Cleaning tools for Power and Preamp Tube Sockets

[Chuck H]

It's certainly an irritating problem with the sockets. Another modern issue for some of us is that the currently manufactured tubes do not adhere to the original size standards. For the current tubes the diameter of the glass envelope is larger and the diameter of the pins is smaller than the NOS USA/UK etc originals.

True that. And I'll suppose you're taking "currently" all the way back to the early 80's? About the time the older known brands were getting harder to come by and amp manufacturers started using the more easily sourced Chinese tubes. As I remember it the Chinese preamp tubes were always fatter than any NOS stuff. And I remember thinking "Are these pins skinnier?" some time in the early 90's.

In fact by the time I got into the game it was pretty much ALL Chinese tubes and we were just starting to get the new (to the US) Russian brands in some product. I remember the NOS preamp tubes looked wrong to me at first. Before realizing it was the other way around. My first experience with "NOS" preamp tubes was when I bought a few National 12ax7's from a brick and mortar store in the late 80's. They were actually rebranded Mullards. Or at least made with the same tooling and specs. Hard to say. They weren't even sure they still had any tubes but the clerk went to the back and moved a bunch of stacked up obsolete inventory to find them. I thought 'Hmmm... These look kind of cheap. With skinny bottles, seams in the glass and no shields on the plates.' They sold them to me for something just shy of what the guitar stores were charging for Chinese tubes. I bought four. I wish I could have that moment back