Eurotubes=Bad News

[falcom]

I know some folks swear by them, but I had a really bad experience.... there are
a lot of other good vendors out there that are much more deserving of your business.

[soundmasterg]

Sorry to hear that you've had a bad experience. If you're going to diss a vendor, sometimes details are helpful so others get a feel for the circumstances. It can be done in a way that others get an idea of the circumstances without saying anything too personal or derogatory. I've been a customer of Eurotubes in the past and have not had a problem with their products or service, though they have seemed arrogant sometimes, but that may just be my impression. I live across town from them so they are convenient when I want what they have to offer.

Greg

[Enzo]

Hi falcom, welcome to the forum.

I have to agree, if you are going to dis someone and tell us not to do business with them, you really should report on what the problem is and why we should avoid them.

[Gibsonman63]

Eurotubes is not the only place I buy tubes from, but I have purchased tubes from them several times with no problems ever. Why would I stop buying from someone that I have had nothing but positive experiences based on an arbitrary comment on the internet?

I need more than that to convince me.

Details?

[Daver]

I have to agree with what the others have said. This is your first post on this board and it's to complain about a vendor. Makes me wonder........

[falcom]

You are correct this is my first post on the board, written in frustration after trying to
get a working set of tubes from this vendor. They maintain that the tubes were somehow
mishandled during installation ( funny, I've been servicing my own tube amps for 29
years without incident) This was my first experience with Eurotubes, or JJ for that matter. I finally just gave up and ordered a whole new set from my usual vendor
( Lesson1- stick with what works) because I'm not spending another dime with these guys.

Lesson 2 would be that if one received one of their retube sets and there was a problem with a single tube, they should send the whole set back and get a refund and save themselves a lot of time and frustration.

As i mentioned, a lot of folks swear by them, but this is my one and only experience.
Nothing against anyone there personally, I didn't find anyone any more arrogant than
your standard guitar/music store guy.

I've got 2 more amps to retube for the road, so guess this was a good learning experience (see lesson #1)

[jbltwin1]

You actually never said WHAT failed and how. 6L6? EL34? 6550? Etc. And how. Hum? Burn out? Rattle? I have been using JJ's and FROM Eurotubes for several years and haven't had ANY bad and they are being shipped to the midwest from gawd knows where they are up in oregon. I use E34L's and their 5881(6L6GC) and have had nothing but good luck. I can't help but think also that maybe the shipping was a concern. Let's face it, they think fragile means to throw underhanded.

[Prairie Dawg]

Specifics, man, specifics. State your case or sit down, counselor. Your information's valueless without specifics.

[falcom]

1 el84 & 1 12ax7 at first.... white topped upon installation... I suspect shipping also...they sent , they sent me replacements for those, quickly I might add, but when I got the replacements
and powered it up ANOTHER of the el84s died within 5 minutes...white topped. They
refuse to replace that one, which I find rather ridiculous considering all the crap I went through and how little their cost is on those things. I found the whole situation and this kid's attitude rather insulting.

With my being much more valuable than one stinking tube, I just bought a whole new set from a different vendor and have had no problems since.

[soundmasterg]

White topped means that the tube lost vacuum. This can often happen when the tube is installed incorrectly. I'm not saying that you did anything to cause the problem, but it is rare for tubes to lose their vacuum without some kind of damage happening mechanically to them. I've been to Eurotubes many times since they are across town from me, and have met them in person. They are good guys that know their stuff. They probably suspected that you damaged the tubes and that is why there were refusing to send out another replacement. They did send you one replacement, which is farther than most would do in a situation such as this. Tubes are not a very reliable product, especially these days, and there is a huge reject rate for new tubes, sometimes as high as 50%. Vendors like Eurotubes have to weed through all these failures to get a product that they can sell. They test each and every tube, and grade them as far as where they bias so you can get the distortion characteristics that you want out of a set of tubes. That time has to be paid for somehow. Their prices are actually some of the best out there for JJ tubes, despite that they test their tubes more thoroughly than some other vendors. You could have got a couple bad tubes, but they would have had to make it through some pretty rigorous testing to get to you. Pretty unlikely. They were probably damaged in shipping, or when you installed them in the amp. Tubes like the EL84 and 12AX7 with their little nipple on top of the tube are actually easy to damage when installing into an amp. They also damage easier in shipping too.

Greg

[falcom]

" Oh you wanted tubes that actually worked? You should have specified that with your order!"

" These tubes are so special that you need at least 30 years of experience to install them without breaking, you
have only 29, which means it must be your fault."

Oh snap.

[tubeboy]

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with Eurotubes. I read above white topped upon installation rather than when opened. The typical packing of vacuum tubes is adequate to protect them from the Samsonite test of UPS or FedEx. If damage occurred in shipping the getter would have been white when you opened the package. The getters were almost certainly functional prior to shipment because Eurotubes tested the tubes. I assume that your amp is working fine with other tubes installed. Even if you got the plates cherry hot, it wouldn't likely saturate the getter so quickly. Maybe the JJ vacuum envelope is getting too thin and easy enough to break with normal handling.

What I like about Eurotubes is they will sell you a single 6V6 unlike some of the vendors out there.

Best of luck,

Chris

[J M Fahey]

I also read: "getters still silver when box opens ... getters white after installation = rough installation" ... specially when it happens 3 times in a row, by the same end user.
Sorry.
Of course, I may be mistaken.

[soundmasterg]

" Oh you wanted tubes that actually worked? You should have specified that with your order!"

" These tubes are so special that you need at least 30 years of experience to install them without breaking, you
have only 29, which means it must be your fault."

Oh snap.

I'm beginning to think that the problem is with you falcom.....sarcasm in response to a comment usually indicates an idiot, but I could be wrong. I specifically said in my post that I wasn't accusing you of anything, but you seemed to take it that I was. It doesn't really matter in the end. You are convinced you are right, and I don't really care what you think, and it seems most others here don't either. You're up to 8 posts now, and not one has been useful to anyone else from what I can see. I'm going to move on to more useful things to occupy my time than to talk with you. Happy tube amp travels to you.

Greg

[big_teee]

I'm just a passer by, but if you gave falcom the benefit of the doubt.
A el84 an a 12ax7 is pretty basic plug and play.
The trickest part is usually getting those spring retainers or covers on an off.
If I was going to pick on someone I would probably blame the Brown Truck people.
I always specify someone else except the What can Brown do for you.
I specify the postal service if its small.
After 3 guitars with broke necks, I won't let them touch a new guitar.
Also IMO if a tube even works 5 minutes, It didn't lose vacuum while being installed, or it wouldn't have worked at all.
I've had real good luck with the Tube Depot in Memphis Tn.
You might want to give them a try.
Good Luck!
Terry