Groove Tube 6L6-GE

[lastwinj]

friend put some in his dual rectifier combo. the mica spacers werent large enough, and the tube structure was actually rattling around inside the bottle. made a wonderful thunk when tapping on the tube. kudos to Aspen....

germ

[Tubetwang]

"Made in the USA" doubly written on my tubes but...huh...er...not really made in the USA?

Hum...time for a refund!

[leaveitalone84]

"Made in the USA" doubly written on my tubes but...huh...er...not really made in the USA?

Hum...time for a refund!

There's more than just tubes labeled "Made in the USA' which arn't made here.

GT isn't doing anything different than other electronic companies or retailers like Walmart. That doesn't make what they are doing any less dirty.

Heck, lots of GM's are made with chinese parts and assembled in Canada. "An American Revolution"?

I guess GT is trying to improve current production quality and supply. Can't really fault them there.

[Structo]

I thought it was a little bit disingenuous that Pittman goes on and on about these tubes being made on the old GE machines in California then to have to weed through his propaganda to find that they are assembled in China.

[Funkalicousgroove]

Propaganda being the Operative word!!

[leaveitalone84]

Propaganda being the Operative word!!

Agreed. Propaganda is the same as marketing. Each is a version of the truth from the benefactor.

[dartanion]

I KNEW IT!!!

Can't trust anyone anymore!

FWIW - I have pissed and moaned to New Sensor a bunch of times about bad batches of tubes, and it finally seems that they are doing something about it. The last few batches have all been good, no duds. And the new burn in process is a VERY nice new addition (it's how tubes were QC'd in the good old days).

The other cool things is all the New Offerings. Tung Sol now has EL34s, 6L6G, 6L6GC, 6550, and a bunch more new stuff. They all appear to be built like the Russian Military tubes.

Anyway, they don't replace NOS for great tone, but they are definitely getting a lot better.

[leaveitalone84]

I was actually very impressed by the new Tung-Sol 12AX7's which were included with my Ceriatone Express. I agree they are not to the sound quality of NOS tubes but they were quiet and had low microphonics.

Tube quality is going to keep improving though, there is such a proliferation in Music, and Hi-Fi.

Many digital studios realize some of that magic came from the tubes.

Unfortunately tube equipment carries a premium just because people will pay for it.

[Clyde]

The pictures do coincide with jnick's post stating the bases are put on here.
Legally, "Made Anywhere" only has to meet a certain percentage of national content, be it labour and or materials. I'm certain it varies country to country. Is it 70% in the USA?

[Tubetwang]

i do not want to offend anyone but...when i read "Made in the USA" twice on the bottle...i expect it to be made in the USA...and marketed as such...

I paid more for these tubes when they came out...and after reading the hype about buying the GE machinery...it was a no brainer for me to send some greens his way.

I get an uneasy feeling when it is not as advertized...and it hurts my feeling...i guess i'm a sensitive person...

[Structo]

The pictures do coincide with jnick's post stating the bases are put on here.
Legally, "Made Anywhere" only has to meet a certain percentage of national content, be it labour and or materials. I'm certain it varies country to country. Is it 70% in the USA?

In his book Pittman claims 90% USA components.
But this guy has always been know to hype his stuff up so take that with a grain of salt.
I'm just sort of pissed that he had claimed these were made in "his San Bernardino" factory when in fact they are "made" at the Shaguay factory in China.
I now wonder if those pictures I posted are actually from the China factory.
Oh Aspen, what wicked webs you weave......

[tomrasdf]

I think GT's niche is in supplying cheap and largely reliable tubes to commercial clients. Any of us DIY guys who's been around a bit knows that you just don't pay what he's asking for a new production tube. Go to tubedepot.com, thetubestore.com, or any one of a number of suppliers and you'll find reliable, new production tubes at low cost.

My bet (made in ignorance) with the 6L6-GE is that it was a project started with the best intentions that never panned out for some reasonm and now he's in the difficult position of not being able to deliver on the claims he made to the public consumer. This gives him the benefit of the doubt and assumes that he's neither a liar or a con-man, which I have no reason to believe he is. He just doesn't seem to be handling this wiht the msot integrity.

[Tubetwang]

I'm old fashioned when it comes down to business...

"Made in the USA" to me...means "Made in the USA"

"Wanted to be made in the USA but could'nt" means "Wanted to be made in the USA but could'nt"

How would you feel if you purchased a Kenneth Fisher Trainwreck at Ultrasound for thirthy nine only to find out later that it is built by a guy in Montana from a kit fancied up with a Bob's excellent Cherry?

The way it's going...you don't know what your buying...No wonder they shot John...the guy was almost crucified....

That's probably why i took early retirement...i was getting sick of it all...

Now...where is my medication???

[muchxs]

Western Electric still manufactures tubes in Huntsville, Alabama, don't they?

http://www.westernelectric.com/history/tour01.html

Cetron still builds small batches for the U.S. military.

[Tubetwang]

yes they are big in the hi-fi dept with the 300B line and a few others...
Parts Connexion does'nt seem to carry the line anymore...