Tube Heaven

Dax · Post by **Dax** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 4:08 pm

I just stopped in my local antique electronics store and asked if they had any tubes. Dude took me in the back ad I am not kidding, 4 racks 8 feet high by 12 feet wide stacked full of Original vintage and new tubes!! Mullards in original boxes, Sylvania, Ratheon, GE, EH, you name it!! Problem is, they were out of EL34 and had only new chinese 12AX7's. They had a batch of new EH 6Ca7's, but no vintage ones. I an gonna take some pics and I'll post them here. In the rafters, they also had three pallets full of tubes in original boxes all shrink wrapped up. I gave them a list of what I was looking for and they said they would report back. Can you guys tell me some other type tubes to look for? They had no ECC83's or ECC803's. Give me some other tube models to look for that will work in Marshalls.

Dax

Billy Batz · Post by **Billy Batz** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 7:56 pm

What kind of prices? If theyre good Ill drive to your area

Dax · Post by **Dax** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:31 pm

I'll swing by tomorrow and take some pics and find prices.

Dax

Dax-The-Ax · Post by **Dax-The-Ax** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:56 pm

Billy, give me a list of some types to look for and brand.

Dax

Billy Batz · Post by **Billy Batz** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 9:44 pm

Im honestly not that knowledgable about NOS tubes. Some people know all the different names a certain manufactured tube can be relabled under and such and such done on the same machines etc.. I dont have clue one.

5150loveeddie · Post by **5150loveeddie** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 10:54 pm

From Vacuumtube.com

Mullard EL34 XF2 1960s NOS, the holy grail of EL34s. Superb for Marshalls and other guitar amps. Supreme tone, crunch and punch, but they are over 425$ the pair!!!!aouch..

The XF3 is the late 60's Mullard same as the XF2 but a little cheaper (325$/pair)

And the XF4 1970s UK Blackburn production in GE or RCA boxes. Mullard date codes with single halo getter. 99% of the XF2 sound without the higher cost, still over 300$/pair

Brimar EL34 Dual Halo Getter Brown Base from the 70s are very similar to XF2s Mullards at a fraction of the price. Handle high voltage very well and will work with your vintage Marshall, Hi-Watts, and newer boutique EL34 amps. Maximum punch and crunch. Much better than any current production EL34 by a mile (apparently!!) 350$/matched quad

Find those in a basement somewhere and you've won the loterie!!!

Flames1950 · Post by **Flames1950** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 12:07 am

I've got a quad of XF2 "Dynaco by Mullard" EL34's. I should fleece some poor sucker on the 'Bay with 'em. I can only find one pair now (I hope to find the other pair when we move) and while they still test fine one of them couldn't cut the voltages in my '75 50 watter, I got it out of there before it blew. If I could find the other pair I could maybe mix-and-match a good set for one of the 50 watters.

Dax-The-Ax · Post by **Dax-The-Ax** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 4:30 pm

Here's the Tube porn. All this NOS Shit, and none of it is Guitar stuff. They had a full box of used, some unmarked 12AT7's and 12AU7's and a new Box of Sylvania 6CA7's and Chinese 12AX7's. Somebody came in and cleaned them out. They have Mullards, Tung-Sol, GE, but all off types I have never heard of. I did meet a guy there who owns an antique TV repair shop in Southern AZ, he told me he had almost $100,000.00 worth of NOS Tubes! He is going to call me with the inventory. I did buy 2 used Sylvania 12AT7's for $12.00, do these look like anything special, and can I put these in any slot in my Marshalls, or just V3?

Dax

Billy Batz · Post by **Billy Batz** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 7:26 pm

I posted my sob story a while back. Not to repeat it but an older neighbor I had a few years back, who I used to help all the time with his house repairs and computer had a garage full of NOS tubes. He died, the wifie offed em to a guy for a grand or something, then she tells me she wouldve given them to me had I asked.

FUCK!!

Dax · Post by **Dax** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:53 pm

Are the Sylvanias I bought Turds?

5150loveeddie · Post by **5150loveeddie** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:21 pm

See, there must be hundreds of basement like that with full of NOS tubes all over, a real gold mine and people don't even know about it

Necrovore · Post by **Necrovore** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:18 am

5150loveeddie wrote:See, there must be hundreds of basement like that with full of NOS tubes all over, a real gold mine and people don't even know about it

Yeah I just noticed something similar today. A little electronics shop right behind this hair salon on a side street right by my work. I dropped by after work today and asked if he sold tubes. He said to come by tomorrow and look at what he has. He said that he has a garage full of them. We shall see.

5150loveeddie · Post by **5150loveeddie** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:39 am

I'm gonna start doing the same, searching for them

Post by **VelvetGeorge** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:46 am

A lot of people find them with simple ads in the paper.

My Mom worked next door to a TV repair shop for years, and the owner gave me stacks of electronics books and a complete course from the 40's. No transistor data in those relics!

Another time a girlfriend's Dad showed up at my shop with 8 or 9 crates full of old tubes. Mostly new, unused stuff. Lots of great finds in there. plenty of sweet 6V6's.

They're out there, you've just got to look.

Happy hunting.

George

white room · Post by **white room** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:50 am

There is a old mom and pop TV and radio repair shop about 5 miles from my house that I went into about 14 years ago before I really knew anything about tubes except that my JCM 800 had them in it and our console TV had them when I was a kid and that was it, and I could see back into the repair room from the front counter and this guy had boxes upon boxes of tubes on a shelf.

I have got to drive over there and see if they are still in business! I hope so.