What will US Sanctions do to availability to Russian-mfgr'd Vacuum Tubes?

[tedmich]

[Enzo]

Well that same factory used to be Tesla before JJ.

JJ came together in 1993

[Chuck H]

And I used Tesla tubes then. They lived happily in my Marshall heads with 470Vp. So how come modern JJ offerings are more finicky about voltages? The screens pop if you look at them funny. If this is the old Tesla factory then I guess they do have the equipment to make a tougher tube.?.

And I've never seen any other reports here on the Shuguang EL34's from Ruby being microphonic but on my last build for a combo amp I had to choose the least bad option of three pairs and then wrap them in silicone bands.

[Enzo]

Just because it is the same old factory doesn't mean the gear is kept to the same specs and tolerances, nor does it mean the materials used are the same.


I always had good service from the EL4B tunes Ruby sold.

[g1]

I told Ruby not to take her love to town, now I find out she's selling tunes.

[Helmholtz]

I told Ruby not to take her love to town, now I find out she's selling tunes.

Not tubes?

[nevetslab]

It seems you don't have to worry about it, Chuck. This is what you see when you go to the site.


I guess the tube thing will be much like the toilet paper thing and everyone will be hoarding tubes.

OUCH! I hadn't seen this until now, but this doesn't surprise me. I have sent an email to CenterStaging's general manager advising that we're no doubt going to be caught up in this crisis while Putin's war is raging. I haven't stopped to look thru our inventory list to see just how many of our rental amps ARE tube-based. I'm guessing more than 60%. Still waiting to hear back from Hiwatt on one of their amps, and haven't yet had this conversation with their director Alex. No doubt they're also watching this closely. All of their amps that I've seen come in are equipped with J/J tubes.

[nosaj]

You think thats bad look at this statement from Behringer transistors and chips are next.
nosaj

Behringer today announced that the global chip shortage – which has led to the company recently introducing 10 new synths that they can’t put into production – is only going to get worse.

The reason? Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has halted production of half of the world’s supply of semiconductor-grade neon. Neon is critical for the manufacturing of lasers used to make chips, and an estimated 45% to 54% of it is made by two Ukrainian companies, Ingas and Cryoin.

[g1]

Not tubes?

No, I was referring to Enzo's typo above where he said tunes instead of tubes. Seeing the words 'Ruby' and 'tunes' in the same sentence made me think of the Kenny Rogers song 'Ruby', so that was the reference. A very poorly made joke on my behalf.

On the tube front, this is what EH has posted on their website today:

ATTENTION ALL EHX TUBE CUSTOMERS


The export restriction on Russian tubes has been resolved for now. We are accepting new orders, processing backorders, and hoping to resume shipping in April. Priority will be given to the oldest orders.

Considering various economic pressures, we must raise our wholesale prices. This price increase will apply to all back- and new orders. Also, there will likely be a further price increase for tubes shipped from our NYC headquarters once the government implements heightened tariffs against Russian goods, akin to the 35% rate Canada is now imposing. Other territories, including EU, UK, and Japan, are expected to follow suit.

For all non-US customers facing such heightened tariffs and with combined Russian tube orders of $3K or more: Consider having our Russian warehouse directly ship such combined orders to the nearest international airport in your country. That will avoid our having to pass along the cost of the heightened US import tariff. Otherwise, you will, in effect, incur a double tariff on shipments imported first to NYC and then to a country with heightened tariffs.

You can cancel any backorder, but we do not recommend this; there is a tremendous shortage of tubes.

[drewl]

We need a crack team of mercenaries to sneak into Russia to liberate the tubes.
somebody call Blackwater.....

Or find somebody in Russia sympathetic to the cause who can sneak them out.

[Chuck H]

OUCH! I hadn't seen this until now, but this doesn't surprise me. I have sent an email to CenterStaging's general manager advising that we're no doubt going to be caught up in this crisis while Putin's war is raging. I haven't stopped to look thru our inventory list to see just how many of our rental amps ARE tube-based. I'm guessing more than 60%. Still waiting to hear back from Hiwatt on one of their amps, and haven't yet had this conversation with their director Alex. No doubt they're also watching this closely. All of their amps that I've seen come in are equipped with J/J tubes.

