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Post by dave19er on Jun 7, 2007 19:47:19 GMT -7
Hey folks, just wanted to draw your attention to a sweet deal - Woodwind Brasswind is blowing out their tube selection and have Groove Tubes EL84S, in duets and quartets for screaming prices.
Quartet Performance #4 - $29.02 Quartet Performance #1 - $19.99 Duet Performance #1 - $27.89 Duet Performance #7 - $4.99
My dad and I were a bit suspicious of the prices, so he placed an order, and we fully expected him to get, maybe, one tube. Something like that. But the quartet arrived today, exactly as ordered. So I just placed an order for two sets of the #4 and one of the #1. With free shipping. Pretty sweet.
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Post by dave19er on Jun 7, 2007 22:18:51 GMT -7
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SG123
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Posts: 221
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Post by SG123 on Jun 8, 2007 7:05:31 GMT -7
Thanks for the heads up !
I ( hopefully ) scored a duet of the discontinued KT66HP for $19.99.. :-)
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Post by gz34nut on Jun 8, 2007 7:51:45 GMT -7
Thanks for the heads up ! I ( hopefully ) scored a duet of the discontinued KT66HP for $19.99.. :-) Is that a duet or each ? I had a look and I thought you had to order 2 for a duet . Great price though and a good find . They are rated 10 so they will be pretty stiff I'm guessing .
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Post by dave19er on Jun 8, 2007 8:14:11 GMT -7
Thanks for the heads up ! I ( hopefully ) scored a duet of the discontinued KT66HP for $19.99.. :-) Is that a duet or each ? I had a look and I thought you had to order 2 for a duet . Great price though and a good find . They are rated 10 so they will be pretty stiff I'm guessing . If it said "Duet Performance 10" or whatever, it should get you a duet - as far as I could tell, none of them were sold individually. I also scored a quartet of 6L6's, for my bassman 135. The tubes are rated 8, so they'll probably be pretty stiff, too, but I actually do use the amp primarily for a bass amp, anyway. But they were sold only as a quartet. You can check your invoice and the item description should tell you what you got - in my case - "Groove Tubes GTEL84SQUARTETH4" or "Groove Tubes GT6L6CQuartetH8 Q". What I don't get is why, with the EL84S, a duet of the rated 1 tubes is $27, but a quartet is $20. I needed some new tubes for my Fender Pro Jr, but it only takes a duet. I ordered a quartet, and I figured I'd just split it - is there any problem doing that?
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Post by dave19er on Jun 8, 2007 8:20:39 GMT -7
Guess I should have titled the thread "cheap power tubes," not just EL84S, eh? I'm glad someone else was able to take advantage of this deal, too, though.
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SG123
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Posts: 221
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Post by SG123 on Jun 8, 2007 9:19:39 GMT -7
Order says Qty. 1 Duet - in so many characters.
The "10s" might be stiff, and I might even have to change a bias range resistor. A relatively cheap experiment in any case. Hopefully good for bass through the Bassman. I can always add dirt with a pedal for 6-string. I used to use Sylvania STRs and 7581s with JBLs, so I like clean. :-)
The KT66HP selection no longer links to anything, and if you put a qty. in your "basket" it says "On order". Happened just after I received my order acknowledgement, and why I said ( hopefully ). It said "In stock and ready to ship" when I placed my order. We'll see how good their inventory count was...
The variation in pricing IS a bit odd.
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Post by dave19er on Jun 8, 2007 10:18:28 GMT -7
The KT66HP selection no longer links to anything, and if you put a qty. in your "basket" it says "On order". Happened just after I received my order acknowledgement, and why I said ( hopefully ). It said "In stock and ready to ship" when I placed my order. We'll see how good their inventory count was... That's exactly what I was getting right after I ordered my 6L6 quartet, and now it isn't even showing up when I do a search. So, yeah, I'm really hoping that their inventory control and website are really in sync. 'Cause it's not like I'm worried that I'll get ripped off or anything - I know they'll refund my money if they don't have it in stock - I just really want good tubes for cheap!
