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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: Hmm, either the market for tubes used by musicians is picking up, or........ posted by Rick W on May 18, 2015 at 07:16:02:
Hmm, well, a good portion of the tube market is musicians, me being one of those guys. Of course, I don't have exact numbers, but I figure it's still fairly large. Breaking it down, there are many reasons New Sensor should be spear-heading its way into the musician's market. It's kind of the right time.
Not all tubes are made to the same spec, even out of New Sensor, and the amps themselves vary just as much. A lot of newer amps don't operate passed 350-400V, some may have regulated screen supplies for added stability, and their ratings are usually a little lofty. However, vintage amps commonly operate at 450V+, most do NOT have a regulated screen, and their maximum ratings were for clean output. For example, a JCM2000 peaks at 100W, but a vintage 100W Marshall plays all day at 100W and peaks between 150-200W RMS. Also, guitar amps and their musicians are hard on tubes. They get bumped, banged, shaken to bits, and overdriven into oblivion. Truly, it's a light version of a one-way flight on a ballistic missile. Where you might get 2000 hours out of a tube in a hifi application, you MIGHT get a few hundred useful hours of jamming out of a combo amp or high-power stack. The tubes to support/survive these conditions need to be FAR better built (better materials, better construction, better vacuum, more stringent QC). So, the market for these tubes exists, no matter the application, easy or hard.
As for tone, I'd say 50% of musicians with amps know that tubes selection affects the resulting sonics. However, I'd say only 10% have any hands/ears-on experience rolling tubes. Also, musicians typically don't have a lot of money at their disposal nor the equipment to do good A/B testing. So, at the point of sale/service/repair, having a higher-end selection with these old names becomes relevant to the psychology of the purchase. Most scenarios breakdown as such: amp blows out, amp goes to shop, amp is fitted with similar tubes, the fuse is replaced, "Have a nice day", with the last thought being "I hope these don't bust any time soon because that just ran me $X." "X" can be $200 of Sovteks and Shuguang, $350 of Tung Sol and Mullard, or $400-500 of Gold Lions. Being able to offer options is good for the client, good for service industry margins, and ultimately good for New Sensor as they have more opportunities to sell and justify the production of a high-quality tube.
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May your tubes be lively, warm, and long-lasting. Holy be thy heater.
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- RE: Hmm, either the market for tubes used by musicians is picking up, or........ - TubeAcolyte 10:30:42 05/18/15 (0)
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