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Topic: Source of tubes in the LA area? |
ajm
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 14 May 2003 10:18 pm |
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Does anyone know of a good source of tubes in the LA area?
Also, do you have any preference as to brand? (Primarily preamp tubes.)
Thanks in advance for your responses.
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Artie McEwan
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 14 May 2003 11:32 pm
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You might try Todd Richards, he's opening up a new shop in Culver City.
Day phone: 310-452-6024,
shop phone: 310-838-3520.
e-mail: cis50todd@yahoo.com
You might like the JJ brand and they're inexpensive. I've been looking on the net at various sites for NOS stuff like Amperex and Telefunken for preamp tubes and they are really pricey. The JJ 12AX7's are under $10. I was also looking for Genelex KT88 Gold Lions until I saw a matched quad for $1500, singles for $300, so then I was looking at the new Svetlana svKT88 and the Groove Tubes KT88-sv, which is evidently a Svetlana tube and I ended up getting a pair of JJ's. I'll see what they sound like tomorrow. |
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jim milewski
From:
stowe, vermont
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Steve Hinson
From:
Hendersonville Tn USA
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Posted 15 May 2003 3:45 am
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| I just rebuilt a Fender Showman amp I bought last week and the tube guy recommended Svetlana SV6L6GCs...they are excellent!I don't have a scope any more,so I biased the amp to the voltage recommended on the schematic...I've used the amp almost every day in the studio and couldn't be happier with the tubes. |
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jim milewski
From:
stowe, vermont
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Posted 15 May 2003 5:04 am
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| yes, when i got the svetlanas...they put the current on the matched quartet box, the number is 25, I rebiased, they said when I reorder to ask for 25 again and no rebiase needed, and they were $50 for 4 tubes, anybody want to buy my old sovteks? |
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Alan Kirk
From:
Scotia, CA, USA
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Posted 15 May 2003 8:43 am
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The articles at www.tone-lizard.com cast serious doubt about the value of buying so-called "matched" tubes. There was no thought given to matching tubes when the old Fenders circuits were designed (or licensed from RCA).
Quite a few "vintage" myths are dispelled at the tone-lizard website.
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 15 May 2003 12:31 pm
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| Quote: |
| anybody want to buy my old sovteks? |
Sovtek just recently bought Svetlana. |
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Michael Brebes
From:
Northridge CA
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Posted 16 May 2003 6:46 am
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| I hope that's not a bad omen. I love my Svetlana power tubes. I'd hate to have them sound like Sovteks. |
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Jesse Harris
From:
Ventura, California, USA
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Posted 16 May 2003 12:52 pm
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| trutone music in Santa Monica has a lot of stuff lik that |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 16 May 2003 1:11 pm
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I'm not nearly experienced enough with tubes to compare different tubes and with the diversity of opinion I see on the net I consider tube reviews just about as subjective as any other discussion of tone. Except for quality issues like defective or microphonic tubes. Which is where a good dealer would really seem to be worthwhile--either for his return policy or his pre-testing procedures.
With his good prices, good policy, and good turnaround (my order was in my mailbox, cross-continent two days after I phoned it in!) I can heartily recommend Bob at www.eurotubes.com with his JJ Teslas. With service like that, it's as good as having him in the neighborhood.
From what I read, there's a bunch of other great online dealers as well. |
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Rich Paton
From:
Santa Maria, CA.,
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Posted 25 May 2003 9:11 pm
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Several times a year there is a Ham Radio "Swapfest" in the L.A. area...Last one I attended was held about two miles west of the I-5 freeway, on the 126. There is much less "botique hyperbole" or its effect on costs, regarding tubes in the ham "community" This is no doubt attributable to the considerable technical knowledge & skills of "hams", at least among those still using vacuum tube-based
gear (not the sissy little walkie-talkie / repeater based stuff).
At that last swapfest, I met a used/NOS-tube seller with huge inventories. With a minor bit of haggling, I picked up about 40 NOS, JAN (military rated) 6V6 equivalents, at $4.00 each, "matched" (tested) them myself, & got around 15 closely matched pairs. The remainder were fine, suitible for single-ended type amps.
If a slightly "DIY" approach interests you, do a websearch for (boolean): ARRL +"Los Angeles" to find info on the ham swapfests.
BTW, all manner of electronic goodies are sold cheap, including at the last fest, a bunch of "vintage" effects and old ("retro"?)midi gear.[This message was edited by Rich Paton on 25 May 2003 at 10:15 PM.] |
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