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Post by gz34nut on Jun 8, 2007 12:44:51 GMT -7
Guess I should have titled the thread "cheap power tubes," not just EL84S, eh? I'm glad someone else was able to take advantage of this deal, too, though. Just hit the modify post , it allows you to change heading too . Thanks for the heads up . I think I got some KT66's but waiting for conformation .
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Post by dave19er on Jun 9, 2007 16:04:05 GMT -7
Well, I actually received the shipping confirmation emails today, so it looks like everything I ordered will actually be delivered. I'm pretty impressed that, considering how big of a company they are, that their website is that tied in with their inventory system (then again, knowing absolutely nothing about how that works, that might be pretty commonplace. But I know of several instances where I've placed an order for something and then received the email the next about how they're out of stock).
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SG123
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Posts: 221
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Post by SG123 on Jun 10, 2007 19:31:49 GMT -7
Got my confirmation as well, with all ordered items accounted for.
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Post by cementman on Jun 11, 2007 23:00:02 GMT -7
well there was no free shipping all they had were #4s el84's and total 70 $ shipped, pretty good deal for 2 quads, we will see,,,
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Post by myles on Jun 13, 2007 16:18:14 GMT -7
Somebody should grab up whatever #7 EL84 duets they have! On the SG123 comment .... I think Doug Preston in New York at www.dougstubes.com still may have some of the real KT66HPs left. He does nice matching and is a great fellow.
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SG123
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Posts: 221
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Post by SG123 on Jun 13, 2007 19:11:41 GMT -7
Hey Myles, I received the pair of G-T KT66HP from Woodwind & Brasswind yesterday and compared them to one of the Saratovs I got from Doug's Tubes a few months back. They are very close, but not identical. The glass on the G-T is thicker and the top mica is different and more positively positioned with some corner "wires" in the G-T, which surprised me. [ not that the G-T were better built, but that the two were not identical ] All the visible metal parts ( plate structure, rods, etc. ) appear to be identical.
One of the G-T, unfortunately looks like it was damaged prior to packaging. One of the top heat fins has the weld broken and is loose inside the tube. There is also a tiny "X"-shaped fracture in the glass envelope directly above the same support rod that the detached heat fin came off - as though the tube was dropped on its top at some point. The tube still has good vacuum since the getter is not white, but the heat of operation will probably migrate and deepen the crack ( not that I'm going to use it ).
I've had an eMail into customer support at W & B for over a day now with no response.. My "deal" hasn't worked out so well. :-(
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Post by dave19er on Jun 13, 2007 22:02:32 GMT -7
Yeah - it seems their shipping is pretty lousy - one set of EL84s was sent via USPS in one of those plastic/vinyl envelopes, and, since the GT packaging doesn't do a super job of holding them in place (since it only holds them by the little nubbins on top and the pins on the bottom), all four tubes were loose and clinking. thankfully, they all worked. I received the rest of the tubes that I ordered (three more quintets of EL84 and one 6L6), and all three EL84 quintets had at least two of the tubes loose. So it seems it's kind of a combination of the groove tube packaging not being intended to be shipped like that, and the packaging on the part of Woodwind Brasswind not accounting for that. I'm going to be checking the rest of them tomorrow to see how they work, but, just looking them over, they looked okay (to my inexperienced eye). I wish they'd go back to the old school tube boxes with one tube per box - there's few sounds more disheartening than a box full of tubes clinking and rattling loose (except for maybe a box with an amp in it!).
For what it's worth, my dad's dealt with WWBW quite a bit, and when he's had to deal with their customer service, they've always come through. I'm really hoping they're good, in case I have to give them a call tomorrow!
