Vacuum tube supply
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
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martin manning
- Posts: 14308
- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 12:43 am
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Vacuum tube supply
So what about the availability of vacuum tubes? Scanning the web I see psvane 12AX7 are going for $17, JJ about $19 and the various EH are offered for $29, and $39 for the premium gold pin products. Western Electric has not materialized as a source as of yet, so it’s still the usual manufacturers, with EH supplies probably limited to current stocks. How are people feeling about the future?
Re: Vacuum tube supply
Hello Martin --
A fairly comforting selection here https://www.thetubestore.com/preamp-tub ... tube-types; albeit with a bit of sticker shock, though realistically not too dissimilar to impressions at the fresh fruit and vegetable section at my local grocer. The "Preferred" and "Northern Electric" are, best to understanding, Chinese made with perhaps some collaboration in design and definitely some level of selection with testing QA. And there's also https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/ with whole range of 12AX7, presumably all Chinese made though possibly less clear alternatives.
It's uncertain how well JJ runs their supply chain these days. New Sensor Russian stuff is obviously a big TBD.
Shrug?
Best .. Ian
A fairly comforting selection here https://www.thetubestore.com/preamp-tub ... tube-types; albeit with a bit of sticker shock, though realistically not too dissimilar to impressions at the fresh fruit and vegetable section at my local grocer. The "Preferred" and "Northern Electric" are, best to understanding, Chinese made with perhaps some collaboration in design and definitely some level of selection with testing QA. And there's also https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/ with whole range of 12AX7, presumably all Chinese made though possibly less clear alternatives.
It's uncertain how well JJ runs their supply chain these days. New Sensor Russian stuff is obviously a big TBD.
Shrug?
Best .. Ian
Re: Vacuum tube supply
there will always be tubes..i have also some personal reserve of NOS 12AX7's just in case... 
Re: Vacuum tube supply
Everyone is and will speculate. This is how everyone always made money during and after crisis.
Most of us will probably start experimenting unusual tubes to lower the budget of our hobby.
Some will take tubes from unused amps to put them in the amp they'll use.
Other will pay standard tubes 4 times more than 3 years ago.
For sure, with the advent of very good modelers and alot of people using them, "guitar" tube sells will go down in the following decades, and so their prices will go up and availability down proportionally.
There will be a time when modelers will come to the Hi-Fi with small class D power amps, and they will be realistic as they are now for guitar amplification.
You will be then able to have a 300B single ended sound for a piano&voice song, then a McIntosh MC275 for a rock ballad.
Then probably tubes will be no more needed, except for old fashioned nostalgics.
Most of us will probably start experimenting unusual tubes to lower the budget of our hobby.
Some will take tubes from unused amps to put them in the amp they'll use.
Other will pay standard tubes 4 times more than 3 years ago.
For sure, with the advent of very good modelers and alot of people using them, "guitar" tube sells will go down in the following decades, and so their prices will go up and availability down proportionally.
There will be a time when modelers will come to the Hi-Fi with small class D power amps, and they will be realistic as they are now for guitar amplification.
You will be then able to have a 300B single ended sound for a piano&voice song, then a McIntosh MC275 for a rock ballad.
Then probably tubes will be no more needed, except for old fashioned nostalgics.
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johnnyreece
- Posts: 1072
- Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2012 2:05 am
- Location: New Castle, IN
Re: Vacuum tube supply
I gave up on new tubes a while back and ordered some Soviet-era Russian tubes off eBay from sellers in Ukraine. I couldn't stomach paying over $25 for a 12AX7 (at the time). The 6N1P is a fraction of the cost of new production, and I get to send some money to people in Ukraine who need it more than I do. I understand this doesn't help if one has an amp that *needs* a particular tube, but for a guy like me who builds one-offs, it's a great option. Another direction I went was to get some 5V tubes. I often have unused 5V filament taps (I prefer SS rectifiers), so there's an option for using that for weirdo tubes (I recently used a 5u8, for example, and have some 5V6GTs that I got for almost nothing). No matter what way you all choose, I think my days of buying new are over, unless I build for someone who specifically requests new production, and I'll let them pay for it.