think they would want to retail 12AX7's at around $500 each. There will be price competition from the other tube manufacturers (Slovakia, Russia, China) as well as solid state technology, which becomes more attractive if tube prices get too high.