Western Electric to the rescue! They’re gonna make more tubes.

Im happy for this! Its an American company making American tubes. The cost wont be pretty but its value overall is immeasurable and im sure the quality will be as about as good as it gets. This might even force the other companies to suck it up and begin to explore similar avenues, expanding closer to their original production countries and not monopolized to one area that is currently embargoed.
 
eSGEe said:
thank heavens --- I know I will sleep better now ......
Click to expand...
You need to believe in miracles if you want miracles to happen...

"Enter Western Electric. Earlier this month, the Rossville, Georgia-based company outlined its plan to leverage its current tube-manufacturing plant – and its well-established expertise – to expand into manufacturing a massive range of tubes, rather than just the 300B. It also asked musicians and designers to share their thoughts on what they would want from a US-based tube factory. Safe to say, it piqued the interest of the guitar community, spreading like wildfire amongst tube-evangelists."

As I said earlier: the era of tube audio is not over; it's just getting started.
Historically, all attempts to change musicians over to transistors / solid state have failed.

Some percentage of musicians will use solid state amps, but the preferred type will remain as vacuum tube. Always has been.
 
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Amp Mad Scientist said:
You need to believe in miracles if you want miracles to happen...

"Enter Western Electric. Earlier this month, the Rossville, Georgia-based company outlined its plan to leverage its current tube-manufacturing plant – and its well-established expertise – to expand into manufacturing a massive range of tubes, rather than just the 300B. It also asked musicians and designers to share their thoughts on what they would want from a US-based tube factory. Safe to say, it piqued the interest of the guitar community, spreading like wildfire amongst tube-evangelists."

As I said earlier: the era of tube audio is not over; it's just getting started.
Historically, all attempts to change musicians over to transistors / solid state have failed.

Some percentage of musicians will use solid state amps, but the preferred type will remain as vacuum tube. Always has been.
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Solidstate technology made life easier, more connected and advanced electronic development light years ahead of time. But that is to the general public. As for audiophiles and music enthusiasts/musicians, you're 100% right: you can't argue with the magic of vacuum designed amplification. Nothing in the world wrong with SS amps and as ive said a million times, I both own and love them. But I personally prefer valved amps and many more do as well.

There IS a worrying factor I have though and that is the youngest generation of new musicians. Most of them now dont even use a modeling amp or profiler, just going direct to software. With the same group not playing live hardly, they have no qualms about forgoing valved amps and even SS/modeling amps. There are some that have discovered the beauty of real amplification but there's a larger group that doesnt care and i fear THAT will jeopardize the future of amps and valves alike
 
Clockworkmike said:
There IS a worrying factor I have though and that is the youngest generation of new musicians. Most of them now dont even use a modeling amp or profiler, just going direct to software. With the same group not playing live hardly, they have no qualms about forgoing valved amps and even SS/modeling amps. There are some that have discovered the beauty of real amplification but there's a larger group that doesnt care and i fear THAT will jeopardize the future of amps and valves alike
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exactly.
 
Clockworkmike said:
There IS a worrying factor I have though and that is the youngest generation of new musicians. Most of them now dont even use a modeling amp or profiler, just going direct to software. With the same group not playing live hardly, they have no qualms about forgoing valved amps and even SS/modeling amps. There are some that have discovered the beauty of real amplification but there's a larger group that doesnt care and i fear THAT will jeopardize the future of amps and valves alike
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That doesn’t worry me at all. Why should it? If another musician can meet his musical needs and desires by going straight to software, that’s no big whoop. It doesn’t threaten what anyone else chooses to do.

But, I am very pleased to see Western Electric take this step. It’s cool to see a company be responsive to public desire.
 
smitty_p said:
That doesn’t worry me at all. Why should it? If another musician can meet his musical needs and desires by going straight to software, that’s no big whoop. It doesn’t threaten what anyone else chooses to do.

But, I am very pleased to see Western Electric take this step. It’s cool to see a company be responsive to public desire.
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I dont care what anyone uses as long as it works for them as well. But what i do worry about is if an entire generation ditches amps altogether and that becomes the norm, what happens to amplifiers? If demand is at an all time low, production will no doubt slow down and the next phase is " Well, we have to make cutbacks at the plant because its not economical right now to build" and ultimately a company shudders its doors, possibly even ushering in a domino effect to other companies.

Basically we're looking at the potential end of an era if THIS is the future. If more and more kids say screw it to playing live, why would they ever need an amp in the first place? Not to mention they can just buy a bundle package on their DAW and have whatever amp they want. That's all great and all but the market WILL suffer in the long run if that becomes the majority.

