Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

[BrianS.]

After a bad experience with a seller, I stayed away from ebay for years. Well, I recenty needed to sell some things, and I'm trying ebay. I sold one thing already, and that went well, which gives me some hope for getting rid of the other items.

Now I find that I'm looking at buying a few things there. Been looking mainly at tubes, as there seems to be a few bargains around, and if nothing else, the availability of random tubes is pretty good. I'm in the process of purchasing one right now (I was the only bidder), but I'm going to wait until the deal is complete to say any more about that.

So, what have been your experiences buying tubes specifically on Ebay? Ever been burned, or gotten a fabulous deal? Do you buy old tubes, NOS, or new tubes? Inquiring minds want to know.

thanks

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

I've bought a couple RFT's and tungsrams from a seller in Germany with no problems, and some TADs from a store, but that's it.

 

[wahwah]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

I started buying up classic "Golden Era" tubes from eBay in 2003. My main focus was sets of tubes for my Fender Super Champs, including late 50s blackplate RCA 12AX7s, 12AT7s and 6V6GTs, along with early RCA and GE versions of the odd 6C10 tube that the Super Champs require. I also stocked up on early 60s short plate Mullards for a different preamp flavor in a couple of my amps. I always sought out 'good used' versions of the tubes, avoiding the ridiculous prices that tube dealers were asking for NOS tubes. With careful selection, I was able to get a lifetime supply of classic, great sounding tubes with 90% of their life left in them, which in the case of Golden Era tubes, equates to years of reliable use and quality tone. I was very careful to select buyers with excellent positive feedback records who were responsive to emails and who had realistic pricing on both their tubes and shipping. Ironically, the only bad experiences I had were with a tube dealer (from his own website, not eBay) who tried to pass off a GE for an RCA (it ended up costing him a tube and another round of shipping to correct his 'mistake') and a Hong Kong dealer who was trying to pass off fake Mullards (full refund and return shipping at his expense).

These days, all of my amps carry Golden Era preamp tubes, along with the 6V6s in my Super Champs and even the 12AT7 in my Rode tube mic (what a difference that made!). The only current production tubes I use now are SED EL34s and 6L6s, because the supplies of great vintage versions of those tubes have dwindled to the point of them being either unreliable or prohibitively expensive. I think the most important factor in buying vintage tubes is to educate yourself to know what it is you're looking for. The markings and etchings of the original tubes, along with their construction and design, are very difficult to fake, and once you know what to look for, fakes become ludicrously obvious. The last few times I've taken a look on eBay, it has become clear that supplies have drastically dwindled since the time I was buying tubes, but I'm sure that with careful attention, some good deals on some great tubes could still be had.

Cheers................................. wahwah

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

Hey Geoff, any chance you happen to find any reputable places sites that can showcase the design differences with the various brands of tubes out there? I've purchased NOS tubes from Doug's Tubes and KCA Nos Tubes because I was afraid of getting lemons or buying things that were falsely advertised, but you do pay for them and the eBay prices are in most cases 1/2 or 1/3 the cost. Is there actually anything to those Hitchcock testing readings that I see all the time on those auctions?

 

[wahwah]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

Hey Geoff, any chance you happen to find any reputable places sites that can showcase the design differences with the various brands of tubes out there? I've purchased NOS tubes from Doug's Tubes and KCA Nos Tubes because I was afraid of getting lemons or buying things that were falsely advertised, but you do pay for them and the eBay prices are in most cases 1/2 or 1/3 the cost. Is there actually anything to those Hitchcock testing readings that I see all the time on those auctions?

I found a lot of good information about the various vintage tube types and brands here... http://www.audiotubes.com/ , however I would only look at his prices if I was in the mood for a laugh. The tube tester readings on eBay are a fairly reliable insight into the available life of the tube, because a lot of these guys are tube dealers buying and selling amongst themselves, and many of them will have their own testers, so an inaccurate or falsified reading would be grounds for a refund.



Cheers.................................. wahwah

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

Thanks for the responses so far. I'll have to check out the SED 6L6. I've been thinking about replacing the output tubes in my Traynor.

Anyone else?

 

[Archer_of_Fish]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

I've had good luck buying on Ebay. Having said that I stopped ordering NOS tubes. They absolutely make a difference in many cases but I dont want to be too reliant on NOS stuff that I may not be able to replace in a pinch.

 

[ken361]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

Just make sure theres a return policy!

 

[atreidesheir]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

NOS is often tempting, but it seems too caveat emptor.

I tried to educate mysef about the Hinckel readings and testing, but I have no way to confirm the tube readings myself. So I settle for the new Tung Sol's or Svetlana EL34 are ok

The older SED 6L6 and EL34 are good tubes, but almost as high $$ as JANs.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

Thanks for the responses so far. I'll have to check out the SED 6L6. I've been thinking about replacing the output tubes in my Traynor.

Anyone else?

