Western Electric. Any news?

tlp1234

tlp1234

Moderator
Sorry if this subject annoys some. I know the subject of tube shortages over a year ago was fatiguing. I just quit reading about it.

Wondering if Western Electric is still considering producing popular guitar amp tubes?

Dumb luck and pack-ratting graced me with all the common tubes I use over the years. If I bought any in the last 20yrs, it was usually out of curiousity tinkering. I was fortunate in not having to buy any during the recent shortages.

I've recently seen tubes for sale again in the local "brick and mortar" shops I visit. And the prices even seem to be coming down a little. At least here.
 
Kind of OT. But for current production, the Psvane 12ax7’s are better than anything out there IMO. The original red label batch sound better than both the Ruby HG+ and my stash of Beijing square getters from the 90’s. Waiting on four of their new gold pin Art series to see if they are even better…..or just a marketing ploy.
 
EyesOfTheSouth! said:
Kind of OT. But for current production, the Psvane 12ax7’s are better than anything out there IMO. The original red label batch sound better than both the Ruby HG+ and my stash of Beijing square getters from the 90’s. Waiting on four of their new gold pin Art series to see if they are even better…..or just a marketing ploy.
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Keep us updated. I’m probably going to need some.
 
I actually emailed them a few weeks ago and got a boiler plate answer the other day. It just stated they were working on expanding and sent me the link that has that form we all filled out a few months ago. Kinda wish they would have at least gave something more interesting.
 
EyesOfTheSouth! said:
Kind of OT. But for current production, the Psvane 12ax7’s are better than anything out there IMO. The original red label batch sound better than both the Ruby HG+ and my stash of Beijing square getters from the 90’s. Waiting on four of their new gold pin Art series to see if they are even better…..or just a marketing ploy.
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If you search the forum I remember there being a large agreement of general unreliability from PSVane pres. I liked the sound of them too but stopped using them on the account there’s higher risk of not getting your money’s worth out of them. Could have since been fixed but it’s worth at least stating to proceed with caution - I advise anyone ordering them not to buy in bulk just yet.
 
I know absolutely nothing on NOS tubes. Is it worth the risk to get them and is there any go to brands/product numbers to look for?
 
ClintN667 said:
I know absolutely nothing on NOS tubes. Is it worth the risk to get them and is there any go to brands/product numbers to look for?
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I was looking for some low noise & microphonic 12au7's & 12AT7's for a fussy preamp and bought a couple NOS labeled as such to try out (RCA, GE, & Sylvania). Of the 5 I bought, 3 were microphonic as all hell. The other 2 sounded good. To my ears though they didn't sound much different from standard JJ's. Granted these weren't holy grail tubes so don't take my word as gospel by any means, but I'm happy to stick with standard new production on preamp tubes.
 
I was getting snobby about only using NOS preamp tubes, but the Mojotone 2204 build I just did sounded fantastic with the JJs that shipped with the kit. Still, I have a Hammond-labeled Mullard I put in V1 and it sounds better.
 
ClintN667 said:
I know absolutely nothing on NOS tubes. Is it worth the risk to get them and is there any go to brands/product numbers to look for?
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IMO no. Expensive and in the end you get more tonal variation by changing your brand of strings. The old ones do last a LOT longer tho.
 
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