Are this TESLA E83CC Fake? or Real ones? HELP ME!

[Backbone]

Hi guys,

Can you tel me if the tubes are a fake or if they are real NOS TESLA E83CC?

Usually there is a production code in them like 32 or 37, these ones don’t have any code.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/E83CC-TESLA-MATCH ... 286.c0.m14



Thanks

[zaphod_phil]

I don't really know whether they're fake or not, but I sure wouldn't spend the extra price premium for matched tubes, if they're for a guitar amp. Matched tubes in a guitar amp will only make it sound more sterile.

[Backbone]

Thanks. But I am not paying that extra for matched. I know that for a guitar amp pre-amp tubes don´t have to be matched!

I am just questioning the origin of the tubes
Regards

[zaphod_phil]

That price is still outrageously high for a pair of Teslas, even if they turned out to be original. That's more like what you might expect to pay for Mullards. It's also very unlikely that the eBay seller isn't increasing the price for the privilege of their being matched. You will always pay extra for matched valves. And not only do they not have to be matched, for guitar amps it's actually quite *undesirable* for them to be matched. Personally, I wouldn't rust those valves anyway if they don't have the telltale codes on them. Quite possibly they're just relabeled JJs.

I would suggest instead you get in touch with "tube tramp" Terry Kilgore aka "sgt overdrive", Dave Lee Roth's post-EVH guitar man. He can advise and sell you some good NOS preamp valves for a much better price, even including shipment to the UK. http://mhuss.com/sgtoverdrive/

[Brewmaster]

Be carefull with some of the "Tesla" stuff. I found these in the Tubestore and even though they are ECC803S they look like NOS but they are not:

http://thetubestore.com/teslaecc803s.html

[what_wires]

Matched tubes in a guitar amp will only make it sound more sterile.

+1

[GUITARmole]

Don't overlook cheap new tubes too. You could buy quite a few varieties of new manufacture 12AX7s for the same price as those "Tesla"s.

I've bought NOS from "tube tramp" and although he's a great guy to deal with (even though he lays it on a little thick sometimes) and I'm completely happy with the tubes he's sold me...there have been countless times that his more expensive NOS tubes have lost out in a side by side taste test to new JJ, Ei, or especially (in Marshalls) Shuguang Chinese tubes in my amps.

...of course I'm old enough to remember when the Tesla tubes were new and were considered to be complete $%^!

[breakfastbuddy]

i think it suppoused to have gold pins , it dont look like this one have ,

[rjgtr]

The lettering on the tubes looks right. The ones in the Tube Store don't. I personally don't think Tesla ECC83s are worth a premium price. When I used them, I remember that after a break in period of a month they became darker sounding. The new JJs are actually an improvement, but that's a subjective judgement.

I think you're better off getting NOS RFT or Phillips tubes, which can be had for close to the same money. Or you might get lucky and find some NOS Brimars cheap. Or ANOS Mullards would be good.

Unless you're using a 12ax7 in the phase inverter or parallel tube stage, it really doesn't matter if it's balanced or not. It even doesn't really matter in a guitar amp's PI, especially the 18watts, since their design isn't particularly balanced anyway. It only matters in high end hi-fi gear. Output tubes are another story and I prefer not to put balanced tubes in an 18watt.

[dotfret]

The "problem" E83CC forgeries I have heard of all had 32 or 37 codes. They are not JJs, it is postulated they were made by Ei to special order, and printed up elsewhere.
I am told that the distinguishing point is in the way the pin plate mounts to the valve. Unfortunately I haven't seen any, although I have some long smooth plate 12AX7 forgeries marked as Siemens and Mazda, which carry Ei codes.

Actually, it depends which picture you look at as to what you see.

In pic number 1, I see a shaped spatter shield below the getter, and I think I see a shiny screen between the triodes.

In pic 2, the spatter shield looks flat, like old Tesla spatter shields.
In pic 3, it could be shaped, or just "stamped that way".


I have seen a French expert say that Tesla E83CC were only produced in factories 32 and 37, that they do not have a solid screen between the triodes, and that they have a flat spatter shield.

Unfortunately, he then went on to say that Tesla never made any ECC83, which undermines his authority significantly. So the ECC83 that I have, with both grey and shiny solid screens, flat and shaped spatter shields, and VK codes are all relabelled JJ according to him (VK was the code for the JJ factory).

From what I have been told, the E83CC forgeries sound good in any case. The longplate forgeries I have also sound good. The question with the "real forgeries" is how long will they last?

I cannot tell if these are forgeries or not from those pictures. They may be late Tesla production, they may be relabelled JJ, or they may be the forgeries.

I don't need them, and I don't like the price, but I would bet they sound OK, those people test most things they sell individually before despatch. The testing is usually what puts the price up.

The dealer is reputable, but if you complain that they are dodgy, it is likely he will ask for the valves back and refund your money. That's how it works.