Are tubes like drugs ?

[zenith2134]

Can you put tubes on your tongue and get a LSD-like reaction? No.

Depends on the tube.

The whole audio hobby is addicting IMO.... but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Better than most addictions, thats for sure...

BTW: The Sweet was a great group

 

[enjoythemusic]

Adding more humor to your humor below...

Is the hobby addictive and obsessive? Yes.

:thmbsp:

Can you snort tubes? No.

Awww, c'mon, as i find the smell of a brand new tube when buring in to give off 'that' smell. Some tubs gove off this kinda tea-like smell. others have this more industrial smell to them. You hard-core folks know what i mean. :yes:

Can you inject tubes? No.

Depends on the equipment you have to crush it into a fine powder... which leads us to...

Can you put tubes in a bong and smoke them? No.

See answer above... and bring a VERY hot flame. Perhaps a TIG welder or the like???

Can you put tubes on your tongue and get a LSD-like reaction? No.

(HUMOR: DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
YES you CAN!!! Get a 211/GT4C-based amplifier and put your tongue on the + and - terminals while the amplifier is on and tube is in the socket. Nothing quite like 1200V to give you a nice buzz. Of course it is amperage that kills (generally), and as someone who has 'tasted' 30A lemme tell you it IS a buzz.


[/QUOTE]Can you Hotknife tubes? No.[/QUOTE]

????

Can you crackpipe tubes? No.

You CAN make a crack pipe OUT OF a tube (i guess, never done it).

 

[meggy]

Harder to swallow, but those Gold Lions are really intense.

 

[gogofast]

Tubes as drugs?

Maybe, but I'm not addicted. I can quit anytime!

I just got get this little Shell tube amp fixed (bad word), I just need one (just one) more visit at this guy out west who has about 30.000 NOS tubes, I just got to get the second little el84 Braun tube amp going, my Dyna FM Tuner just need to be aligned ...

I can quit anytime. If I want to!

Peter Q.

that thing looks very attractive. i love those knobs, and i hope you leave the face plate as is.:thmbsp:
anyways, you got lots of works right there, but should be a fine looking piece once you're done.

 

[Saratoga48]

tubes addictive nooooooooooooo

I have to disagree about tubes being addictive. I have been collecting for about 40 years. OOPS, gotta go, its lunch time and that 1938 wooden philco I saw yesterday is waiting, owner wasnt at the garage sale to negotiate a price.

 

[KeninDC]

Depends upon what type of drugs you are talking about.

 

[wa2ise]

The guy told me "tube equipment is like drugs,

What do others here think, are tubes like drugs?

Tubes tend to be too big to swallow. But they sure sound good. :thmbsp:

 

[pqrannes]

that thing looks very attractive. i love those knobs, and i hope you leave the face plate as is.:thmbsp:
anyways, you got lots of works right there, but should be a fine looking piece once you're done.

Well, I should be answering this at the appropriate thread, but ...

I am going to leave the face place as is. The wooden box has been sanded down and oiled so keep an eye on the shell thread and see what it is going to look like, when I present it as gently 'restored'!

Peter Q.

 

[jaymanaa]

Tubes are my life.

 

[Speaker Fan]

OK, I forgot another small issue...

Everyone seems to have slightly different opinions here but there are a few constants that I have observed:

- while tubes are not actually drugs they seem to be quite addictive
- like drugs, non-tube users look down on tube users
- tube users don't seem to care what non-tube users think of their tube use
- like drugs, there seem to be "cheap" tubes and "high priced" tubes

All of that aside, here is so far my (new) biggest problem with the move to a tube amp... the use of tone controls

I was using a single disc Marantz CD player with level control directly into my solid state amplifier and thus a "direct" connection without the influence of other outside components.

Now I have these 2 dials marked BASS and TREBLE that seem to make hugh changes to the sound produced by my speakers... and I can never decide exactly where to set them.

This only adds to the problem that already took me a while to figure out... where to set the crossovers on the Altec 19's.

Ignorance is bliss and fear I may never be the same
Even changed my user photo to a picture of a tube...

