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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 7, 2022 15:02:36 GMT -7
Looks like new stock is being depleted fast based on tube retailer’s websites. If dealers cannot tubes into the US from Russia (Mike’s factories) and the Chinese factory is still not back online after the fire and relocation, that leaves only JJ, which I understand is months behind on orders. Anyone have any additional information? Thanks!
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Post by steiner on Mar 7, 2022 15:21:44 GMT -7
From what I've heard, your concerns are real. I wonder if, in the short term, POS amp prices will rise to harvest their tubes. I also wonder if my 20 year old supply might transition to my new IRA. I saw recently that Winged C EL34s are going for about $1,000 per quad.
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Post by nick0 on Mar 7, 2022 15:31:41 GMT -7
You guys are gonna give me anxiety with this stuff!
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Post by loucardguitar (Johnathan) on Mar 7, 2022 16:26:51 GMT -7
I guess my going down the rabbit hole of hoarding NOS tubes has been a good thing then...Ha!
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 7, 2022 16:33:09 GMT -7
I have a couple of quads in the mail to hopefully keep the Luxs running through this ordeal.
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Post by loucardguitar (Johnathan) on Mar 7, 2022 16:38:25 GMT -7
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Mar 7, 2022 17:25:43 GMT -7
Doc's sale of gently used tubes a couple of month ago looks like a hell of a buy now! Thanks again Doc!!
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Post by adam on Mar 7, 2022 17:39:23 GMT -7
I guess tubes are the new toilet paper and I must admit that when I started hearing of this, I bought 5 more 6v6's for the remedy just in case. Have a bit of stock for the other amps, but not that one. Guessing Z is sitting on 10k+ tubes which might be a more profitable commodity than the amps. ok, a little lol there, but those things have value and it's not going down like currency.
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Post by adam on Mar 7, 2022 17:41:08 GMT -7
Doc's sale of gently used tubes a couple of month ago looks like a hell of a buy now! Thanks again Doc!! I think he's going to ask to buy them back and double the price we bought them for and nobody will take him up on it.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 7, 2022 18:08:47 GMT -7
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Post by nicholas on Mar 8, 2022 14:39:17 GMT -7
I guess tubes are the new toilet paper..... The stockpiles of toilet paper are to wrap up the hoarded tubes. The next logical shortage would be shipping boxes so we can buy them in excess to put our TP wrapped tubes in
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Post by zpilot on Mar 12, 2022 7:35:07 GMT -7
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Post by felixw on Mar 12, 2022 8:46:44 GMT -7
When I try to access the FB link it says content not available. (?)
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 12, 2022 9:54:10 GMT -7
When I try to access the FB link it says content not available. (?) Same here.
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Post by KeithA on Mar 12, 2022 9:55:14 GMT -7
When I try to access the FB link it says content not available. (?) Same here. Me three
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Post by zpilot on Mar 12, 2022 14:58:44 GMT -7
OK. It is a statement from Mike Matthews at EHX saying that due to several causes they will not be able to fulfill orders for any of the 7 tube brands they market for the foreseeable future. All of them are made in Russia.
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Post by nicholas on Mar 12, 2022 15:50:22 GMT -7
All this tube talk got me to go through my stash and organize it a little. I'm set for as long as I need. I've been buying them all along every so often. Not really ever expecting a situation like this. But it turned out to be a good idea. So my wife was wrong about something!
I do wonder how this will effect the manufacturers? They need them in much larger numbers than any of us do.
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rudeboy
Full Member
Rudecaster into a Z...heaven.
Posts: 124
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Post by rudeboy on Mar 12, 2022 16:32:05 GMT -7
It's gonna be hard to build amps without tubes...and the speaker situation seems to be getting worse too. Gonna be tought for a while.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 12, 2022 16:57:00 GMT -7
OK. It is a statement from Mike Matthews at EHX saying that due to several causes they will not be able to fulfill orders for any of the 7 tube brands they market for the foreseeable future. All of them are made in Russia. I worry about the Russian government trying to nationalize Mike’s tube business over there as well. Like everyone, I wish they could be made in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, someplace that could supply quality tubes.
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Post by steiner on Mar 12, 2022 18:38:18 GMT -7
Over the last decade I've encountered two US companies planning to manufacture vacuum tubes. One IIRC had the Mullard (12AX7?) tooling. Neither has come to be. Apparently it's a dirty job. The Chinese manufacturer is down but expected to return. That may be our best long term bet. The Russian factory makes the innards for most tubes assembled in Eastern Europe. With International banking shutdown, the only tubes we're likely to see will be contraband. The "news" speculated that the Ukraine thing may last for years. I still think it's time we start collecting Crate and other lesser, fodder brands to scavenge the lifeblood of our Zs. It's about to get interesting!
