Croaker

Hey dude. Found my way to this but I don't know what to do. This is a box that looked like it should be for typing. So here goes.

Yes you are probaly right. The tubes I have I bought from Antique audio supply years ago and are all matched pairs and tested. There are tunsol 5881, RCA 6L6 blackplates and 6V6 pairs from tungsol rca etc. I saw some pairs of RCA blackplates going for almost $400...crazy huh.

Speaking of groove tubes my regal was making this wierd ocillatiing noise on certain notes and chords at higher volumes. it was driving me crazy. I changed the rectifer and it was better but the main culprit was the preamp tube..when I changed it the noise went away. It was a groove tubes.

what the hell is this visitor message thing anyway? haha

Tom

Hang on to your old tubes. Pan us a very good friend of mine, has been for many years. I know him from Alaska. He used to be a barge/tug boat captain on some of Alaska's interior rivers until he retired. He is a very private guy but as helpful and friendly as they come. He knows a hell of a lot about vintage and tube gear.

Keep in mind that you can put almost any rectifier tube in the Regal II because it is over build. In vintage amps you have to be mindful to not exceed the voltage capabilities of the amp for fear of damage. This is not a concern with the Regal II from what I understand. It is my understanding that the higher the voltage of the rectifier tube the less sag or the more attack the notes. It always comes down to how a specific tube sounds in a specific amp.

NOS have been picked over so much that I don't consider that they are worth even looking into anymore. The good ones have all been snapped up. Understand that Pan hasn't purchased NOS tubes in years because ten years ago he was buying all that he need that he could get his hands on and he knows it just isn't hardly worth the trouble of searching. Yes, I have old stock tubes. Some are crap and some are good. There are a few people that I occasionally buy NOS tubes from who stumble across an occasional mini motherlode.

For the most part I now turn to Groove Tubes. I know that the die hards cringe when anyone mentions Groove Tube but the price is right and they are for the most part good. A crappy NOS tube is still a crappy tube.

A guy like you with an old bag of tubes might just have some really great NOS tubes right under your nose.