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Cool find-Vintage radio/tv tubes

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Grabbergreendream

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Spring cleaning my unfinished basement & started pulling things down from the hiding spots between the rafters. Found this box of old tubes. Some new some used. Reciepts from as early as 58'.
I've lived here 14 yrs & never checked deep in those spots. Thaught I'd share cuz I thaught it was kinda cool.
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Great for tube radio restorers.
They seem like the commonly used ones in American 5 (tube) radios.
 
Those tubes starting with "1" maybe for Zenith Transoceanic radios and I might be interested in purchase.
 
I don't have any use for these & no way to test them, unless I can do it with a DMM.
I didn't make this post to sell them, but am more than happy to distribute them if someone is willing to take a chance for the cost of shipping.
Let me throw a list of the #'s before you guys call dibbs. I'm on 12hr days this week & wont get a chance to do that till late tonight or early morning.
 
Grabbergreendream said:
I don't have any use for these & no way to test them, unless I can do it with a DMM.
I didn't make this post to sell them, but am more than happy to distribute them if someone is willing to take a chance for the cost of shipping.
Let me throw a list of the #'s before you guys call dibbs. I'm on 12hr days this week & wont get a chance to do that till late tonight or early morning.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing. Some of us guitar and audio nuts go crazy for these old tubes as many just have so much better tone than what they make today. Fun to find a treasure. When I moved into my 1908 craftsman in 2006 (sold in the 2010 recession) my real estate agent came across an old box of 78 thick acetate records from the 30’s and 40’s. He knew I collected old records for my vinyl DJ hobby and gave them to me as the old owner had died and the contractor that flipped it gave them to him. I passed the collection on to my close friend who had inherited his grandfathers old upright Victorola record player with the needle type needed to play those records. He still uses them to this day:)
 
Any 6LS6?

2nd in line for 12AX7
 
I bet lefty Les Paul's ain't cheap.

I almost bought a lefty 1974 SG strung right once.
 
YY1 said:
I bet lefty Les Paul's ain't cheap.

I almost bought a lefty 1974 SG strung right once.
Click to expand...
They used to be a lot more than what they are now. A new one used to carry a $100 premium for being a lefty.
 
What are those Marshall combos?

I have an '84 Lead 75.

It's sweet and will hang with most 100 watt half stacks, but you can still play it in the house (and carry it with one hand, and fit it in a car).

A couple years ago I picked up a $79 Epi SG.

It has become my second favorite after my Schecter.
 
So, here is a list of the tubes.
IB3GT or 1B3GT- I have 3 of these.
12SN7GT- I have 5 of these.
12SN7
25L6GT- I have 2 of these.
6SN7GT
25BQ6GT
6AL5
6CB6A
6AQ5
12AT6
6CB6- I have 2 of these.

None from the list of tubes anyone mentioned. Drop me a PM if interested in any. Thanks.
 
Grabbergreendream said:
So, here is a list of the tubes. None from the list of tubes anyone mentioned. Drop me a PM if interested in any. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yeah, unless there is an oddball amp out there that uses one of the tubes you listed, nothing I can see would be useful for any of us guitar players. Thanks for taking the time to list them though.

Just an FYI - some of these old tubes are like gold. There's a small subculture out there of guitar nerds or stereo geeks dedicated to finding "holy grail" amplifier tone which the tubes play a big role in. This is especially true for 12AX7/ECC833/7025 preamp tubes like the ones that were asked for.
Some of the older British/European brand preamp tubes can go for a couple hundred bucks a pop, some even more and that's just one little tube. Kinda like barn find hemi cars, everyone is always on the hunt for these things and what people are selling is priced as such.

Problem is the tube market is like the cars and parts market. Hard to imagine that somehow in 2020 there are so many "NOS" brand-new vacuum tubes out there that have never been out of a box that just so happen to fit and work in all these particular brands of amps. A lot of it is BS and you have to be on your toes when you wade into these deals. Sellers make a big show about electrical test results and original packaging, yada yada yada so they can justify the pricing.

Like our cars, these things are 50-60 years old now, there's no guarantees on anything and it's probably fairly easy to get ripped off if you don't educate yourself.
 
Yeah, the 6SN7 and 12SN7 tubes are used in a lot of radio receivers from the forties and fifties. Pretty common tubes because they were used in so many different sets.
6AL5 6AQ5 are very popular in radios from the fifties and sixties. Much the same as cars, most people are only concerned with their value. I have thousands of tubes, I build guitar amps and radio receivers from scratch. Value? I make my money working for a living. I work on cars and radios and amps because I enjoy it.
 
YY1 said:
What are those Marshall combos?

I have an '84 Lead 75.

It's sweet and will hang with most 100 watt half stacks, but you can still play it in the house (and carry it with one hand, and fit it in a car).

A couple years ago I picked up a $79 Epi SG.

It has become my second favorite after my Schecter.
Click to expand...

The top one is a practice amp (MG series 15CD) which I don't use much. The next one down is a 1982 JCM800 (50 watt combo) that I bought new and played through it for years. Great sounding amp with a master vol. that will take your head off when cranked! The half stack is a 1999 1987x (50 watt) with JJ tubes and a master volume added to the back.

My Les Paul Epi (one on the far right) is one of the best playing guitars I own, bought it new in 2002.
 
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