Tubes- What’s the best place to buy?

locoed

locoed

Active member
I’m not looking to go broke re-tubing my amps.
I’m looking for 6L6 and preamp tubes for a Mesa
Mark V and Mark IV. I’ve been out of the game
For a little while and lost all my info.

Thanks in advance
Jerry
 
I think im going to stock up, cause the way things are going they may not make them in another 10 years or they`ll be high as hell.
 
My place to go to is Doug's Tubes in New York. Great guy, great prices and never failed his recommendations.

good luck on your search.
 
panhead":2t3r2r9m said:
I think im going to stock up, cause the way things are going they may not make them in another 10 years or they`ll be high as hell.
Click to expand...

I stocked up a decade+ ago. Everything has double or tripled in value.
 
Nigel":2rmfdtac said:
Mesa’s chief tech loves the Sylvania 6L6.
Click to expand...
Yep. Luckily I have a dozen apart from the 6 in my Coliseum. But they are very spendy to buy these days.

The TAD 6L6 is a very good substitute for the Mesa/Sylvania 415.
 
PDC":1845y94k said:
FWIW - I’ve had several ‘matched’ sets bias way, way off at actual operating voltages. I believe Eurotubes is the only supplier that has the equipment to bias at actual operating voltages and guarantees +/- 1 mA across a matched quad.

https://www.eurotubes.com/store/pc/test ... tching.htm
Click to expand...
I’ve had nothing but great experiences with Eurotubes. And being a huge fan of E34L’s and KT77’s, JJ’s are a great choice.
 
+1 to Doug's Tubes. He ships fast and over-communicates and can update you via text message.

Eurotubes is fine and I've bought stuff from Bob before but I find he sells with a bit too much snake oil for me and unless something has changed - he only sells JJ tubes. I didn't realize he had some special equipment though? For the record - you can't bias tubes you can only manufacture them and test them. So the only thing I can think of that Bob might be doing special, is guaranteeing you a -1/+1 match which would be pretty awesome if true. Nothing wrong with JJs either I use them in my Mesa and Peavey.
 
JJ's come from Eurotubes, for me. Eddie's the man. Excellent Customer Service. THE BEST. Been buying from them for 18 years. Well over 100 orders.

Anything other than JJ's, I used to use Tube Depot. But, I recently started buying from Viva Tubes, who has a Reverb store. They're legit. Got some great deals from them, they ship same day, and even hand-picked a perfect grade of power tubes for a Mesa Multi-watt I had. Went through matching/grading a quad. Excellent Customer Service. Last 3 non-JJ orders went to them.
 
napalmdeath":2j0uz2pp said:
JJ's come from Eurotubes, for me. Eddie's the man. Excellent Customer Service. THE BEST. Been buying from them for 18 years. Well over 100 orders.

Anything other than JJ's, I used to use Tube Depot. But, I recently started buying from Viva Tubes, who has a Reverb store. They're legit. Got some great deals from them, they ship same day, and even hand-picked a perfect grade of power tubes for a Mesa Multi-watt I had. Went through matching/grading a quad. Excellent Customer Service. Last 3 non-JJ orders went to them.
Click to expand...
Good to know man. Never heard of Viva.

As far as Eurotubes, have you found that the JJs they ship are within -1/+1 in mA's?
 
311splawndude":e7yeglkp said:
+1 to Doug's Tubes. He ships fast and over-communicates and can update you via text message.

Eurotubes is fine and I've bought stuff from Bob before but I find he sells with a bit too much snake oil for me and unless something has changed - he only sells JJ tubes. I didn't realize he had some special equipment though? For the record - you can't bias tubes you can only manufacture them and test them. So the only thing I can think of that Bob might be doing special, is guaranteeing you a -1/+1 match which would be pretty awesome if true. Nothing wrong with JJs either I use them in my Mesa and Peavey.
Click to expand...
My buddy and I tested two sets of JJ’s from Euro and they were matched and spot on to the ratings written on the tubes.
 
311splawndude":1f2odepn said:
+1 to Doug's Tubes. He ships fast and over-communicates and can update you via text message.

