Where is everyone buying their tubes?

[Tripower455]

I'm actually surprised that Sarge can actually locate all that rare glass in the LA area. You would think that entire region has been raped, left for dead, then raped several more times.

The Sarge is not getting much of anything locally. He's worldwide -- he just keeps a low profile . It is likely that he's playing cat and mouse chasing the same leads and overseas folks that KCA and the other NOS folks are.

So far everything I've gotten from him has been top shelf and very reasonable (for NOS) -- and in many cases, highly unusual as well!

Disclaimer: I almost know the Sarge and may be prejudiced.

--mark h

Ditto,

My Marwatt and Hiwatt are stuffed with Terry's tubes.... He is a world of good advice re: what sounds good where. He set me up with a killer set of NOS pre and power tubes for both my Marwatt and DR504.

I got one bad NOS tube from him (actually, it worked great for the first hour of running, but was dead on the next start up), and he made good on it, no questions asked or any hassles whatsoever.

Terry is #1 with me!


Oh, BTW, both amps sound soooooo much better with the NOS stuff in them than they did with the JJ's, EH and GTs that I had in them before. The Marwatt really likes a Mullard in V1....

[luckybob]

I've only built one 18W, a Trinity TMB with S2's tranny's and the Sarge's tubes. I had a power tube die on me and Sarge promptly sent me a replacement PAIR. Beneath the gruff exterior is someone who cares about the customer and does the right thing. Maybe he's thinking long term,,,,

[spikeRI]

why would a modern amp work better with inferior built new production tubes? seems to me the better built tubes of the past would work great in any amp that needs a better tube in it......

+1 for the sarge

[str82hvn]

Go with Sarge! Great stuff + fair price = Great tone & happy customer

str82hvn

[rjgtr]

why would a modern amp work better with inferior built new production tubes? seems to me the better built tubes of the past would work great in any amp that needs a better tube in it......

+1 for the sarge

I don't think all new production tubes are inferior to all NOS tubes. Of course, there's certain NOS tubes that are great and better than most new construction. But not all tubes from the past are great. And as more NOS tubes are sold the better ones are gone leaving what is left.

The other thing to consider is what tubes an amp is designed around. If you design a high gain amp for Sovtek tubes then it might just sound better with them. This is because high gain applications weren't the norm in the 60s. They were going for clean gain in the tube design.

For instance, I like Mullard ECC83s in Marshalls a lot, but I find Phillips or Sylvania 12ax7s to be a little harsh. However, in a Deluxe Reverb a Phillips or Sylvania will get a great fat clean tone. I have also found that SED =C= (real Svetlanas) are just as nice as the NOS Seimens that I have.

I like to use Mullard ECC83s in V1 of most amps, but I don't find them to work great in the middle gain stages of a Soldano type preamp. They can get noisey and a little harsh. JJs just seem to work a little better to my ears.

I also find I like RFTs in an 18 watt more than a Fender.

Its all a matter of not worrying about anything but the tone you're after. If you want to use NOS everywhere, great. I have several amps (including my 18watt) that I do because it works better for me. But sometimes the new production will work just as well or better, depending on the amp. I find that Svetlanas and JJs do have their uses too.

[MooreCowbelle]

Sarge,
I had NO IDEA! That's quite a stockpile you have in the bunker. I just purchased some NOS glass from KCA (including a hummy Brimar that is being replaced) - but had I known...

My next order is headed in your direction, for sure.

I think a few people have already said this, but it might be nice to know what you have in stock...or at least what might be available...listed on your web site. No need to make it a PayPal site or anything.

[rjgtr]

Even just long list on the site would be great.