Tubes.......

[marvar]

Groove Tubes does/did make a few tubes in the USA, mostlyl the ill -fated 12ax7M, and a few power tubes, but since Fender bought GT, all bets are off-

GT does re-label other brands of tubes, after so called "testing"-

These are the ones I know for sure:

GT12ax7R= Sovtek

GT 12ax7R2= Sovtek LPS

GT12ax7R3= EH 12AX7 and Tung Sol Reissue

GT Ecc83= JJ

GT EL34,EL34L,EL84=JJ

GT12ax7C=Chinese

[RichCI]

Back in the 70's before the EPA put the smack down on tube manufacturing they did, but no more to my knowledge. If they still did, they'd have "Made in USA" blasted all over their web site as a marketing tool.

[Riffster]

There are no currently USA manufactured tubes.

 

Groove Tubes, tests, selects and re-brands tubes.

 

Not all tubes are made in Russia, JJs are certainly not made in Russia. There was an article in Guitar World or Guitar Player magazine on the JJ plant, it was very interesting.

 

Chinese tubes are not bad if they are tested and selected but I read that less than 50% make the cut as quality is not consistent.

[cwness]

Groove tubes are made in the USA

 

I just got off the phone with 2 of the companies I buy tubes from and there are no tubes

made in the US period due to the EPA. Grove Tube never made any tubes in the US.

They bought some old tube making machinery and moved it to Mexico but the tubes were

such a failure it was shut down. Tubes come mainly from China which is the cheapest place

to get them and both my sources said that the Companies that by tubes (Fender, Mesa, Marshall,or

any other company) by them where they are the cheapest. The most expensive tube manufacture

is JJ Electronics. That is why they are considered an upgrade due to a better quality of tube and

the higher cost is my the amp manufactures don't buy them they are to expensive. So this is

the story on tubes. Thanks EPA the quality of the tubes (poor, only 50% pass testing out of China)

were getting is their doing.

 

CW

[djroge1]

I agree with the person who said it really depends on the amp as to which tube to use. Even so, my experience is limited in this area because it takes money to buy tubes just to experiment with sound.

 

I will say that I have two vintage Mullards that are sweet.

[zigzag]

Thanks EPA the quality of the tubes (poor' date=' only 50% pass testing out of China)

were getting is their doing.

CW

[/quote']

 

Blame the Chinese. They don't care if they screw the American consumer or trash their own environment.

[cwness]

Blame the Chinese. They don't care if they screw the American consumer or trash their own environment.

 

No I'm blaming the right people. The EPA stopped us from build high quality tubes. We didn't

ruin the environment when we were building the tubes here. The government would like everyone

to believe we (the US) ruins everything we manufacture and then wonders why all the jobs go overseas.

[zigzag]

No I'm blaming the right people. The EPA stopped us from build high quality tubes. We didn't

ruin the environment when we were building the tubes here. The government would like everyone

to believe we (the US) ruins everything we manufacture and then wonders why all the jobs go overseas.

 

Good. Blame the US government because the Chinese make a crappy product. I have a little experience dealing with the EPA, and even though I don't agree with the way many government-run agencies do business, you can be pretty sure that the EPA didn't shut down domestic tube builders, though they could easily have made it costlier for them. The reason tubes are not built in the US is probably because there is no money in it.

 

L5Larry quote:

The reason that Soviet block countries, and China, still have tube manufacturing facilities, is that their technology never evolved past tubes during the cold war years. All tubes today, regardless of what name they have printed on the bottle, come from one of less than a half dozen manufacturing plants in the world. Let's face it folk, guitar amps (and other "audiophile equipment) are the ONLY market for vacuum tubes any more. In the late eighties/early nineties I was afraid that ther might cease to be ANY supplier of tubes for amps.

 

Also, you don't have to look past Gibson to see how US manufacturing is going downhill. It's not because the American worker is inferior. It's the "bean counter mentality" that requires we pay the worker less, buy inferior/cheaper raw materials and intermediates (from China), pay for expensive health care, cut corners, and produce more with less, that's killing US manufacturing. Please excuse the rant, but I could go on and on.

[cwness]

Good. Blame the US government because the Chinese make a crappy product. I have a little experience dealing with the EPA' date=' and even though I don't agree with the way many government-run agencies do business, you can be pretty sure that the EPA didn't shut down domestic tube builders, though they could easily have made it costlier for them. The reason tubes are not built in the US is probably because there is no money in it.[/quote']

 

First off we all know the quality of the Chinese products is bad. Please tell me where in my post did I blame the

US Gov. for the quality of Chinese products. You in you own post bring up the reason why they quit making

tubes here. Money, the EPA made it so expensive to build they weren't making any money. Who's going

to build a product for free. So due to the lack of demand as L5 brought and the stringent EPA requirements

driving up cost they are made where they are today. Here's a little info for you. JJ Electronics due low

taxes where they are located is meeting all US EPA requirements right now. They couldn't do it here because

of the high tax rate.

 

CW

[AXE®]

I blame.

 

Canada!

[djroge1]

Get off China's back.

 

Don't you know that they make the best fake Gibsons?

[Rewddawg1]

There are no currently USA manufactured tubes.

 

Groove Tubes' date=' tests, selects and re-brands tubes.

 

Not all tubes are made in Russia, JJs are certainly not made in Russia. There was an article in Guitar World or Guitar Player magazine on the JJ plant, it was very interesting.

