Good source for tubes?

[DAN_000]

Good and trusted sources for tubes?  so many fakes or bad quality on ebay !
Thanks

 

[mjrippe]

Well, since "Ganimedes" is probably equidistant from any place on earth I'll give you a few options:
http://www.audiotubes.com/bjtubes.htm - In Illinois
http://www.leedsradio.com - In Brooklyn, NY
http://www.tubesandmore.com/ - In Arizona

They are all in the USA, if you are somewhere else just let us know and I'm sure someone will have other suggestions.

 

[DAN_000]

Shipping is always a pain... need to move
Thanks !

 

[Brian Roth]

Memphis, TN:

http://tubedepot.com/

Bri

 

[gyraf]

Billington exports in the UK

 

[ruffrecords]

Billington exports in the UK

Also Colomor, Hotrox and Watford valves in the UK.

Cheers

Ian

 

[rock soderstrom]

They´ve got everything you need!  8)

http://www.btb-elektronik.de/en/index.html

Stocklist:

http://www.btb-elektronik.de/pdf/de_gesamtpreisliste.pdf

 

[ricothetroll]

I usually buy my tubes to them :
http://jukebox-revival.eu/
quite cheap though

 

[Kingston]

Also, ebay is a brilliant (and the only good) source for soviet era tubes. No fakes or cheaters there. Just close or somewhat close equivalents to western tubes, but with military specs. I no longer even bother trying to source other kinds.

 

[gyraf]

Also, ebay is a brilliant (and the only good) source for soviet era tubes. No fakes or cheaters there.

Are you kidding? Next to NOS western tubes, Soviet era tubes are the most faked out there in my experience...

Jakob E.

 

[ungifted]

"Faked Soviet tubes" sounds quite strange.
Why fake what is available? (Soviet/Russian tubes are really cheap and available).

 

[Kingston]

"Faked Soviet tubes" sounds quite strange.
Why fake what is available? (Soviet/Russian tubes are really cheap and available).

I was wondering the same. What fakes? What motivation?

I have ordered like 20 times from different ebay stores (Ukraine/Russia) over the last decade. CCCP era tubes and PIO caps are cheap, and if I may say so, incredibly good performance.

 

[letterbeacon]

Yes I've had loads of Soviet PIO caps from eBay, but the prices are increasing shockingly quickly...

 

[MartyMart]

I've had zero problems from Evilbay soviet tubes .... apart from the 8 weeks delivery times ( sometimes ) !!

MM.

 

[ruffrecords]

I've had zero problems from Evilbay soviet tubes .... apart from the 8 weeks delivery times ( sometimes ) !!

MM.

Ditto except the delivery to Europe is pretty quick in my experience. The 6N23 tubes are excellent substitutes fro the 6922 and I have purchased an measured many of them and they have all performed very well.

Cheers

Ian

 

[zebra50]

Are Colomor still going? Their old site disappeared. I guess I should go google...


To answer my own question, they seem to have gone onto ebay...

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/COLOMOR-VALVES-TUBES-COMPONENTS

 

[grubbyliver]

I've bought from this guy many times without a problem. Good service and fair prices in my opinion.

http://www.die-wuestens.de/eindex.htm

 

[TONY]

i bought 1$ tubes from these guys....http://www.esrcvacuumtubes.com/ and http://www.vacuumtubes.net/

 

[lassoharp]

CCCP era tubes and PIO caps are cheap

re the PIO caps - they were cheap until guitar amp suppliers in the USA decided to monopolize the market and bought out nearly all suppliers stock.  You can guess what happened next.  They can be found in their online catalogs beside pics of hot babes curling up around guitars and the usual assortment of silly adjectives trumpeting their tonal virtues . . . . . at double or triple the price you could originally get them from the Soviet suppliers.  (For those responsible who might come here from time to time to read - Thanks a lot for the ruination!)  Don't know if that happened with tubes yet or not but probably just a matter of time.


Buy your tubes from a place that will give refunds or exchanges for bad tubes - esp if you are buying NOS.  Some places do and some places don't.    The ones that don't still ask the same inflated prices for certain "premium types" 

 

[Kingston]

re the PIO caps - they were cheap until guitar amp suppliers in the USA decided to monopolize the market and bought out nearly all suppliers stock.  You can guess what happened next.  They can be found in their online catalogs beside pics of hot babes curling up around guitars and the usual assortment of silly adjectives trumpeting their tonal virtues . . . . . at double or triple the price you could originally get them from the Soviet suppliers.  (For those responsible who might come here from time to time to read - Thanks a lot for the ruination!)  Don't know if that happened with tubes yet or not but probably just a matter of time.

I got worried there for a second and had to check some of the stores I've used in the past. But no, the prices haven't changed much in the last five years I've known these things. They are still roughly the same price as an equivalent spec Wima polyprop for example, which is perfectly fine since these are in a very literal sense bombproof.

So I'm not quite sure what you are talking about or what price-hike. It's not like you are somehow forced to order from those state-side guitar parts stores. Knowing some of the background of CCCP military industry these caps and tubes are as abundant as the AK47. They probably find a warehouse or two filled with them on monthly basis still!