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Post by cementman on Jun 13, 2007 23:02:59 GMT -7
well, my tracking says Fedex,, it was shipped on tuesday from indiana and is in kansas city, will be here tomorrow,,pretty fast , better than UPS,, i dint see a rating of 7#, all i had to choose from was "4",,
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SG123
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Posts: 221
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Post by SG123 on Jun 14, 2007 5:17:23 GMT -7
dave19er, No problems with the G-T packaging or WW&BW packaging here, although I can understand how the G-T packaging could let the tubes come loose. The mechanical shock to my KT66 had to be pretty severe to knock loose the heat fin. I'm thinking it got damaged in the production stage [ robotic assembly ?? ] and made it through QC without being caught. The other likely scenario is that it was damaged by a customer of WW & BW, returned and re-sold.
It looked great in the G-T packaging. I probably wouldn't have noticed the damage, but I've had so many problems with loose internals on output tubes from all makers that I hold them up to my ear, tap gently and listen to every tube when I take it out of the shipping carton. Rattle doesn't always translate to something audible once in the amp, but is more likely to in my experience.
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Post by dave19er on Jun 14, 2007 7:22:31 GMT -7
It looked great in the G-T packaging. I probably wouldn't have noticed the damage, but I've had so many problems with loose internals on output tubes from all makers that I hold them up to my ear, tap gently and listen to every tube when I take it out of the shipping carton. Rattle doesn't always translate to something audible once in the amp, but is more likely to in my experience. I've also been checking them for rattle, along with the visual inspection, and they all seem fine. And the packaging only seemed to come loose for the EL84 - the 6L6's stayed put just fine.
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SG123
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Posts: 221
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Post by SG123 on Jun 16, 2007 17:59:03 GMT -7
Finally got an automated response eMail from WW&BW. Told me to read their Satisfaction Guarantee Return Policy on the website. I read it, and it says that tubes are not returnable.
I'll give them a call Monday - or decide that one good KT66 is worth what I paid for the pair and just not bother with returning it.
I know a guy with a Carr amp I've worked on with one KT66 for its output. Maybe I'll just keep the good one for the next time he needs one. :-)
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Post by myles on Jun 21, 2007 14:04:01 GMT -7
Hey Myles, I received the pair of G-T KT66HP from Woodwind & Brasswind yesterday and compared them to one of the Saratovs I got from Doug's Tubes a few months back. They are very close, but not identical. The glass on the G-T is thicker and the top mica is different and more positively positioned with some corner "wires" in the G-T, which surprised me. [ not that the G-T were better built, but that the two were not identical ] All the visible metal parts ( plate structure, rods, etc. ) appear to be identical. One of the G-T, unfortunately looks like it was damaged prior to packaging. One of the top heat fins has the weld broken and is loose inside the tube. There is also a tiny "X"-shaped fracture in the glass envelope directly above the same support rod that the detached heat fin came off - as though the tube was dropped on its top at some point. The tube still has good vacuum since the getter is not white, but the heat of operation will probably migrate and deepen the crack ( not that I'm going to use it ). I've had an eMail into customer support at W & B for over a day now with no response.. My "deal" hasn't worked out so well. :-( The KT66HP in it's last two or so years of production had the micas changed to the style with four small spring fingers. In matching the two types many duets and quads were produced with both types in the same set. The plates and cathode, screen, grid, and everthing else remained unchanged. By the way, the bottles themselves could vary in height almost to 1/2" in some rare cases. Again ... no bearing on performance. The KT66 is a very big and physically fragile tube. The second mica design was even better than the original from a physical shock standpoint when the tubes were still hot and the amp was being moved after the show was over. On this tube and the KT88 you would occasionally see the getters break off inside the tube. This happened in shipping or handling. It does not hurt anything and the getter/barium is still intact and doing it's job. If the getter piece just sits at the bottom of the tube in an amp such as a Route 66 and does not rattle as to bother you then all is actually fine and dandy because the high voltage wires going to the base are actually insulated with little sleeves. This is one reason the HP could handle much higher plate voltages than the GEC or KT66C ... there was no arcing near the base area. Hopefully the dealer has a set he can swap for you under warranty. GT would replace them but GT does not have anymore. Now one thing that may work .... contact Doug Preston. He is a GT dealer who also sells tubes from many other vendors. A few years back I sold him a few hundred bulk factory boxes of KT66HPs. They did not have the GT logo but they do have the Russian silk screening. Doug does great matching and maybe as a GT dealer he can cover the warranty for you in some way and receive dealer credit from GT to cover his cost and at the same time honor the GT warranty. He is at www.dougstubes.comI am not sure what he has these days in stock on these if anything but it can't hurt to check.