Well, being as JJ isn't in Russia it might be "okay"? Still expecting a price increase due to lack of competition and market pressures, but it seems possible that JJ tubes might continue to be available. Though it may come down to parts they were ACTUALLY having manufactured in Russia? It's a big world and a small one at the same time.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Well that same factory used to be Tesla before JJ.

JJ came together in 1993

My understanding is JJ bought the machinery from Tesla (Prague) and moved it to some town in Slovakia. Tesla continued making way big RF tubes and that's where I lose the trail. Needless to say the essential tube making personnel did not come along for the trip to Slovakia and there was a long learning curve. Remember those octal JJ's where the pin diameter was too skinny, they fell out of sockets? Dumb stuff like that. Eventually JJ learned to straighten up & fly right - most of the time. I expect they're going full tilt - well I HOPE so anyway - to fill the vacuum tube vacuum.

[g1]

Tesla continued making way big RF tubes and that's where I lose the trail.

I think you may be conflating with the Svetlana story here.

[Helmholtz]

Today I received the following info from TAD:

Current Situation Regarding the Supply of Amplifier Tubes


(As of 16 March 2022) - GERMAN BELOW

Without a doubt, the current situation on the tube market can be classified as dramatic. In any case, for years, there have been only three noteworthy manufacturers of audio amplifier tubes such as 12AX7 / ECC83, EL84, EL34 and 6L6GC.

In August 2019, the largest manufacturer Shuguang closed its factory in order to move to a larger and more modern location. Unfortunately, the new production facility has not been granted permission for two years now. In the meantime, leading employees have left or have been compensated. This probably means the end of the Shuguang Electron Tube Factory.

The second major manufacturer in Russia, known mainly for the Sovtek, Electro Harmonix, Tung-Sol and Gold-Lion brands, can no longer export tubes since the Russian sanctions came into force.

This leaves only JJ as the smallest of the three big manufacturers. And their delivery time was already up to 18-20 months, even before the Russian sanctions.

REDBASEŽ

As we anticipated the development with Shuguang at a very early stage, we had already intensified a new cooperation with a small manufacturer in China in 2020. We knew that they had acquired the production facilities of another tube manufacturing plant that had been closed in the early 2000s, but had not yet used them for the types of tubes we required so urgently after Shuguang ceased production.

Working closely together, we facilitated a massive expansion and modernisation of the production facilities and started with the TAD 6L6GCM-STR REDBASE in spring 2021. This was followed by the TAD 6L6WGC-STR, the TAD EL34-STR, the TAD 12AU7A / ECC82 and the TAD GZ34-STR.

Currently, we are expecting the start of volume production of the new TAD ECC83WA, 7025WA, 12AX7A/7025, 12BH7A-STR and KT88-STR right now, followed by more models such as the 6V6GT-STR, 6550A-STR, 12AT7 / ECC81 and EL84-STR REDBASE series in the near future.

All REDBASEŽ tubes are individually tested, listened to and, if necessary, matched at TAD in Germany, thus replacing the obsolete TAD-STR and TAD-BLACKPLATE tube models.

The TAD REDBASEŽ series is manufactured independently of the three previous manufacturers and will significantly ease the supply situation for the mentioned tube types within the next few months.

[Leo_Gnardo]

I think you may be conflating with the Svetlana story here.

Anything's possible in my poor excuse of a mind g1. Svet - reportedly - continued with the big RF tubes no problem there. About Tesla, I probably read about their situation @ 22 years ago in Vacuum Tube Valley. Another source supports my memory, see end of 4th paragraph here: https://jacmusic.com/tesla/tesla-jj.html . I cannot vouch for the accuracy of ANY stories especially those that pop out from behind the Iron Curtain, or even former IC areas. AND it's true, I'm guilty of an occasional conflation so anything I have to say is of course highly suspect. But in this case I doubt it.