We tend to think because WE demand valved amps that they will always be here but let's face some grim realizations: WE aren't getting any younger and eventually we will be long gone and be but a distant memory. That aspect of keeping the market alive dies with us basically if younger folks dont use amps
 
Russia is pissed the Federal Reserve took 350 billion in USD from Russia outright theft

Just got off the phone with a 300B customer happy found a warehouse full of tubes and test equipment will see.
 
Respectfully,

Grammar and punctuation is important.

It's the difference between helping your uncle jack off his horse, or helping your uncle, Jack, off his horse. See?

Maybe it's just me, but I have no idea what
67plexi said:
Russia is pissed the Federal Reserve took 350 billion in USD from Russia outright theft

Just got off the phone with a 300B customer happy found a warehouse full of tubes and test equipment will see.
Click to expand...
means.
 
Clockworkmike said:
I dont care what anyone uses as long as it works for them as well. But what i do worry about is if an entire generation ditches amps altogether and that becomes the norm, what happens to amplifiers? If demand is at an all time low, production will no doubt slow down and the next phase is " Well, we have to make cutbacks at the plant because its not economical right now to build" and ultimately a company shudders its doors, possibly even ushering in a domino effect to other companies.

Basically we're looking at the potential end of an era if THIS is the future. If more and more kids say screw it to playing live, why would they ever need an amp in the first place? Not to mention they can just buy a bundle package on their DAW and have whatever amp they want. That's all great and all but the market WILL suffer in the long run if that becomes the majority.

We tend to think because WE demand valved amps that they will always be here but let's face some grim realizations: WE aren't getting any younger and eventually we will be long gone and be but a distant memory. That aspect of keeping the market alive dies with us basically if younger folks dont use amps
Click to expand...
I have not pontificated tubes will go away -- but I will GUARANTEE the "majority" of users 20 years from now will use software (or who knows what NEW tech will be around then?) as the tech improves and the price void between digital and tube amps widens and widens ..... you will see more converts....and as said some of the very young and up and coming beginning pros might never even own an amp :oops:

But take heart---there are still record players......
there are still tube radio users and HI FI tube audio lovers --- Im sure there are still people using VHS video players...... but -- all those have gone from " everyone" using them to small "niche" markets. Personally I see tube amps going the same way.

I have 6 grand kids --- Digital, phone-- google-- tablet-- is the IMMEDIATE go to .... period

Wanna have some fun ???? Find any 20something year old ... give them directions in "go 2 miles North -- turn WEST on hwy 4 " etc etc -- as soon as you say GO NORTH they will get a confused look and the rest .... you might as well be speaking Mandarin..................
 
eSGEe said:
I have not pontificated tubes will go away -- but I will GUARANTEE the "majority" of users 20 years from now will use software (or who knows what NEW tech will be around then?) as the tech improves and the price void between digital and tube amps widens and widens ..... you will see more converts....and as said some of the very young and up and coming beginning pros might never even own an amp :oops:

But take heart---there are still record players......
there are still tube radio users and HI FI tube audio lovers --- Im sure there are still people using VHS video players...... but -- all those have gone from " everyone" using them to small "niche" markets. Personally I see tube amps going the same way.

I have 6 grand kids --- Digital, phone-- google-- tablet-- is the IMMEDIATE go to .... period

Wanna have some fun ???? Find any 20something year old ... give them directions in "go 2 miles North -- turn WEST on hwy 4 " etc etc -- as soon as you say GO NORTH they will get a confused look and the rest .... you might as well be speaking Mandarin..................
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That's kind of what I'm seeing here too: at the current rate, amps both valve and SS alike, will be cool old nostalgia items. Record players bizarrely made a reemergence over the last decade and your local Walmart probably carries more vinyl now than CDs ( mine does anyways) and so maybe young hipster kids will rediscover amps one day if and when they ultimately vanish.

I was talking to a 23 year old at work yesterday about this same thing, oddly enough. We got on the topic of music and turns out he is a fellow guitar player as well, but was asking about getting into recording. I told him Im pretty old school and dumb to it but I am slowly learning SOME things. But I joked and said " I just play the damn thing: warts and all. I miss the old school days of raw recording even if there is some sloppiness in there".

