nos power tubes worth the money?

[scoots]

specifically power tubes. seems pre tubes last a long time, all three of the ones i'm running are from the 50's-60s. they are very clear sounding. and yet one of my two year old sovtek power tubes have pooped out and the other one is in pretty rough shape as well. i bought a deville 212 about two and a half years ago (a floor model). it hasn't been gigged with much or hard but i guess it is on alot. my question is if i bought some good old stock power tubes to go with my preamp tubes would i still be replacing them after a couple years because that's the life expectancy of power tubes. would older stock tubes last longer (quality issue) and if so, how much longer. or in the power tube department would i be better off just finding a new stock to my tastes that won't break the bank? as always appreciate any thoughts or opinins...

[Jammin'John1]

Because power tubes wear out it's hard to justify spending a fortune on them.
I get tubes out of old equipment but that's not always an option.
The "winged C" and the TAD short bottles are recommended a lot as is the Ruby chinese ones.

Old american NOS will last longer and sound fantastic.

Any time that you really crank your amp up LOUD you are wearing the power tubes out faster.

JJ

[DMace]

I'll let you know- hopefully, later, rather than sooner, as I recently purchased a set of NOS RCA 6V6s for my BFDR (got them from KCA Tubes, which is known to be a reputable dealer). It was an indulgence, considering the price, but if they last three times as long as the current production 6V6s, then suddenly they may not only sound great, but also constitute a good deal. Of course, they could die tomorrow or in six months and I'll kick myself for forking over the extra cash.

[marshman]

Most folks agree that the NOS US/EURO tubes will outlast most modern production tubes. If that's your primary concern, then a good set will probably last 3-ish times longer than new tubes, and as such are pretty similar cost-wise with New Production.

If tone is your primary concern, most of the mojo goodness is smothered in the context of a modern band...I've heard stories of guys that record a fair bit having really high-grade NOS tubes in the recording studio, but gigging with a couple sets of JJs or EHs (or whatever).

The tricky bit is that no matter how thoroughly tested by the best, most reputable dealers out there, no one can predict when a tube is going to give up the ghost for no apparent reason--so, yeah, a brand-new-old-stock-still-in-original-box $150 pair of Unobtainium tubes can have one blow up three hours after installation and the other will burn for decades. It's still a bit of a crap-shoot, but good dealers are usually a better choice, and will provide better service.

Good luck!

[tazzboy]

I don't think it worth the money to spend on NOS tubes when there are good production tubes out there.

[Jammin'John1]

Pulls are a GREAT compromise.
I have MANY 6v6's for the 3 amps that I have that take them.
I run Winged C 6l6's & Shuguang KT66's in my 6l6 amps.
I run american pulls (12ax7,12ay7,5751) in all my amps.

JJ

[Soldano ROS]

Newer made tubes have more gain and less of the big tone generally. They just don't sound as sweet. If tone matters, NOS is the way to go. I have sold thousands of used tubes on ebay and the buyers have been very happy. You can get used Sylvania 6L6's and RCA 6V6's for about the same price as new JJ's, Sovtek or Ruby's. Just be sure that the seller has tested them strong and that he has sold alot of tubes and has excellent feedback on his sales.

[pgambon]

It's a fun hobby collecting NOS tubes and checking out thier tone. But long term you need to start finding new manufactured tubes that work for you. I read all these posts, some by NOS dealers, only to go to their sites and find little if any stock. So many holy grail tubes (Mullard El-34, GE 6L6, GEC KT-66 etc) are pretty much unobtainable.

[muchxs]

There are still plenty of NOS tubes out there if you know where to look. North America has been pretty well picked over but U.S. made tubes were stockpiled as spares for military gear worldwide. Keep your head up and your eyes open, they're out there.

NOS Mullards are easy to find. Paying for them is another matter! Same with NOS GE 6L6s. The GE 6L6s aren't as common as old Tung-Sol 5881s. The U.S. military stockpiled tons of Tung-Sol 5881s and the similar Sylvania 6L6WGBs as spares for all sorts of things. Finding them isn't difficult. Being the first one there is the hard part. If you don't get to a new stash first you're going to have to pay retail for them further up the food chain.

[backalleyblues]

Scoots,

I wouldn't bother with NOS power tubes in a HRDV, unless you have money to burn. That amp (I have a HRDX, so I know whence I speak) was designed to run with new production tubes, specifically Groove Tubes. Properly biased, they should last a while. I usually would get about 500-600 hours on them before I had to change them. Got a set of JJ 6L6s in there now, and actually like them a lot better in this amp than the Groove Tubes-rounder sounding would be the term I would use to describe their sound, and quite punchy. YMMV, of course...

Franc Robert

[imsilly]

I just got a new, well new to me vintage fender amp and it still had the original tubes for most and one or two old European tubes. When I popped out some of the tubes and replaced them with modern ones I noticed a difference.

I preferred the sound of the old tubes. Sadly I looked up the price of replacing the current tubes with NOS equivalents it would have cost me nearly as much as the amp itself. I went for tubes based upon the designs of the tubes currently in the amp, but made recently. I think that is a good compromise.

It's hard to tell whether the sound was due to the tubes design, manufacturing techniques or how they age. I never buy NOS tubes I just get to hear old tubes in amps and it never surprises me when I see good old tubes in a good amp.

[mad dog]

It's easier to live without NOS in the power tubes I uses (mostly 6L6) than in pre-amp tubes. JJ 6L6GC work very well for me in several amps, better than anything else I've tried in those amps. But I have my NOS favorites too. The old reliable JAN Phillips 6L6WGB, which sounds so good in so many different amps, and lately the Sylvania STR 387 (non military spec 6L6GC, precursor to the 7581A).

[eggman]

Howdy,

6V6s are one thing, but EL84s are out of reach fo me. There are still some "finds" out there, espcially here in a city with a huge Air Force base (think unused USAF, old 6L6s). Hunt around. Good luck.

Eggman

[g6120]

I have tubes from the 50s , 60s and there far superier than whats on the maket today .

If you get nos tubes its good bet it buy a tube tester and new Genalex - Gold Lion tubes ( ALSO USED BY AUDIOPHILES ) on the market manufactured today are the best I have heard to date .

Old stock preamp tubes you will hear a much wamer tone balanced compared to todays market and old stock power tubes will sound not sound brittle and bright like most newer tubes .