Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

some_dude

some_dude

Raging BB Gunologist
I'm in the market for some tubes. I've been seeing TAD tubes popping up on the website of the store I buy from, but I don't know anything about them. The descriptions read really nice, but they're in the business of selling tubes so I take it all with a pinch of salt.

Long story short... what's the thoughts on these things? I usually prefer EHX if it's any help.

Oh... and are gold pin versions of 12AX7s worth the extra $$$? Or is it a sham?
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

FWIW, I had bought, tried and liked several sets of TAD tubes until about a year and a half ago...

Long story short I bought a set that died within 20 minutes of play time...the store I bought them from swapped them out for another set...those were DOA!!!!! One of them never even fired up!

I took them back, got a refund and hit a few other stores to find some tubes...all I could find were Mesa (not gonna pay extra for Mesa to rebrand tubes), JJ (not gonna happen!) and some more TAD's...I figured that the deal with the TAD's was no way gonna happen 3 times in a row...

I bought a 3rd set of TAD's got 'em home and in the amp and they worked but they rattled like an SOB...

I emailed TAD about these issues and to date have not heard back from them...

I'll never buy another TAD tube as long as I am buying tubes!
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

I have TADs in my Laney's power section and two in the pre. I removed two from the first two pre spots because they were too hot and had a weird high end that didn'y compliment the amps gain voicing. A JJ and EH replaced those two.
The TAD EL34's are over a year old, and sound just as good or better than the EH and Svetlana's I also have and use.
Certain tubes sound good with certain amp's voicings. Others don't.
Some tubes fail at a higher rate than others.
But that is isn't necessarily indicative of the brand.
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

My understanding is that the guys at TAD, a german company, got some samples of some the classic NOS power tubes that are so sought after, took em apart to figure out what exactly about them was it that made them so special sounding, drew up a set of spec based on their findings and then commissioned the Shuguang factory in china to build some tubes to their specs. It seems like a great idea to me on paper.

That said, I've never used TAD tubes. I'm still using the JJ E34Ls that came with my amp and the NOS preamp tubes I got before the economy tanked and my disposable income became nonexistant. So I have no first hand experience with them. I have heard them spoken highly of more often than not on the Internets (and we all know just much of a perfect authority on everything worth knowing Internet forums are), but that's about it.

With regard to TGWIF's experience, I suspect that a bad batch slipped by QC at TAD. If the quality was truly spotty or the tone was poor, I suspect there'd be a lot more negative press about TAD tubes than there is.
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

Tube Amp Doctor -TAD they have a wesite
from what I understand, it's the European equivalent of Groove Tubes.
Mostly re-labelled tubes, from all over. I'm not sure if they really make any tubes.
They come in Laney amps I think.
I've heard good and bad about them, just like all the other tube sellers.
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

Koreth said:
My understanding is that the guys at TAD, a german company, got some samples of some the classic NOS power tubes that are so sought after, took em apart to figure out what exactly about them was it that made them so special sounding, drew up a set of spec based on their findings and then commissioned the Shuguang factory in china to build some tubes to their specs. It seems like a great idea to me on paper.
Click to expand...

+1 great idea on paper.

Unfortunately, one aspect of NOS classic valves that the Chinese factories cannot seem to recreate is the manufacturing tolerances of the original production facilities.
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

^true, but one could say that today's tube companies aren't trying as hard with what they have.
almost no one buys tubes but us, and some other audiophile types... Tubes are not the same part of technology that they once were. Those guys back then had to make stuff for various countries' militaries, even... if todays tube companies had to make a product worthy of a government contract, maybe we'd see better stuff, even with todays sub-par materials.

They can make good tubes, but for the companies making them, what's the point? The market's not there
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

Eh.....a niche is ok....not everyone is out for the huge mountain of money.
They cannot use quite the amount of substances, as the tube makers of old times could.
Even us at the solidstate end are hard pressed with stuff.
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

TAD makes crap.

If a valve manufacturer made a modern-day valve with the same quality as the stuff from the 50s and 60s, be prepared to pay the same price per valve ($100-300). Personally, I would love to see this happen as the supply of old valves is getting more scarce each day, NOS valves are virtually impossible to find for some brands/types, and the counterfeit market is booming with NOS knock-offs. Caveat emptor!!
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

TwilightOdyssey said:
TAD makes crap.

If a valve manufacturer made a modern-day valve with the same quality as the stuff from the 50s and 60s, be prepared to pay the same price per valve ($100-300). Personally, I would love to see this happen as the supply of old valves is getting more scarce each day, NOS valves are virtually impossible to find for some brands/types, and the counterfeit market is booming with NOS knock-offs. Caveat emptor!!
Click to expand...

TAD doesn't make anything.
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

PVFan said:
TAD doesn't make anything.
Click to expand...

This.

TAD doesn't make the tubes. The tubes themselves are made in the Shuguang factory in China. What TAD does do is come up with a spec, and order special request tubes from Shuguang that are supposed to be built to that spec. They screen and test the batches coming back from China and stick their label on the ones that pass the test.
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

That doesn't change the fact that TAD branded valves are still crap.
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

I've used 2 sets of the small bottled 6L6s and have had 0 problems...For me they have also been great sounding tubes...Maybe the circuit they're in makes a difference?
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

Vasshu the humanoid typhoon said:
^Alot of stuff is banned these days.....you cannot make a tube that is like an old one....
Click to expand...

Yes you can - just not in the United States or any other country with a highly-regulated manufacturing industry.

That's why they make them in Russia and China.
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

sosomething said:
Yes you can - just not in the United States or any other country with a highly-regulated manufacturing industry.

That's why they make them in Russia and China.
Click to expand...

The Russian and Chinese tubes or any of the current tubes,just don't match up to the British and American tubes of years gone by...Not only that,but most of the folks that were involved in the making of the early tubes are not around anymore...I've also read that the metals used within the tubes are different..I still pretty much use the N.O.S. tubes I've saved over the years..

I do like the TADs though..
 
Re: Can someone explain this whole TAD tube thing?

I've understood that they just buy whatever russian and chinese come up and maybe test them a bit and label them themselves. I've always figured them to be more of a high end brand than regular sovtek or ehx. Maybe compare them to Mesa. I wouldn't hesitate to buy them, I've had a few and they've been good.
 
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