Tubes / Valves shortage ahead?

[aarontunes]

George Lynch? Greg Laurie? George Lopez?

 

[Rick]

https://www.premierguitar.com/news/electro-harmonix-discontinues-new-tube-sales

Glad I don't use tubes, now everyone will want solid state.  Ugh

 

[swarfrat]

Honestly - the technology was "obsolete" 70 years ago. I think their 2nd life outlasted anyone's predictions by many several decades.

 

[stratamania]

Honestly - the technology was "obsolete" 70 years ago. I think their 2nd life outlasted anyone's predictions by many several decades.

Bit of an exaggeration.

Tube/Valve radios and as components were certainly common in the 60s. They were still manufactured in the UK and I can remember replacement tubes being sold for radios and gramophones etc in local hardware stores.

What about CRTs relevant for far longer in TVs and monitors.

 

[aarontunes]

Tubes have become obsolete in lots of applications, but for audio they definitely have not. The audio market is still plenty robust enough for the tube industry to exist. With this level of demand I'm sure we'll see somebody somewhere try to fill the void.


Jumped online last night to see if I could grab a pair of 6L6's for my EVH. No dice.


For me it's not the end of the world, but I wonder if this could be the death knell for a lot of small tube dealers and amp manufacturers.

 

[Sadie-f]

Honestly - the technology was "obsolete" 70 years ago. I think their 2nd life outlasted anyone's predictions by many several decades.

Bit of an exaggeration.

Our own swarfrat has just recently established they think of neck setup as an exercise in diff eq, so I think we can allow for a slight rounding error in arithmetic? ;-). Not that a full exploration of neck / string dynamics isn't an exercise in diff eq, I just think setup is well encompassed by arithmetic, maybe algebra.

And 70 years isn't so far off. I'd wager by the 1970, tube production quality was falling along with about every other factory made product based on '30s-50s tech. Anywhere from 1950-60 seems a reasonable point to peg as the apex of tube manufacture quality?

 

[stratamania]

Honestly - the technology was "obsolete" 70 years ago. I think their 2nd life outlasted anyone's predictions by many several decades.

Bit of an exaggeration.

Our own swarfrat has just recently established they think of neck setup as an exercise in diff eq, so I think we can allow for a slight rounding error in arithmetic? ;-). Not that a full exploration of neck / string dynamics isn't an exercise in diff eq, I just think setup is well encompassed by arithmetic, maybe algebra.

And 70 years isn't so far off. I'd wager by the 1970, tube production quality was falling along with about every other factory made product based on '30s-50s tech. Anywhere from 1950-60 seems a reasonable point to peg as the apex of tube manufacture quality?

You would be surprised in the 70s how many tube/valve radios, components in TVs etc there were and still local shops selling them. I remember standing in a queue often on Saturdays in Newcastle upon Tyne to buy, potentiometers, resistors and other odds and ends.

 

[mayfly]

Honestly - the technology was "obsolete" 70 years ago. I think their 2nd life outlasted anyone's predictions by many several decades.

Bit of an exaggeration.

Our own swarfrat has just recently established they think of neck setup as an exercise in diff eq, so I think we can allow for a slight rounding error in arithmetic? ;-). Not that a full exploration of neck / string dynamics isn't an exercise in diff eq, I just think setup is well encompassed by arithmetic, maybe algebra.

And 70 years isn't so far off. I'd wager by the 1970, tube production quality was falling along with about every other factory made product based on '30s-50s tech. Anywhere from 1950-60 seems a reasonable point to peg as the apex of tube manufacture quality?

You would be surprised in the 70s how many tube/valve radios, components in TVs etc there were and still local shops selling them. I remember standing in a queue often on Saturdays in Newcastle upon Tyne to buy, potentiometers, resistors and other odds and ends.

Yup - we still had tube gear in the 70's for sure, specifically the stereo and the TV.  We even had a calculator that used nixie tubes for the display.  It was a pretty cool piece of kit and I wish we still had it.  Radio shack still had the tube tester in the local store and stock of tubes.  I often wonder if there is a warehouse somewhere filled with all those Radio Shack tube testers...

We only got a solid state TV in the 80's when my parents bought a SONY (shock!!)

 

[Ozopart]

Now you all have me thinking about whether I need replacement tubes for my Blues Jr. 4! I hadn't thought about that but with everything going up in price almost weekly, and everything being out of stock, it seems like a reasonable precaution.
On a related note, reading through this thread made me think of Modeling Amps. I saw the Headrush MX5 mentioned, but didn't see any mention of the Fractal FM3. Any opinions on them would be appreciated. Also, could I use either through my Blues Jr., or my Alesis Monitor speakers?
Thanks!

 

[Rick]

Quick .... things are running out ... buy buy bye ... we need more panic and fear 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY[/youtube]

 

[Sadie-f]

Honestly - the technology was "obsolete" 70 years ago. I think their 2nd life outlasted anyone's predictions by many several decades.

Bit of an exaggeration.

Our own swarfrat has just recently established they think of neck setup as an exercise in diff eq, so I think we can allow for a slight rounding error in arithmetic? ;-). Not that a full exploration of neck / string dynamics isn't an exercise in diff eq, I just think setup is well encompassed by arithmetic, maybe algebra.

And 70 years isn't so far off. I'd wager by the 1970, tube production quality was falling along with about every other factory made product based on '30s-50s tech. Anywhere from 1950-60 seems a reasonable point to peg as the apex of tube manufacture quality?

You would be surprised in the 70s how many tube/valve radios, components in TVs etc there were and still local shops selling them. I remember standing in a queue often on Saturdays in Newcastle upon Tyne to buy, potentiometers, resistors and other odds and ends.

