![12BA6 Vacuum Tube, made in 1987. [4032x3024 - 2.65MB]](https://pic8.co/sh/XRjtpJ.jpg){kind=link}
Have any tube guitar amps? I have one. Nothing beats the sound of a Tube Amp. A cheap tube amp always sounds better than an expensive sold state.
While looking up upgrades for my tube amp. I realized there is a huge market for NOS tubes. Some worth some money too. What I think is cool. is different brans of tubes can change your sound in different ways.
No, all the tubes I have are used in test equipment.
Do you keep old test equipment around because its better than todays models, or do you collect for fun? I would imagine American made test equipment from the 60's and such works better than todays digital stuff.
Edit: I looked up the tubes you posted. So its a radio tube. I guess they are never used in guitar amps.
no. Radio tubes are almost never useful in guitar circuits. Generally speaking here's what is useful:
12ax7, 12at7, 12au7, 12ay7 - these are preamp tubes
5y3, 5u4, 5ar4 - these are rectifier tubes
6V6, 6L6GC, 6550, EL34, 6CA7, 6bq5 - these are power tubes
The main pieces of test equipment I keep around are things like a capacitor tester than can check for shorts and leakage at higher voltages than a handheld, and a signal tracer with an AM demod built in. They're just useful things for basic equipment work, and they still perform their functions. I have a couple of other pieces, but those are collectibles because they're simply not useful anymore. A 1" o-scope still does it's job, but I can buy a handheld with better bandwidth for $50 or less.
I do, at times, just build something for the fun of it, the last time I did that was a type 80 and an eye tube along with some bits and pieces of (literally) broken PCB to drive the eye. It was fun, then I tore it down because it was sockets held in clip stands and jumpers and the AC line being directly rectified and thrown on B+.
The 6BQ5 is a fun tube, I used to have an amp with four of those as push-pull in the final. You could cook with those they ran them so hot.
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