2 tube questions: ID'ing Siemens EL34s, and mismatched biases?

[StingRay85]

RFT made EL34, not Siemens.

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

RFT made EL34, not Siemens.

Haha Yeah, I get it - you bought HUNDREDS of Siemens thinking they were RFT EL34s and got taken- because you dont know what you're talking about .. sell them on eby and try to recoup your losses lol

 

[StingRay85]

Whatever LOL. RFT

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

Whatever LOL. RFT

Whatever is right - you say whatever because you have no idea what you're talking about - I've sold hundreds of tubes at high profit to guys just like you - guys that 'think' they know - but they dont. They buy overpriced tubes and then think they have some 'special knowledge' and then spew BS all over the internet to basically just feed their ego. I'm just trying to help the OP with info...your info? ...RFT made EL34, not Siemens....why should anyone believe info like this? Nothing but your ego backing it up....so ...how about some actual info out of you instead of blowhard opinion - if you know you know - if you dont you dont and its clear you DONT

 

[StingRay85]

You are proud of selling at high profit. Congratulations. I've seen enough BS info on ads. Explain me why a brand like Siemens would relabel their EL34 tubes as Telefunken, Siemens, Philips, National, RFT. In the beginning, they even relabelled EL34 Mullard tubes with Siemens logo.

RFT was east Germany, still behind the iron curtain when they were made there. There are also subtle differences throughout the years. Some have codes on the base of socket. Some big brands simply never made some types. E.g. GZ34 was never made by Telefunken or Siemens, they all sold Mullard/Philips made tubes

 

[Sir Don]

 

[StingRay85]

https://www.jogis-roehrenbude.de/EL34-Story/EL34-Story-Seite4.htm

Case closed.

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

You are proud of selling at high profit. Congratulations. I've seen enough BS info on ads. Explain me why a brand like Siemens would relabel their EL34 tubes as Telefunken, Siemens, Philips, National, RFT. In the beginning, they even relabelled EL34 Mullard tubes with Siemens logo.

RFT was east Germany, still behind the iron curtain when they were made there. There are also subtle differences throughout the years. Some have codes on the base of socket. Some big brands simply never made some types. E.g. GZ34 was never made by Telefunken or Siemens, they all sold Mullard/Philips made tubes

You actually missed the point - I used to list on ebay usually starting tubes at $19.99 - from there on out it was out of my hands. My point being was most people actually dont know and just go with the 'common heresay knowledge' out there which is often incorrect. I was saying you are kind of adding to the heresay knowledge. I'm actually trying to help people here - including you - I dont know everything by any means but enough to help the OP who was trying to ID tubes.

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

You are proud of selling at high profit. Congratulations. I've seen enough BS info on ads. Explain me why a brand like Siemens would relabel their EL34 tubes as Telefunken, Siemens, Philips, National, RFT. In the beginning, they even relabelled EL34 Mullard tubes with Siemens logo.

RFT was east Germany, still behind the iron curtain when they were made there. There are also subtle differences throughout the years. Some have codes on the base of socket. Some big brands simply never made some types. E.g. GZ34 was never made by Telefunken or Siemens, they all sold Mullard/Philips made tubes

Explain me why a brand like Siemens would relabel their EL34 tubes as Telefunken, Siemens, Philips, National, RFT.

Its actually simple - they were in business to make a profit. The huge tube companies were manufacturers of tubes. Tung Sol for example started out (1920s?) making light bulbs and automobile headlights and then moved to electron tubes. If GM wanted to buy 100,000 headlights and didnt want 'Tung Sol' on it but wanted GM on it instead - thats the cost of doing business. Many companies do this and if you are old enough to remember Sears & Robuck catalog, they basically relabeled brand name goods from rifles to bicycles and sold them at a profit. Sears was not a manufacturer - they were a retailer. Same thing with many tube manufacturing companies - they stopped manufacturing but still had millions of willing customers....so now you have Telefunken...or RCA...or Tung sol - all who kind of sold out and stopped manufacturing around the same time - mid 70s. TVs radios, stereos, car stereos, amplifiers - so many things took tubes. You went to the pharmacy or grocery store to use their tube tester to test the tubes in your TV or radio - thats how common it was - and when one tested bad - everyone sold tubes because everything electrical took them. So you went to Sears or the grocery store and most people went for brand names that they knew - RCA - Telefunken - whtever...but when they stopped manufacturing them, instead of RCA losing profit because they knew people needed tubes, - they just bought them from any manufacturer that could get them from and labeled them RCA - for the profit. I have over the years had RCA labeled Mullard, Siemens, E.I, Tungsram, RFT and more. If you look on ebay and search RCA 12AX7 tubes and its paint label is RCA but doesnt have the 'RCA box' with the tube number in it with USA under it....chances are its NOT an RCA. This was very common in the mid 70s-80s when all USA tube manufacturers stopped (high toxic stuff) yet everyone still wanted tubes...

