Where do you buy preamp tubes from (US)?

[khan]

Not a reliable source and I don't know what is left for picking over but, I've come across some old radios at junk shops. Old as in they have tubes. Over the years, I've found 12AU7's, 12AT7's and a couple of 12AX7's though, those are not common in radios. Nothing super exotic but, some interesting finds. I've probably got enough to last my needs. I never paid more than $25 for the radio (usually not working) and got a whole bunch of tubes in the guts. Like I said, I don't know how much of that stuff is left to pick over but, keep your peepers open. Radios often have one 12A?7 tube. TV's might too, if they have a radio section (like a console) but, those get to be too big for me to want to deal with. I've got a friend who does old radios, rehabs or restores the box and puts modern hi-tech in for the guts. Some folks buy 'em as decorative pieces or to jazz up a personal space. The modern guts make 'em usable. Anyway. Point being, keep your peepers peeled for old tube radios and tv's. You might find something worthwhile in them, for cheap.

 

[dragonvalve]

TC Tubes:
http://tctubes.com


Tube World Express:
https://tubeworldexpress.com

In defense of New Sensor Sovtek is their flagship and the more sturdy tube if longevity is more important than boutique tone.

If you're into tubes, you need a few on hand.

 

[houseofrock]

Not the same, the Preferred Series is there own design built by someone else of course. Ruby, TAD, etcs are tubes built and sold by another brand, such as maybe JJ as an example, that are hand selected and then they put their name on it. Ive spent some time on the phone with the Techs at The Tube Store and they explained whos making what and what tubes simply have a different name on them. You can call and ask them yourself for more detail then I can remember.

Some retailers are just rebranded tubes with additional testing for noise, etc. to get the best of the batch.
Some are rebranded tubes but made to the retailers specs. I believe TAD and Preferred Series are 2 examples of this.
The TAD's are made in Shugang/Sino with German material so it says. The Preferred Series are spec'ed specifically
for thetubestore is my understanding. There are probably other examples.

 

[Jimi-C]

Amplified Parts is my go to store for most repair parts and new tubes , tube amp doctor tubes works really well if you want a change from JJ or some other brand , I get Chinese Shuguang off ebay most of the time when I need them but they come and go frequently .I don't bother with NOS anymore ,I seem to wear them out quickly and they are rather expensive. Those Russian Mullards and Tungsol are ok , but I've gotten the best performance from Tube Amp Doctor ( TAD ) tubes
from amplifiedparts.com .

 

[EndGame00]

Viva Tubes and Amplified Parts is where I get my tubes.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I buy my power tubes from Eurotubes in Washington state as well---again, all JJ tubes.

FWIW, if you are seeking variety in the preamp tube (and power for that matter) do indeed check out the breadth of tube options from JJ. Not every re-seller carries all the options, but to my knowledge, Eurotubes does. There are gold pin options for many of the tubes, and YES, they do have a noticeable sound difference that is beneficial to my ears.

There are variations of power tubes from JJ that will allow you to run your power section at different output levels which is pretty cool. For example, they produce an EL-84 tube, and in the past decade, JJ started producing the EL-844 that will produce up to 9 watts of power versus the traditional EL-84 that produces up to 12 watts. Good stuff if you are seeking options.

And one favorite that I just have to mention: my long time favorite preamp tube was a Sylvania 'long plate' 12AX7---boy did it sound good to my ears in the amps I used it in. Well, JJ makes a long plate 12AX7 both regular manufacture and the gold pin variety and when I tested it, it sonically delivers on par with a NOS Sylvania to my ears. WOW!

PS---I am simply a buyer of stuff, and am in no way affiliated with JJ or Eurotubes. They just happen to deliver good products and service that has very well met my needs and exceeded my expectations over the past... 20 years? Again, WOW! LOL!!!

 

[CROWEMAG]

JJ tubes seem to be very polarizing. Either you hate them or you love them. I have had ok luck with JJ.....not my favorite or anything but def an ok, standard tube at an easy price.

 

[Marshall Boogie]

All the tubes may look the same but the material they're made of is less or more inferior and I wouldn't buy anything from China regardless as it's all junk. I'm not a big JJ fan but they are just about the only company that designs and manufactures their own tubes now a day's, the rest are Chinese crap relabeled or Russian which I would take all day over Chinese as they use higher quality metals. The only other alternative is n.o.s. and just like everything else, you get what you pay for. I have found Russian genelex golden lion to be the best quality. They all come out of the same factory, either the Chinese factories or the Russian factories unless you're buying JJ'S and like I said, they design and manufacture their own in their own factory in Slovakia and some are good and some not so. Chinese sucks from my 50 years of personal experiences. To each his own though, good luck with that.

I will jump in here to call bullshit on the chinese tubes are terrible. China makes some of the best tubes around, and I find it is a matter of sound preference between the three, not quality(except to say the most suspect tubes I have had over the years are JJ, which I hate the sound of anyway, and for the record, the more someone says they are not affiliated with Eurotubes the more they probably are, they are NOTORIOUS for lurking in chatrooms and spamming boards, and they always say, "I have been spectacularly happy with them for decades", or some such bullshit. Eurotubes does sell JJ tubes, and do have a fair reputation, but do not believe their bullshit about the transformative nature of their tubes or the people that shill for them.

 

[Marshall Boogie]

FWIW, my rankings of best current production tubes by taste preference is Russian, Chinese, then JJ, I like the high mid growl of Russian tubes for high gain and for crunch by far prefer Chinese, about the only real thing I like JJ for is clean (but you really have to modify your tone, they bloom on the low end funny, and tend to be hi fi sounding (think scooped mids sounding)).
JJ tubes in high gain are smooth sounding gain wise with a tendency to scream/screech and no bass response at all (for those that dial out bass and tend to love a really smooth, no jaggies or character kinda high gain, sorry my bias showing through, I like the jagged sounding waves) JJ tubes do find favor with these people, and I am not saying this is good or bad, to each his own. Chinese tubes tend to sound the most ragged in terms of distortion, some would say raw/vintage....I find the Russian tubes a pleasing middle ground between the two others, controlled chaos.