Amazingly he was of the same belief and said " Digital stuff is cool if you want to sound ultra polished but it gets to a point it becomes fake and plastic sounding. Led Zeppelin would record :poo: in stairwells and Deep Purple recorded in run down hotels with cables going to trucks. And yet no one today sounds that good"

Almost wept a tear of joy for hope of a brighter future lol


And yeah, about directions? Ask any kid under the age of 25 to orienteer a road atlas on their own if you want another laugh lol
 
eSGEe said:
there are still tube radio users and HI FI tube audio lovers --- Im sure there are still people using VHS video players...... but -- all those have gone from " everyone" using them to small "niche" markets. Personally I see tube amps going the same way.
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That's very possible. Tube amps may very well become a niche market. Even physical processors and modellers may become passé. The VST technologies used in the studio may make their way onto the stage more and more. To me, it would be very cool to bypass the concept of physical modellers and processors entirely. Sometimes, I think I'd rather get a powerful laptop, a foot controller, an interface, and just use software. That way, I can change or upgrade an entire "processor" just by changing software; not buying new hardware. This would basically do an end-run around the whole hairball of Fractal vs. Kemper vs. Helix.

In most cases though, I prefer the workflow of an amp and pedal board for stage use.

Either way, I think folks spend too much time hand-wringing one way or the other over tubes vs. SS/processing. The tube crowd tries to validate their choice as being sonically superior; the SS/processor crowd tries to dismiss the tube crowd as antiquated.

Both crowds are wrong in their approaches. Neither crowd needs to justify its preference nor should either crowd try to act superior to the other.

As noted, things are cyclical. Trying to read customer direction has been the rise and downfall of many a marketing department.

For me, I'm very happy to see Western Electric come on board and pick up the gauntlet. This will help ensure there is availability of replacement tubes for the millions of tube amps and for those companies/people who build them. Once they hit the market, I'm definitely gonna pick up a few!
 
Clockworkmike said:
But what i do worry about is if an entire generation ditches amps altogether and that becomes the norm, what happens to amplifiers? If demand is at an all time low, production will no doubt slow down and the next phase is " Well, we have to make cutbacks at the plant because its not economical right now to build" and ultimately a company shudders its doors, possibly even ushering in a domino effect to other companies.
Click to expand...

That is certainly possible, but I wouldn't let that make you fearful of getting replacement tubes. The current situation is unusual and was caused by a war. But, notice what happened? Another company is coming on board to meet demand.

Keep this in mind...many "obsolete" things don't actually go away entirely. Just think of this. Did you know you can still buy buggy whips? Yup. The buggy whip is the quintessential example of outdated technology. But, you can still buy them...for around $25.00. Did you know you can still buy brand new carburetors? Cars in the US haven't had those for years. Just last night, just for kicks, I did a search for a Rochester Quadrajet. The Rochester company doesn't make them, but others do. You can get them brand new on Amazon for around $250.00. Why? There is still a demand.

So, I'm not sweating tubes. Supply may ebb and flow from time to time, but there is enough of a market even if all manufacturers were to suddenly stop all amplifier production.
 
smitty_p said:
That is certainly possible, but I wouldn't let that make you fearful of getting replacement tubes. The current situation is unusual and was caused by a war. But, notice what happened? Another company is coming on board to meet demand.

Keep this in mind...many "obsolete" things don't actually go away entirely. Just think of this. Did you know you can still buy buggy whips? Yup. The buggy whip is the quintessential example of outdated technology. But, you can still buy them...for around $25.00. Did you know you can still buy brand new carburetors? Cars in the US haven't had those for years. Just last night, just for kicks, I did a search for a Rochester Quadrajet. The Rochester company doesn't make them, but others do. You can get them brand new on Amazon for around $250.00. Why? There is still a demand.

So, I'm not sweating tubes. Supply may ebb and flow from time to time, but there is enough of a market even if all manufacturers were to suddenly stop all amplifier production.
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I had a Rochester Quadrajet on a 72 Nova actually! Lol changed it to 600 Edelbrock 4 Barrel but the Quadrajet wasnt the worst if you tweaked it just right.
 
Clockworkmike said:
I had a Rochester Quadrajet on a 72 Nova actually! Lol changed it to 600 Edelbrock 4 Barrel but the Quadrajet wasnt the worst if you tweaked it just right.
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Yeah. I kinda liked a Q-Jet. I ran one in my '71 Cutlass. If you could keep out of the secondaries and only use those tiny primaries, it just sipped gas. Once you opened up those massive secondaries the thing just howled and you could almost watch your gas gauge fall!
 
smitty_p said:
Yeah. I kinda liked a Q-Jet. I ran one in my '71 Cutlass. If you could keep out of the secondaries and only use those tiny primaries, it just sipped gas. Once you opened up those massive secondaries the thing just howled and you could almost watch your gas gauge fall!
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Yeah, neither carburetor I had did really well in fuel mileage if you actually hit the gas: A 12 gallon tank filled up and you could drive to the next town over and back and it was suddenly well below half. A whopping 21 mile round trip. Math is a lil fuzzy but that's what, about 3.25 mpg give or take? Lol
 
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