Tube Question

[metal_kiwi]

Good evening folks, I am in the process of changing out the tubes in my late model DSL100H with NOS tubes so far I have sourced 3 mesa 12ax7a tubes from the 80's and a Philips long plate tube from the 50's-60's era. So far I have put one of the mesa tubes into V1 and the other is going into V4(pi) when it arrives with that long plate philips tube what would be the best position for that only one of the stock 12 AX7B tubes will stay in the amp till I can find another NOS mesa tube. the other mesa tube is in V1 of my DSL1C if you were wondering why that one was not mentioned.

Thanks in advance

 

[charveldan]

Mesa tubes are not "NOS" IMO.

Put the Phillips in V-1.

 

[Micky]

I agree with charveldan.
Phillips in V1 then look for real NOS tubes.

 

[tschrama]

put the valve with the highest transductance in V1. be it new, old, vintage, 2nd hand, used, chinese, european, american.. doesnt matter... highest transductance in V1.

 

[metal_kiwi]

Mesa tubes are not "NOS" IMO.

Put the Phillips in V-1.

That is how the mesa tubes were advertised so took it that they were NOS as the seller bought them back in the 80's and never used them the amp sounds alot better than what it was especially on the ultra gain channel

 

[charveldan]

That is how the mesa tubes were advertised so took it that they were NOS as the seller bought them back in the 80's and never used them the amp sounds alot better than what it was especially on the ultra gain channel

Mesa just re-brands [put their name] on Russian, Slovak {JJ} & Chinese tubes like Groove Tubes and a number of other vendors.
Most real NOS tubes were made before 1970.

 

[anitoli]

Put you best tube in the PI. Trust me on this one.

 

[RLW59]

Before the US and European tube factories shut down in the '70s, they estimated how many tubes would be needed to support existing products and churned out huge final batches. But consumers replaced their tube TV's, radio's, hifi's with solid-state much more quickly than expected -- they didn't keep buying replacement tubes, they just junked their old tube gear.

So there were warehouses full of NOS tubes. Repair shops with shelves of tubes gathering dust. No one wanted them except for guitarists, and most of the companies with overstocks of tubes were unaware of that market.

Groove Tubes started out by going around to those companies and buying their unwanted tubes. RCA's, GE's, Mullards, Telefunkens, Amperex, etc. Tested them, matched them, and painted the GT logo on them.

Remember the Berlin Wall didn't come down until 1989, and the USSR didn't collapse until 1991. Even if we had wanted to, we couldn't import Reflektors, Svetlanas, Ei's, JJ's in the '80s. We had some trade with China, but no one wanted Soviet or Chinese tubes when there were still huge surpluses of Free World tubes.

So almost certainly, '80s Mesa tubes would be rebranded '70s NOS US and Euro tubes. At worst, Matshushita or Hitachi -- which rivaled US and Euro tubes.

I wouldn't turn up my nose at NOS '80s Mesas, or NOS '80s GT's.

We didn't resort to Russian, Yugoslavian, Chinese tubes until the good stuff became rare.

 

[charveldan]

Before the US and European tube factories shut down in the '70s, they estimated how many tubes would be needed to support existing products and churned out huge final batches. But consumers replaced their tube TV's, radio's, hifi's with solid-state much more quickly than expected -- they didn't keep buying replacement tubes, they just junked their old tube gear.

So there were warehouses full of NOS tubes. Repair shops with shelves of tubes gathering dust. No one wanted them except for guitarists, and most of the companies with overstocks of tubes were unaware of that market.

Groove Tubes started out by going around to those companies and buying their unwanted tubes. RCA's, GE's, Mullards, Telefunkens, Amperex, etc. Tested them, matched them, and painted the GT logo on them.

Remember the Berlin Wall didn't come down until 1989, and the USSR didn't collapse until 1991. Even if we had wanted to, we couldn't import Reflektors, Svetlanas, Ei's, JJ's in the '80s. We had some trade with China, but no one wanted Soviet or Chinese tubes when there were still huge surpluses of Free World tubes.

So almost certainly, '80s Mesa tubes would be rebranded '70s NOS US and Euro tubes. At worst, Matshushita or Hitachi -- which rivaled US and Euro tubes.

I wouldn't turn up my nose at NOS '80s Mesas, or NOS '80s GT's.

We didn't resort to Russian, Yugoslavian, Chinese tubes until the good stuff became rare.

I bought my first Groove Tubes in 1982' and they weren't NOS.

Im sure if you were one of Aston Pittman's buddies in da 80's he had some Premium tubes for you. Pittman sold GT over 10 years ago. GT Production now is in Mexico.

Those warehouses full of tubes you talk about are long gone.

CP preamp tubes suck nutts.

I buy NOS tubes every month and have for the last 13 years. I can tell you they are drying up fast. Mostly pulls floating around.

A NIB/NOS { new in box, new old stock} never used tests as new Amperex or Blackburn Mullard will cost you $400 bucks each. A pull {used} of the same that tests as new can go for as little as $40.

 

[danfrank]

That is how the mesa tubes were advertised so took it that they were NOS as the seller bought them back in the 80's and never used them the amp sounds alot better than what it was especially on the ultra gain channel

Tubes were still being made in the USA in the 1980s; 12AX7s and 6L6s definitely were. Most of these USA tubes during this time period were to supply the US Govt and the US military. They still had LOTS of vacuum tube equipment that needed servicing/tubes. I don't know if MESA was using US tubes in the 1980s or if they were sourced from foreign manufacturers.

 

[RLW59]

Yes, the warehouses of tubes have been gone since the late '80s. As I said, GT started out buying overstocked NOS tubes.

What were your '82 Groove Tubes? I'm surprised they were sourcing Chinese tubes that early.

 

[metal_kiwi]

I just use our local auction site to find old tubes I used to have a laney cub head that I stuck old russian 6p14p tubes into the output last I heard those tubes are still in there. But heres an auction on our local site for some old tubes I just found listed but not bidding on them
https://www.trademe.co.nz/electroni...36.htm?rsqid=e57a8771072b425e8c17a8ca64ad3dcb

 

[metal_kiwi]

Ok so the philips tube, the JJ Ecc802s (for the output amp in my DSL1), the last of my mesa 7025 tubes arrived today so here is how they are installed at the moment in my DSL100H V1&2 mesa 7025, V3 marshall 12ax7B, PI philips 12ax7 right now I am loving the sound I am getting as for the DSL1C well that is now putting out a much warmer sound through its little onboard speaker since I put the ecc802s into the output section have not tried it through the 2x12 yet