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Post by myles on Jun 21, 2007 14:06:41 GMT -7
well, my tracking says Fedex,, it was shipped on tuesday from indiana and is in kansas city, will be here tomorrow,,pretty fast , better than UPS,, i dint see a rating of 7#, all i had to choose from was "4",, No problem-o with the 4's .... just bias at 35mA and you are good to go! Bias with a current probe (bias tool, bias probe, etc.) GT has them ... a very basic unit. Weber also has them, more pricy but a very very slick unit that also allows you do to more that just read simple current.
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Post by myles on Jun 21, 2007 14:08:32 GMT -7
Finally got an automated response eMail from WW&BW. Told me to read their Satisfaction Guarantee Return Policy on the website. I read it, and it says that tubes are not returnable. I'll give them a call Monday - or decide that one good KT66 is worth what I paid for the pair and just not bother with returning it. I know a guy with a Carr amp I've worked on with one KT66 for its output. Maybe I'll just keep the good one for the next time he needs one. :-) Steve (Carr) used the KT66C and not the KT66HP. Steve liked the tone of the C better in his single ended Mercury amp.
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SG123
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Posts: 221
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Post by SG123 on Jun 21, 2007 16:59:31 GMT -7
Iggs seems to like the Shuguang better as well..
Thanks for the suggestion of getting a warranty replacement from Doug's Tubes, but I'm not going to put him through all that since I didn't purchase it there. [ The place I bought it from is sold out ]. What I CAN do is see if Doug has another Saratov KT66 that might match up with my undamaged one. Would the fact that it's a G-T #10 give him enough info to match it "close enough"?
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Post by myles on Jun 22, 2007 9:46:24 GMT -7
Iggs seems to like the Shuguang better as well.. Thanks for the suggestion of getting a warranty replacement from Doug's Tubes, but I'm not going to put him through all that since I didn't purchase it there. [ The place I bought it from is sold out ]. What I CAN do is see if Doug has another Saratov KT66 that might match up with my undamaged one. Would the fact that it's a G-T #10 give him enough info to match it "close enough"? If Doug has some I can work with him. I know what tester he uses and his settings so I can tell him to look for one that would be in the range on his tester that would work with yours. Tell me again what rating number yours was or tell Doug so he can tell me if I hear from him on this.
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SG123
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Post by SG123 on Jun 22, 2007 18:23:42 GMT -7
Myles, It's a #10 rating, with the initials ECB on the other side of the label - if that means anything.
I have one of Doug's KT66 Saratov singles marked: 41.9ma. Plate Current Transconductance 3700 The odds of that matching up with my single G-T KT66HP #10 are probably slim. I seem to recall asking him for something from the "middle of the scale".
Thanks for your assistance on this. Doug seems to still have them, but the listing says "Low Stock". I'm thinking he's more likely to have the oddball single like I need, and might be happy to find someone to sell it to.
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Post by myles on Jul 6, 2007 17:04:00 GMT -7
Myles, It's a #10 rating, with the initials ECB on the other side of the label - if that means anything. I have one of Doug's KT66 Saratov singles marked: 41.9ma. Plate Current Transconductance 3700 The odds of that matching up with my single G-T KT66HP #10 are probably slim. I seem to recall asking him for something from the "middle of the scale". Thanks for your assistance on this. Doug seems to still have them, but the listing says "Low Stock". I'm thinking he's more likely to have the oddball single like I need, and might be happy to find someone to sell it to. I do not like 10s in anything .... no touch dynamics.
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