 

[Rooster-p]

I never said anything about the quality of the MIC tubes- so unsure why you felt the need to quote me about this?

No particular reason, I was just giving my opinion, thoughts on the subject. Nothing personal intended.

 

[lespaul339]

I don't buy mine from Eurotubes, but I do buy JJ tubes. It's usually my preference go to brand. I've never had an issue with them and always find them to be good sounding reliable tubes in my amps. I get mine from tube depot.

 

[CROWEMAG]

I will jump in here to call bullshit on the chinese tubes are terrible. China makes some of the best tubes around, and I find it is a matter of sound preference between the three, not quality(except to say the most suspect tubes I have had over the years are JJ, which I hate the sound of anyway, and for the record, the more someone says they are not affiliated with Eurotubes the more they probably are, they are NOTORIOUS for lurking in chatrooms and spamming boards, and they always say, "I have been spectacularly happy with them for decades", or some such bullshit. Eurotubes does sell JJ tubes, and do have a fair reputation, but do not believe their bullshit about the transformative nature of their tubes or the people that shill for them.

Fully agree about the Chinese tube sentiment. I love them for my purposes and have NEVER had an issue (Pre or Power).

 

[Rooster-p]

I will jump in here to call bullshit on the chinese tubes are terrible. China makes some of the best tubes around, and I find it is a matter of sound preference between the three, not quality(except to say the most suspect tubes I have had over the years are JJ, which I hate the sound of anyway, and for the record, the more someone says they are not affiliated with Eurotubes the more they probably are, they are NOTORIOUS for lurking in chatrooms and spamming boards, and they always say, "I have been spectacularly happy with them for decades", or some such bullshit. Eurotubes does sell JJ tubes, and do have a fair reputation, but do not believe their bullshit about the transformative nature of their tubes or the people that shill for them.

I personally don't deal with eurotubes, I don't know where you got that and I am not personally fond of the sound of JJ'S neither. As I said, IMHO, Chinese tubes suck. That's my opinion. It's like assholes, everybody has one. I only deal with U.S. tube dealers and have no reason to go elsewhere. You can call all the bullshiot you want but I neither lurk nor shill for anything or anybody. I'm mostly a "tube snob" and use n.o.s. most of the time because I can. How ya like me now?

 

[jeffb]

No particular reason, I was just giving my opinion, thoughts on the subject. Nothing personal intended.

No worries, opinions welcome always, just thought you may have mistaken my testing of tone and such for perceived level of quality.

FWIW- I agree, MIC tubes definitely not as rugged. Pins in particular.

 

[msgdp]

Go NOS. Pre-amp tubes last a lifetime and are worth the $$ to say nothing of the tone.

 

[Marshall Boogie]

I personally don't deal with eurotubes, I don't know where you got that and I am not personally fond of the sound of JJ'S neither. As I said, IMHO, Chinese tubes suck. That's my opinion. It's like assholes, everybody has one. I only deal with U.S. tube dealers and have no reason to go elsewhere. You can call all the bullshiot you want but I neither lurk nor shill for anything or anybody. I'm mostly a "tube snob" and use n.o.s. most of the time because I can. How ya like me now?

Not all of my message was directed at you, you just got linked because I quoted you and did respond, because my strongest opinion was that you have some kind of problem with your blanket Chinese suck. You can not like the sound they make without disparaging their build quality (honestly TAD are high quality tubes and Chinese, as are many other brands equally well thought of).

 

[CROWEMAG]

I play traditional heavy metal, thrash, etc.....I find that most of the NOS tubes I have tried are too mellow or round. The extra money is lost on the amount of gain I typically play with. I use nice Chinese preamp tubes now and have been super happy. The idea of NOS tubes is cooler to me than the actual functional need. I love the history behind them and love the boxes and such....but for me....I do not feel or hear a huge difference.

 

[CROWEMAG]

Not all of my message was directed at you, you just got linked because I quoted you and did respond, because my strongest opinion was that you have some kind of problem with your blanket Chinese suck. You can not like the sound they make without disparaging their build quality (honestly TAD are high quality tubes and Chinese, as are many other brands equally well thought of).

The Gold Lion 12AX7 made in China are very robust and well built.

 

[dragonvalve]

Thing about Chinese made items, their business model is to send out defectives and wait for someone to complain this way they sell every unit. Just the name of the game with them.


Not the American way where defective tubes were crushed and not released to the public. They had a crusher machine and workers whose job was to do just that.

When you have a country that was built around the end justifies the means, you get shady business practices. Quality control isn't normally on their list of objectives. They have to be goaded into getting there.

That said, China has the ability to make things well. It depends on if the company wants them done well or done to where planned obsolesce is the business model.

 

[Rooster-p]

Not all of my message was directed at you, you just got linked because I quoted you and did respond, because my strongest opinion was that you have some kind of problem with your blanket Chinese suck. You can not like the sound they make without disparaging their build quality (honestly TAD are high quality tubes and Chinese, as are many other brands equally well thought of).

I've used TAD and never really cared for them. It's a matter of preference. I have had the best luck with the Russian made genalex golden lion tube. They seem to be very high quality and I've tried the genalex Chinese version and just didn't care for em. Like I said, it's just a matter of preference. I've found that the genalex Russian 12ax7 long plates make a killer phase inverter tube as well as v1. They also make high quality 6v6's. Just my opinion from my experience.