How to make your OWN vacuum tubes...

[John C. Voigt]

On Wednesday 24 March 2010, Tony Alfrey spake unto the assembled:

> Jerry McBride wrote:
> > On Tuesday 23 March 2010 19:57:10 Tony Alfrey wrote:
> >> Jerry McBride wrote:
> >>> In case you've missed it...
> >>>
> >>> "Make your own vacuum tubes"... a video primer...
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/01/make_your_own_vacuum_tube.h
> >>>tml
> >>
> >> Harumph.  Big deal.  Call me back when he makes some 6L6GCs and
> >> *then* we got something.
> >
> > Wow! I used to run those in various linears i used to own too...
> 
> Seems like only the Chinese and the Russians make them now.
> There is certainly still a market for these and all of the associated
> ECC83/12AX7/12AT7/6SN7, blah blah blah tubes for tube audio fans  ;-)
> 
> Makes me wanna run out to the garage and dust off the vacuum pump.

Impressive video.

My father owned a music business for over 65 years, and vacuum tubes were 
the standard for guitar and bass amplifiers up into the 70s. Tube amps 
continued even into the 90's, although in limited models.

If you really wanted that "classic sound" tubes were considered the only 
way to go. At that time there was Marshall, Ampeg, Fender and a few others, 
but almost all were tube amps. These, eventually coupled with the spring 
reeeevvvvverrrbbb made for analog audio classics which are difficult to 
reproduce in solid-state. Digital recording and processing is reinventing 
this - somewhat painfully IMHO ;-)

In more recent times, Peavey made (probably still makes(I've been away from 
the business for awhile)) some amplifiers with tubes. The 6L6GC was a very 
common tube, along with the 12AT7. I don't know who actually made them, but 
they were readily available, and still are likely to be available at a good 
retail music store.

There are a lot more interesting tubes available for ham radio equipment, 
and some audiophiles are still using tube-based amplifiers in stereo 
equipment as well.

73,

JV
-- 
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