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Post by adam on Mar 12, 2022 20:45:59 GMT -7
OK. It is a statement from Mike Matthews at EHX saying that due to several causes they will not be able to fulfill orders for any of the 7 tube brands they market for the foreseeable future. All of them are made in Russia. We probably look at our amps and worry about them becoming obsoleted. Fair enough, but imagine your whole company is predicated on these things being available or you can't make a product. This will turn around at some point and everyone will be ok. I think/hope/pray.
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Post by zpilot on Mar 12, 2022 21:14:26 GMT -7
You all know how this works. The largest and most consistent consumer is going to get first dibs on whatever supply is available. That means companies like Fender/Groove Tubes. Next in line will be smaller manufacturers and vendors like AES and Tube Depot. Then builders like Dr. Z. I think a lot of those companies actually buy from suppliers like AES. Guess who is on the bottom tier?
Gun guys like me just went through something very similar to this with ammunition. Supply was almost nil and prices skyrocketed. Availability has improved but prices are 2-3 times what they were just a few years ago and I don't expect them to come down much.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 13, 2022 9:07:16 GMT -7
You all know how this works. The largest and most consistent consumer is going to get first dibs on whatever supply is available. That means companies like Fender/Groove Tubes. Next in line will be smaller manufacturers and vendors like AES and Tube Depot. Then builders like Dr. Z. I think a lot of those companies actually buy from suppliers like AES. Guess who is on the bottom tier? Gun guys like me just went through something very similar to this with ammunition. Supply was almost nil and prices skyrocketed. Availability has improved but prices are 2-3 times what they were just a few years ago and I don't expect them to come down much. Exactly the same discussion I just had with a shooting buddy of mine. Ammo is coming down, but with other factors at play I don’t see it back to where it was three years ago. The days of going to the range with 250 rounds are probably over for me.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 13, 2022 15:51:13 GMT -7
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Post by nicholas on Mar 14, 2022 6:01:39 GMT -7
^ I'm not much of a doomsdayer but when you read stuff like that it makes you wonder how this will effect things. I feel that things will work out, because they usually do in the long run. But this will probably impact production of tube amps in one way or another for a few years? Sort of like how the chip shortage messed up the new car market.
I wonder if tube amp manufacturers would ever ship them "unloaded" to customers that have their own tube supply?
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Post by detuned on Mar 14, 2022 8:56:42 GMT -7
You can still find stuff if you're patient (for now, at least). I just bought a quad of 6L6s from StewMac at a reasonable price for my '66 Showman. Preamp tubes I have in abundance, but power tubes I seem to burn through.
We're bound to see a long term impact on sales and prices of tube amps - we are, after all, a niche market despite the cultural impact of rock and roll. The only constant is change, as they say...
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Mar 14, 2022 16:23:46 GMT -7
Tube Depot's website is down due to being "overwhelmed by orders". They're not accepting new orders until they catch up. I placed an order last night that went through, then went there again this morning and saw that they are shut down. New toilet paper indeed!
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rudeboy
Full Member
Rudecaster into a Z...heaven.
Posts: 124
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Post by rudeboy on Mar 14, 2022 16:50:41 GMT -7
Well, the good news is the NOS tubes I use in my old radio restorations are still plentiful and cheap. As far as guitar amps, I ordered a new set for my MAZ 18 from "The Tube Store" in Canada a few weeks ago with NOS 6n14nEV's and it was around 170 USD for the set. Same set is now over 200 USD last I looked...BUT, they are currently down because of overwhelming orders.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 14, 2022 17:16:45 GMT -7
Well, the good news is the NOS tubes I use in my old radio restorations are still plentiful and cheap. As far as guitar amps, I ordered a new set for my MAZ 18 from "The Tube Store" in Canada a few weeks ago with NOS 6n14nEV's and it was around 170 USD for the set. Same set is now over 200 USD last I looked...BUT, they are currently down because of overwhelming orders. Was this for a full retube set with preamp tubes as well or just a pair 6n14nEVs?
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rudeboy
Full Member
Rudecaster into a Z...heaven.
Posts: 124
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Post by rudeboy on Mar 14, 2022 17:21:39 GMT -7
Full set, as recommended by the Dr.
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