 

Chinese tubes are not bad if they are tested and selected but I read that less than 50% make the cut as quality is not consistent.[/quote']

I am by no means an expert but I was also told the USA quit making tubes quite a while ago, the replacement tubes in my Marshall are all made in Russia and have held for over 2 years made by Electro-Harmonics I have heard of jj but have never tried them.That's my 2 cents.

[zigzag]

IThanks EPA the quality of the tubes (poor' date=' only 50% pass testing out of China)

were getting is their doing...The government would like everyone

to believe we (the US) ruins everything we manufacture...

CW

[/quote']

 

I don't mean to belabor the issue, because it's apparent that we agree. But it seems in this statement that you are (indirectly) blaming the EPA for poor Chinese tubes. And I'm not really sure what your second point is, but now that I re-read it, it sounds like you're saying that the EPA is the reason US manufacturing is moving out of the US. We could start a whole thread to discuss this, but the reason manufacturing is moving out of the US is because it's cheaper to manufacture outside the US. Less environmental regulation is only one small reason. Blame NAFTA and the high cost of doing business in the US.

[Thundergod]

Off topic but there are some good quality chinese products. They just happen to cost way more than what people expect to pay for what they know is chinese.

 

They are probably more expensive than a good USA made product or a european product.

 

Problem is, the ones flooding world markets are the cheap *** products that break after a couple uses. The fakes, the low quality 1 cent items, the ugly.

 

Why? Well because they cost 1 cent and worldwide shipping is free if you buy more than 100000 of the same item.

 

Lets face it, more than 80% of the world's population make buying decisions guided by their wallets, so they look for 1cent items.

 

 

 

Things made in china that are top quality and expensive? well everything from purses to cameras and LED screens. Take a look at your LCD screen's back, you'll see it's made in china. Sony? Panasonic? LG? Samsung? all made in china. All known clothes brands make things in china and then ad their italian brand/tag.

[tazzboy]

I guess I can to duane V is I TOLD YOU SO.

 

Here is list I know it is in the wiki but it helps somewhat

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_tube#Modern_manufacturers

[sellen]

Thinking on upgrading My marshall 401 dsl with new tubes. My local dealer has jj tubes. He said it was the preamp tubes(ECC83) i should put my money , not the drive tubes(EL 84) .Is that true?

[Rewddawg1]

Thinking on upgrading My marshall 401 dsl with new tubes. My local dealer has jj tubes. He said it was the preamp tubes(ECC83) i should put my money ' date=' not the drive tubes(EL 84) .Is that true?[/quote']

I am not an expert but I was always told it was best to replace them all at once and hold on to any good ones for back up.

[cwness]

I don't mean to belabor the issue' date=' because it's apparent that we agree. But it seems in this statement that you are (indirectly) blaming the EPA for poor Chinese tubes. And I'm not really sure what your second point is, but now that I re-read it, it sounds like you're saying that the EPA is the reason US manufacturing is moving out of the US. We could start a whole thread to discuss this, but the reason manufacturing is moving out of the US is because it's cheaper to manufacture outside the US. Less environmental regulation is only one small reason. Blame NAFTA and the high cost of doing business in the US.[/quote']

 

First this post is about tubes. I'm talking about tube manufacturing nothing else.

US tube manufacturing did not move to China they shut down due to high cost

associated with The EPA and Taxes. So the only place left to get tubes are the

few plants left that L5 mentioned. Hence the poor quality. Oh one last thing

the US Gov and the EPA have nothing to do with the poor tube quality of the

Chinese manufacturing. They did make it so we have to get the tubes there

because no one else makes tubes. That has been my point all along.

[sellen]

seems like a good advice rewddwag1:-"

[tazzboy]

Thinking on upgrading My marshall 401 dsl with new tubes. My local dealer has jj tubes. He said it was the preamp tubes(ECC83) i should put my money ' date=' not the drive tubes(EL 84) .Is that true?[/quote']

 

I thought those amps used EL34?

[cwness]

I thought those amps used EL34?

Here's what they came with from the factory

 

DSL401 JCM2000 Double Super Lead, 40W 1x12" Combo

 

The DSL401 amps use 4x ECC83 and 4x EL84 tubes. The early DSL401's were factory fitted with EI EL84 tubes. Most of the time Marshall used Chinese Shuguang 12AX7's. Occasionally I've spotted some Philips ECG JAN 12AX7 tubes being used.

 

CW

[djroge1]

Well from the results of this poll it is clearly obvious that tubes ARE MADE in the USA - duhhh why would people vote so high for USA made tubes if they didn't make them. C'mon people get a life and wake up. It's not rocket surgery.

[L5Larry]

Well from the results of this poll it is clearly obvious that tubes ARE MADE in the USA

 

NO, you have not been reading carefully, amplifier tubes WERE MADE in America. That's why (when you can find them) GE, Sylvania, RCA, and Phiilips, etc, are advertised as NOS (new-old stock), and cost a bloody fortune. There are still sources for what CLAIM to be American made brands of NOS amp tubes, and tested-to-spec used tubes.

 

Even the wiki link posted clearly shows that no "audio" tubes are manufactured in the USA.

[Thundergod]

Well from the results of this poll it is clearly obvious that tubes ARE MADE in the USA

 

LMFAO [lol][lol][lol]

 

 

 

 

duhhh why would people vote so high for USA made tubes if they didn't make them. C'mon people get a life and wake up. It's not rocket surgery.

 

 

Priceless[biggrin]

[duane v]

I too wish I had more clarification as well. I've been told by a few boutique amp builders, they had recieved tubes from GT that were manufactured in their plant.