I apologize if I came off as rude, I'm just trying to help anyone if they want to know

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

https://www.jogis-roehrenbude.de/EL34-Story/EL34-Story-Seite4.htm

Case closed.

So I saw lots of Siemens EL34s there haha - Siemens have the 4 rectangular crimps on each side but the RFT has the round imprint and the solid disc getter....the interesting thing about this 'argument' is you are pointing to other sources...you actually dont seem to know. So lets try to put out some things to consider - One huge factor in all this is RFT (besides 9 pin tubes) didnt make that many loctal base tubes...If they did everyone would know RFT EL34s because for a short time they were Marshall amp spec....yet I never got any RFT EL34s in my Marshalls....I did get RFT ECC83s.The reason is RFT couldnt keep Marshall in supply with EL34s, so Marshall went to Tesla (Chec- brown base double halo getters - which I pointed out earlier) and kept RFT ECC83s. Siemens was one of the last Euro tube companies to fold long after RFT did. In Europe it could be argued Siemens produced most tubes than any other.

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

So I saw lots of Siemens EL34s there haha - Siemens have the 4 rectangular crimps on each side but the RFT has the round imprint and the solid disc getter....the interesting thing about this 'argument' is you are pointing to other sources...you actually dont seem to know. So lets try to put out some things to consider - One huge factor in all this is RFT (besides 9 pin tubes) didnt make that many loctal base tubes...If they did everyone would know RFT EL34s because for a short time they were Marshall amp spec....yet I never got any RFT EL34s in my Marshalls....I did get RFT ECC83s.The reason is RFT couldnt keep Marshall in supply with EL34s, so Marshall went to Tesla (Chec- brown base double halo getters - which I pointed out earlier) and kept RFT ECC83s. Siemens was one of the last Euro tube companies to fold long after RFT did. In Europe it could be argued Siemens produced most tubes than any other.

I'm not going to argue the point - you are obviously heavily and financially invested in RFT EL34s so of course your going to fanboy it. Keep in mind all tubes go up in value so if you sell you likely make a profit unless you bought stupid high. Do yourself a favor....but a pair of the old brown base Teslas and sound test - then sell all your RFTs off....or get a pair of these - they are hard to find - ultra rare USA made 1960s- take a guess - heres your chance to prove what you know

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

so

https://www.jogis-roehrenbude.de/EL34-Story/EL34-Story-Seite4.htm

Case closed.

So can you name ANY products produced in communist countries in the 70s - 80s that that made it to free Western country markets....NOPE

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

Ok well lets leave it at this - whether they were made by Siemens or RFT it doesnt really matter - both were made in Germany and both would be considered tier 2 or tier 3 tubes. Best I've heard (not including the old metal base EL34s) - Real Telefunken OO getters two holes in the plate with the wings black bases - then Ameperex DD getter brown base UK Xf2 codes....after that 'maybe' Mullard Xf2 OO getters ....but the 70s Tesla OO overlapping getters are about as good as the DD Amerexex....the tube on the right shows exactly what to look for along with the brown bases....any of those you'll sell all the RFT and Siemens

 

[StingRay85]

Allright. Trolls like you get the ignore button. Bye

 

[StingRay85]

I'm not going to argue the point - you are obviously heavily and financially invested in RFT EL34s so of course your going to fanboy it. Keep in mind all tubes go up in value so if you sell you likely make a profit unless you bought stupid high. Do yourself a favor....but a pair of the old brown base Teslas and sound test - then sell all your RFTs off....or get a pair of these - they are hard to find - ultra rare USA made 1960s- take a guess - heres your chance to prove what you know