Yep, just installed a pair of Winged C (SED) 6L6GCs in my Vibrolux Reverb. None of the tube rattle like the sh1tty Groove Tubes that were in there that lasted less than 4 months. You do pay for them (I paid $80 and bought them from a local amp tech), but they're touted as the best modern production 6L6s on the market for a reason. I always liked their EL-34s (had them in my Shiva) and I'm not surprised I like these a lot - they feel pretty robust. I'm in the honeymoon period and time will tell how long they'll last, but I've got a pretty good feeling about them.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

I found a lot of good information about the various vintage tube types and brands here... http://www.audiotubes.com/ , however I would only look at his prices if I was in the mood for a laugh. The tube tester readings on eBay are a fairly reliable insight into the available life of the tube, because a lot of these guys are tube dealers buying and selling amongst themselves, and many of them will have their own testers, so an inaccurate or falsified reading would be grounds for a refund.



Cheers.................................. wahwah

Thanks for the info :beerchug:

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

Turns out I'm bidding on a tube from the audiotubes.com guy. Price is right... at the moment...

So far the communications have been good with the people I'm dealing with at the moment, we'll see how it ends up.

90's, thanks for the info on the SEDs. I'm considering some Tung-Sol 5881s, too. My current tubes are Sovtek 5581s that came with the amp.

 

[wahwah]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

The bottom line with current production stuff is that most of the current 'brand names' owned by New Sensor, which include Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, Tung-Sol, Mullard, Genelex and Svetlana all come out of the same Xpo-pul, Saratov, Russia plant, using the same materials and built on exactly the same equipment, with minor design changes being the only difference. The SED 'Winged C' tubes come from the St Petersburg plant, which has been manufacturing tubes continuously since 1927. They used to be known as 'Svetlana' until New Sensor bought the rights to use that name in the US, and applied it as a another 'brand' to the tubes coming from the Saratov plant.

This situation is obviously quite a contrast to the Golden Era of tube production, when different brands often meant production in different countries, using different materials and equipment. Whilst rebranding was always prevalent, New Sensor have taken the concept to new levels, spitting out multiple 'brand choices' from exactly the same equipment, using the same materials, and the same quality control (or lack thereof). From there, various third parties will take their cut and add to the retail price by quality screening, which in most cases means no more than weeding out the DOAs. It's a poor state of affairs, but perfectly understandable when we realize how tiny a market there is for vacuum tubes these days.



Cheers................................... wahwah

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

The bottom line with current production stuff is that most of the current 'brand names' owned by New Sensor, which include Sovtek, Electro-Harmonix, Tung-Sol, Mullard, Genelex and Svetlana all come out of the same Xpo-pul, Saratov, Russia plant, using the same materials and built on exactly the same equipment, with minor design changes being the only difference. The SED 'Winged C' tubes come from the St Petersburg plant, which has been manufacturing tubes continuously since 1927. They used to be known as 'Svetlana' until New Sensor bought the rights to use that name in the US, and applied it as a another 'brand' to the tubes coming from the Saratov plant.

This situation is obviously quite a contrast to the Golden Era of tube production, when different brands often meant production in different countries, using different materials and equipment. Whilst rebranding was always prevalent, New Sensor have taken the concept to new levels, spitting out multiple 'brand choices' from exactly the same equipment, using the same materials, and the same quality control (or lack thereof). From there, various third parties will take their cut and add to the retail price by quality screening, which in most cases means no more than weeding out the DOAs. It's a poor state of affairs, but perfectly understandable when we realize how tiny a market there is for vacuum tubes these days.



Cheers................................... wahwah

My brother knew a guy who had a true treasure of old tubes. He maried a Chinese woman, and all he did was brag about the tubes to her. She stayed with him till about two days after she was legally a citizen, and left him unawares with a a complete treasure of vintage tubes the guy had. I was supposed to be getting a big box of old EL34 Mullards this month. The guy was suicidal afterwards, and my brother drove up to far Norcal last weekend to the place he was staying- a psychiatric facility. The guy was virtually catatonic. He lost presumably a hundred thousand dollars plus or much more worth of old tubes to China. True story I swear to god..you know me, MM, i wouldnt **** you about this.

 

[wahwah]

Re: Your experience buying tubes on "the 'bay"

My brother knew a guy who had a true treasure of old tubes. He maried a Chinese woman, and all he did was brag about the tubes to her. She stayed with him till about two days after she was legally a citizen, and left him unawares with a a complete treasure of vintage tubes the guy had. I was supposed to be getting a big box of old EL34 Mullards this month. The guy was suicidal afterwards, and my brother drove up to far Norcal last weekend to the place he was staying- a psychiatric facility. The guy was virtually catatonic. He lost presumably a hundred thousand dollars plus or much more worth of old tubes to China. True story I swear to god..you know me, MM, i wouldnt **** you about this.

I hate it when that happens.



Cheers................................ wahwah