Tube-o-philes: be afraid, be very afraid

[Mark Hammer]

The writer (Andrew Kramer) appears to have only minimal grasp of the music industry and of the technology, but an interesting read nonetheless.

It must be interesting to be a corporate lawyer in Russia these days...and lucrative, too.

[vanessa]

I just purchased some tubes the other day from New Sensor. I spoke with a sales person and they said all is well (for the moment). They also added that it looks like things are going in their (New Sensor's) favor for the future. Notice that I just bought some new tubes... I'm stocking up.

[$uperpuma]

WAit... Billy Gould!?! How freaking long has Faith No More been broken up that they are interviewing that guy? They really are a little behind the times...

[barret77]

Nice article on the subject:
http://musicthing.blogspot.com/2006/05/vacuum-tubes-not-endangered-after-all.html

[rockgardenlove]

I just read an article about this in todays local newspaper...interesting.  It said that a pallet of documents were stolen via truck, and so now they can't prove the ownership or something of the factory...

[Mark Hammer]

That was with reference to other incidents not involving E-H/Sovtek.  The article barrett77 links to presents a somewhat contrary view.

There IS more than a little self-promotion on Mike Matthews part (which, as all the boutique makers here know, is how you stay in business), but at the same time the views of Eric Barbour in the other article have more than a little hint of "The world of tubes is much wider than 12AX7s and 6L6s, so what's the big deal if he closes?".  The true situation is, I imagine, somewhere in between those two poles.  The unsavoury "business" practices Mike is encountering are indeed reprehensible, but ultimately things he may be able to defend against, albeit with a whole lot of effort and some financial outlay.  Although the tube world is so much bigger than the top 6 or 8 tubes sold by Sovtek and many of the big name outlets and music stores, the fact is that Sovteks and those top 6 or 8 models account for a big share of the most commonly used tubes around.  Even if someone came up with an absolutely brilliant amp using nothing that can be found in the E-H stable, the fact remains that there are a whole lot of existing tube amps that will still need 12AX7s, 12AT7s, 6L6s, 6V6s, EL34s, and 5AR4s, 5, 10, and 20 years from now, so anything that threatens major producers of those tubes has an impact on musicians.  Not quite the death of rock and roll, certainly, but an impact nonetheless.

[puretube]

Rock & Roll Routs Racketeers.

see the picture... :
in this stereophile article

[Mark Hammer]

It looks like Mike needs a wrestling mask!!   Jeez Louise, does he bend all those sheet-metal chassis for the Flanger Hoax by hand?!

Thanks for the link to the article.  This one is both even more alarming, but more hopeful in some respects, than articles we've seen previously.  Clearly, RBE is not going down without a fight either.  I guess the question you have to ask yourself is which is cheaper to sustain over the long run: lawyers in suits, or guys in leather jackets hanging around outside the Saratov factory?  On the other hand, if western investors perceive there is no point in investing in Russian industry, because thieves will make off with it in the long run, that starts to get pretty costly for Mr. Putin.

[Mike Burgundy]

"it is like trying to plug up the dikes in Holland."
Well, we did that, so let's hope it all works out.
Kudos to Mike, and especially the workers at that factory. I'm not even sure how I'd react - going to work in the morning would certainly take on a certain level of anxiety.

[WGTP]

If this were the USA, I would wonder if the other Tube Mfg.s were behind it???

[nelson]

Cutting off energy supply is russian foreign policy! (Ukraine)

The men at the border wear army fatiques instead of leather jackets but the principle is the same.

Mike Matthews is fighting a long battle with an entrenched enemy on land they know all too well.

Buying buildings next to the factory and installing generators is the best bet. Delaying any energy cut offs till the point when they are complete is probably his game plan. Smart man, probably save some money on energy bills in the long run too. Investing in higher numbers of trustworthy security is another good idea.

[brad]

I like how Eric Barbour thinks...and I also think 12AX7s are boring.  DIYers aren't limited by the need for commercial sized tube stocks and should be experimenting with things like obscure tubes.

[puretube]

SEE the latest NBC video newsbroadcast from Saratov,
and see/hear Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Peter Stroud, R.H.C.P.,
and the man himself play:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13145804/

check out the tube-manufacturing...



...BTW: there have been differing opinions about E.B.`s attitude in advertising... ("Buttprobe", etc.)

[amz-fx]

The oddity about capitalism is that if enough people want something, the market produces it.

(snip)

The real question is in the economics.

Exactly.  There is nothing that prevents a tube factory from being built in the USA except economics.

If the demand is large enough, a new factory will be established in China, and Matthews is probably looking into that right now...  I would.

Six years ago, most of the pesticides used by farmers in the US, which came  from Dow, Dupont, FMC, etc.,  were also made in the US. Now, they are all imported from China (and sometimes India). You can still buy the same products  from those manufacturers but the source of origin is different even though the label looks the same.

regards, Jack

[RedHouse]

Anybody manage to capture that interview video? I'm on dial-up (I'm cheap) and can't get it to play properly.

[rockgardenlove]

^I can't either, I'm on a Mac...
Stupid Microsoft 

[goosonique]

[/quote]

Exactly.  There is nothing that prevents a tube factory from being built in the USA except economics.

If the demand is large enough, a new factory will be established in China, and Matthews is probably looking into that right now...  I would.


[/quote]

Gotta move on ...tubes are here to stay !!
...China Big Muff...sounds ok
Mr.Matthews you are a living legend...you can chop down any mountain with your bare hands...

[Dave_B]

How is ExpoPUL pronounced?

[A.S.P.]

...BTW: there have been differing opinions about E.B.`s attitude in advertising... ("Buttprobe", etc.)

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=21095.0

[amz-fx]

Anybody manage to capture that interview video? I'm on dial-up (I'm cheap) and can't get it to play properly.

Here is some info on capturing videos:

http://www.dubayou.com/mytube.php

-Jack