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Message started by Dr3wman on 11/02/22 at 18:48:07

Title: Tube Education
Post by Dr3wman on 11/02/22 at 18:48:07

This forum is definitely a great resource for all things audio, I am wondering if there are recommendations for guides/books/resources for someone who knows next to nothing about the different tube types/numbers/what they do/how they sound. A beginners guide if you will.

I see lots of discussion of options and how you can manipulate the sound - but most of it still sounds like Greek to me.

Thank you for any suggestions,

Andrew

Title: Re: Tube Education
Post by CAJames on 11/02/22 at 19:00:27

I don't know if I'd call it a "beginners guide" but the RCA tube manuals are great source of information, way beyond just tube parameters. I've learned a bunch from them.

Title: Re: Tube Education
Post by Kahuna Jack on 11/02/22 at 20:19:32

a large part of my tube education came at the cost of pissing away alot of money and making mistakes , jumping the gun on scores, over buying, the nature of nos (vintage tubes) etc .

written words and specs can be used as a rough guide but hands on use in various pieces of gear can only come with real world experience.

took me about 5 years and a large hole in my wallet to figure out I didnt want to see another 6dj8 again for the rest of my life. ( based on gear I was using at the time in the 90's ) but in saying that ? there may be circuits that are less finicky with the 6dj8 that I never dealt with.

The education is never ending.

Title: Re: Tube Education
Post by CAJames on 11/02/22 at 20:27:28

Quote:

Posted by: Kahuna Jack Posted on: Today at 20:19:32

...a large part of my tube education came at the cost of pissing away alot of money and making mistakes...

True that.

At the end of the day the only thing that matters is how your tubes sound in your gear. So yeah, it is helpful (and perhaps interesting) to understand how tube amps work but that only gets you so far when it comes to deciding what to buy. As I like to tell the people I work with, "experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."

Title: Re: Tube Education
Post by 4krow on 11/02/22 at 20:32:54

What fascinates me still are the many unknown/forgotten tubes that are sometimes rediscovered. I used to build little preamps from an old DHT tube (3S4) used back in the 50's for battery powered radio (like at the beach). Most interestingly, the sound is a whole lot better than you would expect.
A few years later, the SP1 also a Directly Heated Triode tube, was and is being used in preamps by such kit manufacturers as Nelson Pass, and Pete Millett. Again, kind of a head shaker they sound so good.

Title: Re: Tube Education
Post by Crazy Bill the Eel Killer on 11/03/22 at 13:25:12

another +1 for the RCA receiving tube manual

Stock up on toner

http://www.nj7p.org/Manuals/PDFs/Tubes/RCA-RC-14-1940.pdf