Most of the tubes coming out of the Xpo-pul plant in Saratov, Russia are pretending to be 'reproductions' of popular tubes from the 50s and 60s European, UK and US plants. They produce tubes with a variety of brand names, including Genelex, Mullard and Tung Sol, but the truth is that these tubes are made in the same factory, on the same equipment, with the same materials, as their other brandings such as Sovtek, EH and Svetlana. There are several materials and processing methods that can no longer be used that were integral components of the manufacture of Golden Era tubes. Add to this the quality control of the 1950s compared to today, the concept of designing a product to fail rapidly to maximise profits, and the diminishment of a once global product demand to a relative handful of guitarists and audiophiles, and it becomes clear that tubes like those produced by the major manufacturers of 60 years ago will never be seen again. It is not the case that ageing is responsible for the superior tone of the good vintage tubes, it is how they were produced that accounts for their tone and longevity. At best, you would hope that a 1950s RCA black plate would sound exactly the way it would have in 1958.
It remains a fact that all of the classic tones that we associate with early British and American amps are in part due to the electronic componentry used at the time, including, of course, the tubes in both the preamp and power stages, along with the rectifiers and phase inverters. Early Fender amps used RCA black plates. Early Marshalls used Mullards from the Blackburn plant. These tubes helped create the guitar sounds we associate with the music of the time, and due to their longevity, for a decade or so after. Similarly, many of the tonal changes we heard from guitars through the 80s and beyond were in part due to the demise of the great UK, European and US factories, and the reliance on the vastly inferior Eastern Bloc and Chinese tube manufacturers. By the mid 80s, amp builders had no choice but to build their amps around these poor quality tubes. This is why most modern amp designs will not be improved by vintage tubes, and why true vintage designs will almost always be improved by good vintage tubes.
The term NOS will soon be considered obsolete with regard to tubes from the Golden Era, because there will be so few examples of genuine New Old Stock. Smart buyers realised a decade ago that the real bargains were to be found in buying 'good used' vintage tubes, tested to have around 90% of their life left in them. To give an example, I have had the same set of 1958 RCA black plates, a 12AX7, 12AT7, and a pair of 6V6GTs in a Fender Super Champ that flies road cased 70 times a year and does 150 shows a year, for the past 7 years. At this point, they show no signs of weakening, much less failing. From memory, I paid $20 for the 12AX7, $12 for the 12AT7, and $40 for the pair of 6V6GTs. Sadly, those prices (2003) no longer apply, and the stocks do seem to be dwindling. Admittedly, not every guitarist will appreciate the difference, but to those of us who do, the money spent in the past has easily justified itself, in terms of both longevity and tone. For most, the future will involve making the most of what exists, and no doubt some good music will still be made.
Cheers............................................ wahwah
