Basket of old tubes

6GC7 are worth some coin. Someone got to these before you....

 

The 6CG7 is a good audio tube, often used as the driver in power amps. It's like a gutsier 12AU7.

What are the ones without boxes, with the top caps?

 

Seems like I've seen the 6GC7 somewhere. maybe it's a tube tester tube? I scored a bunch of NOS tubes in boxes, but no one wants all these oddballs. I cant sell them for even 50 cents each.

 

The 1xxx, 2xxx, 4xxx, 5xxx, 7xxx, 8xxx, 10xxx, and 13xxx are all odd heater voltages, the 6xxx and 12xxx might be made to work in an audio application but are probably low gain or weird in some other way.

 

You have two tubes that I can see that are used in guitar amps. 5Y3GT

If that is what is in those boxes you "might" get 15 to 20 bucks a piece

 

6CW4 is a Nuvistor with some audio uses, but not for guitar.

 

Heh, I think most of us tube enthusiasts end up with bins of these oddball tubes eventually. If you're up for wiring in a different tube socket, the 7C5 is a 6V6 equivalent.

Every so often, I daydream a little about designing an amp around all these sweep tubes and damper diodes, but there's no way to come out ahead in that scenario!


P.S. Love your signature, @elihu .

 

The 6CG7 was used in Ampeg Gemini amps in the reverb section.

 

6DQ6Bs - Aussie guitar amps like Goldentones, Moodys and Playmasters used them - TV sweep tubes, handle 700 volts. You can get 40-50 watts out of a pair - they don't sound quite like anything else but there's a tight fullness through period Plessey or Rolas.



Like a big Vox on steroids

Stick 'em on eBay should get $15-20 a tube. They're becoming harder to find in boxes.

Never seen RCA branded ones

 

The 6AK5 can find a use in headphone and pre amplifiers. It's listed as a viable substitute in a number of Little Dot amps and swaps directly for a 5654 or 6j1. If you want to sell them on Ebay, list a pair as suitable for such duties. Folk will pay big money to rid themselves of the stock 6j1
The 6BK5 makes for a lovely little 3~4 Watt output valve. Stick with a 6~9K OT primary. It's easy to drive, heck, a 6AK5 would do it, and only requires a B+ of 220 to 250 V

 

Sweep tubes in the output section seem a bit more common outside of the US.

I have an old Braun CSV-60 that uses 4 PL500 in the output.

 

thats handy to know
put 12AU7 in a vox AC30VR and it transformed it
now can you still get 6CG7?

 

My understanding is that 6CG7s were 6SN7s in a smaller package and derated a bit for voltage and dissipation. So they had a head start at being better than 12AU7s.

 

My dad called me from a garage sale once and I ended up with enough boxes full of free tubes to fill the back of my Suburban. Out of all of those I got one shoe box of tubes that work in guitar amps. Mostly 5y3s and 5u4s, a few 12ax7s and 12sl7 or 12sn7s. They're all melted now.
I still look at tubes for sale on CL and FB marketplace. But people always think they got gold, but all the nuggets are picked out.

 

The 6DQ6B sweep tube was used in a few old ham radios.

 

Man I love weird old tubes. I've got a pair of 6146 RF power amplifier tubes waiting for something to do, but the real trip for me is that tubes aren't the worst part of acquiring parts for an amp build, transformers are. If you had a box of miscellaneous power and output transformers (with leads and ratings of course) then you'd be sitting on a real goldmine.