PW tubes?

[lego4040]

So in my quest of choices for the AC15 I came across PW tubes. I never heard of them but they seem to get good reviews. So far it's a NOS EZ81, my EL84's will be matched but not sure what I'll get. I'm thinking low micro phonic ecc83t's for preamps.

[HotBluePlates]

... I never heard of them but they seem to get good reviews. ...

Got a link? I've never heard of them, and an internet search tuns up nothing.

[tylerrussell]

Maybe this place?   http://tubedevices.com/alek/pwl/pwl_e.htm

[HotBluePlates]

That PW Labs/PWL only hand-makes a few archaic style tubes, nothing that could be used in a guitar amp.

[lego4040]

Link coming up http://thetoneking.com/wp/the-king-of-tubes-peter-watson-and-pm-tubes-make-their-way-to-us-shores/ and this is his site http://www.pmguitartubes.com/index.html

[HotBluePlates]

Gotcha... PM Tubes.

I will admit up front I have not yet tried any of the new production tubes carrying old-manufacturers' labels (the new Mullard, Tung Sol, Genalex, Telefunken). I have a lot of old production tubes by many of those makers & others, and have tried a few new production 12AX7's from a variety of manufacturers.

To date, I have not found anything extraordinary in any new-production tube to set it apart from other new production tubes. Maybe I'll order some of the ones I said I hadn't tried to see if there is any merit to them.

If you accept the fact that there are only a few Russian, Chinese and maybe 1 Eastern European company left actually manufacturing tubes, then you'll see that you're largely paying a distributor who is (maybe) pre-selecting tubes and applying their label. I don't see much in PM's claims about their "ECC83 designer" to distinguish their tubes from anyone else's, especially since they will be working with a foreign (to them) factory to actually make the tubes.

There's also a single U.S. source to buy PM tubes, and a 12AX7 will run you $20-30/ea "on sale". I can, and have, bought many old-production tubes for that price or less. It's up to you whether the high price is justified, given other choices available.

[Ed_Chambley]

I will admt JJ tube did have problems, but seem to have gotten some quality standards and I actually running some.  I am using one of their new rectifier tube.

To date, in el84, European NOS still hold the standards, even over RCA.  I have some pan getter RCA's I plan to statr with and also have some Mullards NOS which are nice, but not what is supposed to be the best.  Supposedly Amperex holds the title of best EL84, but most of the time I cannot hear it.

The RCA Pans are less expensive durable.

I can say as far a New Production el83 Matchless and Dr Z amps use Electro-Harmonix and are considered at the top of the el84 amps.  I ordered a couple of these as well as a pair of JJ's.  They are fairly cheap and if the Peavey Classic 30 I had is any guideline, these tubes do not last very long anyway although I modded the crap out of the amp.  Nice sounding amp tho.

Tube vendors that have higher standards have to charge more, but just because they charge more doesn't mean they are better.  The most reliable source for tubes I have found is upscaleaudio.com.  I have never heard anything bad about the tubes Doug sells either.

In new production tubes there a lot of new tubes that need to be trashed and not ever sold.  The standards of the testers is where it matters.  A 24 hour burnin and a maximatcher is great to test up to 400 volts, but with anything what is considered a match by one vendor may let him sell more of the shipment, thus more profit whereas another vendor may discard and have a lower margin.

I have had bad mismatch from Tube Depot and Eurotubes.  Both replaced the tubes, but I had to pay to ship them back.  Eurotubes gave me a 12Ax7 for my trouble.

Check out Upscale or Doug Hoffman's supply.  I know Doug Hoffman will ship them quick, but I do not kn ow his return return policy, but like is said most of the guys here who ordered them are pleased.

[Geezer]

Here's the US dist of PM tubes.......word is they are Chinese mfg rebranded

http://dbzdiamondstore.com

G

[lego4040]

My heads about to explode with all the info I tried to consume this weekend about tubes I would appreciate in this amp. Thank you to all forum folks helping me out. Tomorrow I order tubes, chassis, sockets and pec pots come hell or high water, I will post my purchases