Hammond-labeled tubes - mfr?

[Don Moose]

Snagged a '68-'69 Hammond L-120 yesterday, and as I was vacuuming it out I pulled the tubes. All of them had Hammond labels, but most were marked Made in Gr Britain, and couple Made in Germany.

Anyone know who actually mfr'd these?

Also - the recto tube has this metal spring-looking thing stuck to the side of one of the elements. It may be touching the glass, it's so close to the side of the envelope. On inside of the glass around this thing there's a white crust - is that bad?

Thanks!

[billyz]

I have had several sets of Hammond labeled tubes. Most were Telefunken (look for the diamond on the base) or Mullard( look for the etching on the glass). In any case Hammond always used superior tubes , relabeled for them.

Hammond was/is the King of instruments.

[Enzo]

But like most rebranders, it was not necessarily the same evey time. The 12AX7s could be one brand this season and another brand the next. SO you will have to ID the maker using clues such as billy provided or by posting photos for someone's visual ID.

[Old Tele man]

...most all of the OEM electronic equipment manufacturers -- like Hammond, Delco, Gibson, etc. -- did not make the tubes that went into their equipment, rather they ordered, special, re-labelled tubes, from whichever BIG tube manufacturer gave them the best price break. Hence, the HAMMOND 'name plate' label but the GB and Germany 'manufacturer' labels.

[billyz]

I know a lot if not all Fischer and Dynaco tubes were relabeled Telefunken and Mullard or Amperex. I have many 12ax7's all Telefunken with those labels and more. My favorites are the Silvertone tubes that are actually Telefunken with the Diamond in the base.

[Don Moose]

Here are some photos of a typical EL84 and 12AU7, and that 5U4 I'm worried about.

[John_H]

Amperex?

[unparalleled]

They look like Philips and they ARE made in Holland.

[Steve Conner]

That 5U4 looks pretty much f****d to me. The white stuff means that air has got inside.

The "Made In Great Britain" tubes should be either Mullard or Brimar. Mullard would figure, since you can see the "Gf2" etching on your 12AU7.

[Don Moose]

Originally Posted by Steve Conner

That 5U4 looks pretty much f****d to me. The white stuff means that air has got inside.

Dirt.

Originally Posted by Steve Conner

Mullard would figure, since you can see the "Gf2" etching on your 12AU7

Sweet!

Thanks guys!

[Alf]

I think the 12ax7 is indeed a Philips from Eindhoven , where I live.





And here a better view maybe :




Alf

[Rhodesplyr]

Originally Posted by Don Moose

Here are some photos of a typical EL84 and 12AU7, and that 5U4 I'm worried about.

The dead 5U4GB is GE production--you can tell by the 188 EIA code.

The white getter indicates loss of vacuum.

Hammond bought tubes from many different suppliers. I've primarily seen RCA and GE, though, as you can see, they did sometimes use European tubes, especially Amperex EL84s. I don't think I've ever found a Telefunken tube as a stock Hammond-labeled tube, but that doesn't mean it never happened.

Leslie, on the the other hand, had an affinity for Tung-Sol.

David

[billyz]

Can the 5u4, I second what everyone else said about it.

here is a link of euro tube codes.

http://www.audiotubes.com/PhilipsCodeList.pdf

And Hammond did use Telefunken quite often.

smooth and ribbed plate.

GF2 is mullard or Loews opta after 54, F is June, can't make out the code on your el84.but you get the idea.

[Don Moose]

Thanks, guys -

I had a 5u4 lying around, and it works!

Just gotta get the oil into all the places it's supposed to go and I'm good (so far).

[Sweetfinger]

Lotta RCA in the Hammonds I've seen over the years.

[6267]

Old hammonds are mostly RCA & GE.
Newer hammonds (that I've seen) are often mullard/eindhoven phillips/valvo?/GE 12ax7s.
Hammond often had service plans including tube replacement, so what we get might not be what they were shipped with.

[RichardBM]

Originally Posted by 6267

Old hammonds are mostly RCA & GE.
Newer hammonds (that I've seen) are often mullard/eindhoven phillips/valvo?/GE 12ax7s.
Hammond often had service plans including tube replacement, so what we get might not be what they were shipped with.

My Hammond GZ34 is a Mullard.

[Gtr_tech]

Originally Posted by Don Moose

Thanks, guys -

I had a 5u4 lying around, and it works!

Just gotta get the oil into all the places it's supposed to go and I'm good (so far).

Mixing naptha with the Hammond oil (yes, use *real Hammond oil*, nothing else will work) is a good trick for cleaning up the oil wicks. The naptha will loosen up the gunk that is in the wicks and allow new oil to get to where it needs to be.

You can go about 50/50 mix. It'll still take a while....have patience.