Not the least surprised, I also still owned a tube TV then (tho I didn't watch a lot of TV in that decade).

I also remember how over on this side of the pond, radio shack worked to corner the market on replacement tubes. I might have worked adjacent to a group that disassembled the operating code of the TRS-80 so we could use it as the basis for an early digital sodium / potassium blood analysis instrument.

Yup - we still had tube gear in the 70's for sure, specifically the stereo and the TV.  We even had a calculator that used nixie tubes for the display.  It was a pretty cool piece of kit and I wish we still had it.  Radio shack still had the tube tester in the local store and stock of tubes.  I often wonder if there is a warehouse somewhere filled with all those Radio Shack tube testers...

We only got a solid state TV in the 80's when my parents bought a SONY (shock!!)

I do miss the nixie calculator displays. Never owned one, but I got to play with a lot of nixie display equipment.

 

[alexreinhold]

Now you all have me thinking about whether I need replacement tubes for my Blues Jr. 4! I hadn't thought about that but with everything going up in price almost weekly, and everything being out of stock, it seems like a reasonable precaution.
On a related note, reading through this thread made me think of Modeling Amps. I saw the Headrush MX5 mentioned, but didn't see any mention of the Fractal FM3. Any opinions on them would be appreciated. Also, could I use either through my Blues Jr., or my Alesis Monitor speakers?
Thanks!

This thread has a lot of exciting insights: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=33813.0

 

[Ozopart]

Now you all have me thinking about whether I need replacement tubes for my Blues Jr. 4! I hadn't thought about that but with everything going up in price almost weekly, and everything being out of stock, it seems like a reasonable precaution.
On a related note, reading through this thread made me think of Modeling Amps. I saw the Headrush MX5 mentioned, but didn't see any mention of the Fractal FM3. Any opinions on them would be appreciated. Also, could I use either through my Blues Jr., or my Alesis Monitor speakers?
Thanks!

This thread has a lot of exciting insights: https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=33813.0

Thanks for the link. I read through the entire thread and I 100% agree with your decision to go local. I always try to do the same. That is why buying Asian stuff is something I avoid unless I really need something and it just isn't available otherwise.
My local shop, Wildwood is a Kemper dealer. I have seen them and like them but not sure my budget can handle it. I really think the FM3 is about as expensive as I want to go at this point. We shall see. Anyway, thanks for the link and I hope you enjoy your Kemper.

 

[alexreinhold]

To quote TBurstStd, you are choosing between Mercedes and BMW here. So, if you go with the Fractal FM3, you won't regret!

 

[Ozopart]

One question on the various options is where they are manufactured. I am looking into Kemper, Fractal and Neural at this point and it is unclear where they are made. Generally my theory is when they don't clearly tell you where they are made, you can assume Asia. Which would mean all three are made in Asia, but I am hoping at least one isn't.

 

[Ozopart]

To quote TBurstStd, you are choosing between Mercedes and BMW here. So, if you go with the Fractal FM3, you won't regret!

Like your decision process, it is a tough one. See my comment below on where things are made. Also, I am not a gigging musician, just home and something that operates more like a Head or a Home Stereo Amplifier like the Kemper or the Fractal Axe is appealing but they are both a bit expensive for me, not impossible, but harder to pull the trigger on due to cost.

 

[alexreinhold]

To quote TBurstStd, you are choosing between Mercedes and BMW here. So, if you go with the Fractal FM3, you won't regret!

Like your decision process, it is a tough one. See my comment below on where things are made. Also, I am not a gigging musician, just home and something that operates more like a Head or a Home Stereo Amplifier like the Kemper or the Fractal Axe is appealing but they are both a bit expensive for me, not impossible, but harder to pull the trigger on due to cost.

I think if you intend to play the fractal fm3 through monitors (assuming you have a pair), you'll have the best setup available on the market when it comes to price/quality.

 

[BroccoliRob]

strange days, my turtles. i wetn to GC on monday to buy all the Art Tube MP and behringer tube ultragain preamps they had in stock so I could be like " hey now i got a little stash of 12ax7 to hang on to and can pull out of these someday and sell for like big $$$ when the world's well of them finally runs dry lmao". but that nite i had to email the guitar center manager because I wanted to apologize for crying in the store. i was also there to get a SM57 mic  (Shure) and the guy on the package was smiling and having fun and i thought "it must be easy to be a singer with so little gear to carry around" and it was so nice it made me cry a lot and i locked myself in the bathroom and stayed there until they tried to close. like, i know its my fault but i still think they shouldn't have called the cops and the tall guy in the GC polo shirt shouldn't've kept yelling "taze that guy. Taze that f---ing weird crybaby"    so i wasn't actually able to buy anything until I came back Tuesday and had to beg them to let me in and after i flashed some cash they were like okay, cuz capitalism always wins out for better or worse

i came up with the plan during a long boring conversation with my friend todd. And you know, it's like... when a friend is crying and telling you their dumb problems and stuff, what's the respectful amount of time to wait before i take a bite of my corn dog? turns out 15 seconds isn't long enough

 

[stratamania]

Almost any electronic device made today (if not all) has parts sourced from various parts of the world including Asia regardless of where they may be designed or put together into final product.

 

[alexreinhold]

One question on the various options is where they are manufactured. I am looking into Kemper, Fractal and Neural at this point and it is unclear where they are made. Generally my theory is when they don't clearly tell you where they are made, you can assume Asia. Which would mean all three are made in Asia, but I am hoping at least one isn't.

Only read this now. I was at Kemper HQ. All devices are made in Germany. Next to their small business HQ, there's a actually a big factory building in which the Kempers are assembled - so 100% not Asia. That said, no clue which and how many of the parts are imported from Asia.