Sources for vacuum tubes - especially audio used in musical amplifiers

[Voxman]

Hi All
Please provide me with some websites that sell vacuum tubes. It's been so long I don't know who to trust for quality affordable tubes these days.

Thanks everyone!
Gary

[Jwillis]

https://www.tubedepot.com/

[Roehrenonkel]

Hi Voxman,
 
i can just speak for germany.
The last remaining online tube-dealer is BTB (https://btb-elektronik.de/en/start-en/).
I don't ask "Jan first". (german insider-joke) ;-))

If you need some "specials" (triodes, rectifiers, stabilizers) maybe i can help you.
In my stock i have so many tubes i can't use in my life. :-)
Also i'm in a radio-collector-club and have an offer from a dear member
for six WE437A (NOS, consecutive Ser.-#!!).
If i just had that money...... B-(

Good luck and best regards

[MarkL]

https://www.surplussales.com/Tubes-Sock-Acc/index.html

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

Perhaps join a local antique radio club. There are lots of them. Here is one in Florida:   

https://jarsradioclub.weebly.com/contact.html   

People there will have knowledge concerning tubes and probably have local sources.

[CaptDon]

Sadly, most of the quality tubes made around the time of the good vintage tube amps (1960-1980) are either dead or are commanding insane 'collector' prices. There is so much banter among the audiophools who have tube type home stereo equipment on which 6L6 or EL84 or 5884 'sounds the best'. They have snatched up and hoarded all the collectables. For most tube type bass, pedal steel and guitar amplifiers you can go to a music store and find 'GrooveTubes' and other such brands. Many at botique prices!! Look for local amateur radio 'hamfests' in your area but beware of the scamsters who lurk at these events!! Many of the scamsters on Scambay are selling 'matched pairs' or 'matched quads' of output tubes and as far as I can tell their idea of matched is that they all look the same. I can still find 'new-in-the-box' 6L6 and similar tubes from Sylvania, GE, RCA and others at the hamfests but they often command a premium price and they surely aren't getting any cheaper any time soon. As a paid professional guitarist I can say I like the sound of tube amps and I don't really have a favorite brand but there is a HUGE risk factor involved and that is every time the amp is moved from one gig to another you risk physical damage to the 'guts' of the tubes!! More than once I have gone from standby to operate and BBUUUUZZZAAPP blue sparks flying around inside the tubes and one shorted tube killing the bias and wiping out all of the output tubes!! Very expensive and very embarrassing!! If you are a guitarist with a tube amp you should ditch the box of condoms in the glove box and replace them with a spare set of tubes. (You'd probably end up using the tubes first anyway)

[squibby]

Yeah this is annoying. Some of the best tubes seem to be running out now. I struggle getting 6GW8's for a fair price - which I use a few of in projects.

And whereas I used to be able to get a 6 volt full wave rectifier tube for peanuts, I'm at the stage now where I'll have to start converting to diodes, which is annoying when plugging in another tube takes about 5 seconds.