You're clueless. The tubes in your pic called "usa" are actually made by Telefunken, and I have several of those. Brown base Tesla are also quite common. I would suggest you try a translate function on the German site, it gives you the entire history of the EL34 including the one from RFT. But seems like you have your head to far up your ass to actually see that you're wrong

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

It was a test jackass...but...you are a bass player haha

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

You're clueless. The tubes in your pic called "usa" are actually made by Telefunken, and I have several of those. Brown base Tesla are also quite common. I would suggest you try a translate function on the German site, it gives you the entire history of the EL34 including the one from RFT. But seems like you have your head to far up your ass to actually see that you're wrong

"made by Telefunken, and I have several of those"...seems to me you're all talk that does alot of web resreach and parrots what you read...anyone who has REAL Telefunken or brown base Teslas - and is raving about tier 2 EL34s - obviously cant tell the difference and likely doesnt own tier 1 EL34s either....I'd say you likely cant hear the difference anyways and would be better served with an old peavey solid state amp. Nothing to be ashamed of though. Everyone kind of starts there....how about post some vids of you playing and showcasing the Telefunken EL34s?

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

Yep..Stingray....you're just another internet blowhard spouting off about his great 'tools' of the trade...yet when asked to display his 'expert tool use'....crickets hahaha

 

[asd123asd234sdrf]

Got them in today, no etched codes that I can find on the glass. One has 91 and one has 98 in raised letters on the bottom of the base.

 

[Gblev]

Explain me why a brand like Siemens would relabel their EL34 tubes as Telefunken, Siemens, Philips, National, RFT.

Its actually simple - they were in business to make a profit. The huge tube companies were manufacturers of tubes. Tung Sol for example started out (1920s?) making light bulbs and automobile headlights and then moved to electron tubes. If GM wanted to buy 100,000 headlights and didnt want 'Tung Sol' on it but wanted GM on it instead - thats the cost of doing business. Many companies do this and if you are old enough to remember Sears & Robuck catalog, they basically relabeled brand name goods from rifles to bicycles and sold them at a profit. Sears was not a manufacturer - they were a retailer. Same thing with many tube manufacturing companies - they stopped manufacturing but still had millions of willing customers....so now you have Telefunken...or RCA...or Tung sol - all who kind of sold out and stopped manufacturing around the same time - mid 70s. TVs radios, stereos, car stereos, amplifiers - so many things took tubes. You went to the pharmacy or grocery store to use their tube tester to test the tubes in your TV or radio - thats how common it was - and when one tested bad - everyone sold tubes because everything electrical took them. So you went to Sears or the grocery store and most people went for brand names that they knew - RCA - Telefunken - whtever...but when they stopped manufacturing them, instead of RCA losing profit because they knew people needed tubes, - they just bought them from any manufacturer that could get them from and labeled them RCA - for the profit. I have over the years had RCA labeled Mullard, Siemens, E.I, Tungsram, RFT and more. If you look on ebay and search RCA 12AX7 tubes and its paint label is RCA but doesnt have the 'RCA box' with the tube number in it with USA under it....chances are its NOT an RCA. This was very common in the mid 70s-80s when all USA tube manufacturers stopped (high toxic stuff) yet everyone still wanted tubes...

I apologize if I came off as rude, I'm just trying to help anyone if they want to know

You make a lot of excellent points here. Really, what's written on a tube means nothing. This is why you need to learn to be able to identify the internals of various tubes, especially those you like. Back in the golden era of tubes, so many companies made tubes for other companies, then put that company's label/logo on the tube for them. It was a normal practice. The simple way to explain it is that 'it was just business.'

Even then, not all factories put their etchings on the tube. Sometimes, you'll find a tube made by GE for RCA, or even Amperex, and it won't have the GE etchings or dots. Most of the time it will. But not always. But the internals, never change. Of course, through the years, companies like GE had a few different plate structures they used, so if you like GE's, or particular plate structure, learn them. This way you'll know 'your' tube when you see, no matter what the label says on it.