Eurotubes is fine and I've bought stuff from Bob before but I find he sells with a bit too much snake oil for me and unless something has changed - he only sells JJ tubes. I didn't realize he had some special equipment though? For the record - you can't bias tubes you can only manufacture them and test them. So the only thing I can think of that Bob might be doing special, is guaranteeing you a -1/+1 match which would be pretty awesome if true. Nothing wrong with JJs either I use them in my Mesa and Peavey.
Click to expand...


Correct - I’ve edited my post to be clearer about Eurotubes ‘claimed’ ability to test bias at operating voltages in hopes of avoiding a pair or quad that matches on a Maximatcher but drifts apart after 20-30 minutes of actual playing. I’ve yet to order from Euro or test them in my heads, but I had a ‘matched’ quad from Tube Depot and ‘Matched’ a quad from TAD that were way off after running for an hr in my head. I rolled and rolled and found 4 from both sets that were within 3 mA, but now I’ve got the remaining 4 that are so far off I doubt I could even salvage a pair that was within 5 mA. So - if what Eurotubes says about their testing / matching capabilities is correct - I’d be happy to pay them. I do plan on getting a quad from Euro to run for an afternoon and see how close they really are.
 
PDC":2x8fqtne said:
311splawndude":2x8fqtne said:
+1 to Doug's Tubes. He ships fast and over-communicates and can update you via text message.

Eurotubes is fine and I've bought stuff from Bob before but I find he sells with a bit too much snake oil for me and unless something has changed - he only sells JJ tubes. I didn't realize he had some special equipment though? For the record - you can't bias tubes you can only manufacture them and test them. So the only thing I can think of that Bob might be doing special, is guaranteeing you a -1/+1 match which would be pretty awesome if true. Nothing wrong with JJs either I use them in my Mesa and Peavey.
Click to expand...


Correct - I’ve edited my post to be clearer about Eurotubes ‘claimed’ ability to test bias at operating voltages in hopes of avoiding a pair or quad that matches on a Maximatcher but drifts apart after 20-30 minutes of actual playing. I’ve yet to order from Euro or test them in my heads, but I had a ‘matched’ quad from Tube Depot and ‘Matched’ a quad from TAD that were way off after running for an hr in my head. I rolled and rolled and found 4 from both sets that were within 3 mA, but now I’ve got the remaining 4 that are so far off I doubt I could even salvage a pair that was within 5 mA. So - if what Eurotubes says about their testing / matching capabilities is correct - I’d be happy to pay them. I do plan on getting a quad from Euro to run for an afternoon and see how close they really are.
Click to expand...

Excellent PDC. Did you ever run those in your Splawn?
 
www.thetubestore.com

Jon & Crew are awesome!! And ZERO issues with any order - and FAST delivery. Let 'em know Mo referred you - I don't get any kickbacks, but I like to let these guys know I'm spreading the word.

Peace
 
311splawndude":2ppl0i5z said:
napalmdeath":2ppl0i5z said:
JJ's come from Eurotubes, for me. Eddie's the man. Excellent Customer Service. THE BEST. Been buying from them for 18 years. Well over 100 orders.

Anything other than JJ's, I used to use Tube Depot. But, I recently started buying from Viva Tubes, who has a Reverb store. They're legit. Got some great deals from them, they ship same day, and even hand-picked a perfect grade of power tubes for a Mesa Multi-watt I had. Went through matching/grading a quad. Excellent Customer Service. Last 3 non-JJ orders went to them.
Click to expand...
Good to know man. Never heard of Viva.

As far as Eurotubes, have you found that the JJs they ship are within -1/+1 in mA's?
Click to expand...

Never had an issue with matched tubes with them. Ever.
 
Been to Bobs house many times. He has tons of testing gear. If u buy a matched pair or quad from him they’ll be matched.
 
I’ve bought tubes from various places and have had good experiences...

Viva
Nesstone
Euro tubes
Dougs
Tube Depot
Tube Store

If you don’t have a stock of tubes... start buying. I have a lifetime supply of all the tubes I need.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top