Offer of four 6L6 tubes

[Markus]

Hi guys, I´ve got the offer to buy four 6L6 tubes which are chosen from A. Dumble personally as the man who offers the tubes says. He has got the tubes from a another guy who made service for Dumble amps in Germany during the 1990s. The offer for the tubes is 800 Euros. I don´t know who is the producer of the tubes, maybe they are four old Sylvania tubes. There is nothing written on the tubes. My Dumble ODS actually got four US Philips tubes inside and the sound is great.
Is a price of 800 Euros o.k. or is that too much? What´s your opinion?

Markus

[tubedogsmith]

that's nuts.

[Structo]

Way too much.

Even for the grail which most say is the RCA 6L6 I wouldn't pay more than $100 each.

[tejastubes]

800 euros which is approx $1,061 USD in todays rate.

Regardless of who selected them this is stupid unless they were NOS GEC KT66 or GEC KT77 or GEC KT88, then that would be approx fair value.

I disagree with structo on his pricing of RCA BP 6L6GC tubes as these sell for $400 per pair NOS NIB or $275 for ANOS. Sylvania STR (which dumble used alot) are $100 each, and the GE tall boy 6L6GC are $100 each as well with the short bottle being $90 each.

Also, the testing and matching service is what you pay for not who selected them years ago. This is just nonsense.

If you want some precision matched tubes which have been tested and screened on state of the are equipment then call me.

Joshua

[Max]

Hi guys, I´ve got the offer to buy four 6L6 tubes which are chosen from A. Dumble personally as the man who offers the tubes says. He has got the tubes from a another guy who made service for Dumble amps in Germany during the 1990s. The offer for the tubes is 800 Euros. I don´t know who is the producer of the tubes, maybe they are four old Sylvania tubes. There is nothing written on the tubes. My Dumble ODS actually got four US Philips tubes inside and the sound is great.
Is a price of 800 Euros o.k. or is that too much? What´s your opinion?

Markus

Hi Markus,

1. Tubes chosen (and matched) by A. Dumble personally are specified by Mr. Dumbles own hands with some silver or gold paint script and somtimes his signature (H.D./A.D.) is added.

If there is nothing written on the tubes I would recommend to doubt this statement ("personally chosen") of the seller.

2. My personal experience:
For the kind of ODS (#094) you bought from Gregor Hilden you will have best results with Philips/Sylvania STR or GE 6L6. These are the tubes Alexander used in the early eighties. You can substitide the STR with Philips 7581A (more headroom, tighter low end). If you do so, the idle current should be adjusted not too low, otherwise the sound will be more brittle as with the STR type. GE 6L6 have a more pronounced midrange. It's all a matter of personal taste anyway.

You can buy those tubes (Sylvania STR, 7581A, GE 6L6) NOS at some places in www. 800 seems a very high price (IMHO).

Look out for some, that are matched not only in regard of their idle current but over their complete range of operation. TAD calls this: "Transconductance".

If you prefer to leave NOS aside, I would try the "Winged C".

For adjusting idle current and symmetry I would recommend to look for a tech with as much experience with Dumble amps as possible.

Rick Wheeler, the tech of Larry Carlton and Daved Kohls, the tech of Robben Ford as far as I know once recommended a German tech for the service of Dumble amps in Europe.

The guy is called Michael Tauber and his shop is "Atelier der Tonkunst" in Darmstadt. After all I know, Michael did service more than twenty Dumble amps over the last twenty years. Pictures of some of these you'll find on Bill Morgan's site ("Dumble gallery by Atelier der Tonkunst").

If you have some more questions how to keep#094 in best condition and use it with best results and as much fun as possible, feel free to ask.

All the best

Max

[Markus]

Hi, Max,

thank you for all the informations. In the moment the #94 works very well and I´m very satisfy with the tone of the amp (and all the people who listened my playing too...)! It´s a great tipp to call Michael Tauber in Darmstadt if I´ll have any questions or problems in the future. Thanks!

Markus

[Max]

Hi, Max,

thank you for all the informations. In the moment the #94 works very well and I´m very satisfy with the tone of the amp

Hi Markus,

you're welcome and I agree: never change a winning team!

Cheers and lots of fun

Max