Well my remastered Capitol Records 50's CD's arrived today so I may get distracted by them for a few hours if I am lucky while I look online for tube amps (getting tube shopping withdrawl symptoms) :drool:

 

[boyon00]

I used to roll joints, now I roll tubes...:thmbsp:

 

[merrylander]

Yes they are like drugs, just as bloody expensive and not covered by Medicare Part D.

 

[analog addict]

Model 19's and tubes?

Heh, you are done for, no doubt about it...Nothing like that EL84 crack smoked through a M19....:yes:

You will get positively high on it...:drunk:

 

[BoilermakerF]

yup... more addictive than meth, crack or pot
You hear how addicts will do or say anything in order to "score"?

Well I cant believe the stuff that's come out of my mouth while negotiating a price for some nice old console at a yard or garage sale just to pilage it in search of my favorite "hit" of beam tetrode, directly heated triode or ultra-linear iron. Yea, that's it baby... sweet iron.

Minutes after calling something a "beautiful piece of furniture" or discussing the "nice walnut finish" I've got my 28V battery operated Milwauke Sawzall performing the disection- often before I've even left the parking lot! The remains end up in a dumpster, like trout entrails.

How many more 50 year old Hammond organs must die by the gnashing teeth of my reciprocating saw???

With addiction comes a load of guilt!
WopOnTour

No! Stop the insanity! Don't use a Sawzall, just use a nut driver or screwdriver to remove the amps and PSU, then ship the consoles to me! I'm ok with receiving gutted consoles, just don't scrap the wood or workmanship!

At this point in my audio life, I can SMELL a piece of tube equipment from 10 feet . . . I can spot a tube console from 20 yards . . . and YES . . I CRAVE MOOOOOOOOORE ! ! !

and yes, you can roll tubes, so it IS like drugs

I compare it to baseball cards or comics . . you start collecting, and pretty soon, you gotta fill the holes in your collection. I'm well on my way to having at least one example of all Magnavox Amps from the 40's through the 60's if thats any indication . . .

markus

I have a Magnavox 268B mono console. I believe you posted a while back that you have one. Actually, my Google search on the 268B lead me to AK. To your knowledge, is the FM tuner already stereo? I can see the provisions for the stereo input from the turntable and the speaker output on the amp. The speaker output is blank, but there is an RCA jack for the second channel on the phono input.

The unit wasn't working when I got it (for free), but it had three blown tubes. Just happened to have them on one of the other consoles I salvaged. It still needs a new power cord, but I think it will glow after I swap that out. I was planning to gut it and convert it to a tube hybrid integrated console, but now I've reconsidered that choice if I can get it to work.

I'm building (3) Millett MAX headphone amps into preamps for my consoles that are trashed. They will be feeding hybrid tube-buffered inverted gainclone amps. So, I haven't listened to a tube amp in over 25 years, but I still remember how my first hand-me-down integrated tube stereo sounded and I can't wait to hear these again! So, am I new addict or a former addict coming back to the habit?

 

[Speaker Fan]

forgive me father for I have sinned...

This thread is getting more exciting all the time...

*UPDATE* Today I purchased a Hammond S-6 tube organ at a local thrift store... it has 30 tubes :nutz:

Cabinet is beautiful, has sheet music holder, all functions work and it sounds great

Not sure how to decide not to take the sawzall to it, parts of the cabinet would sure look good in my bar downstairs :thmbsp:

Found a tube RCA console today also but $130 was too much for me (yeah, that much at a thrift store :screwy: ) were they expecting Bill Gates to come in looking for vintage hifi ???

I may go back next week and make them an offer or use my 30% off thrift store coupon (I have a "frequent buyer" card now)... there is no hope for me !

 

[BoilermakerF]

Cabinet is beautiful, has sheet music holder, all functions work and it sounds great

Not sure how to decide not to take the sawzall to it, parts of the cabinet would sure look good in my bar downstairs :thmbsp:

You may not have to use a sawzall, I bet a lot of it can be disassembled without the blade of death. Reusing it as part of a bar would be very cool if you must take it apart...

 

[sorenj07]

Who are you kidding. For one thing, you don't "consume" tube amps, i.e. you can resell them later and not lose that much money if you are careful. I don't think tube amps drive too many people into rehab or out into the street, or leave them dead after an overdose. Sure, it's all in good fun, but just because something becomes engrossing as an enjoyable hobby does not mean it's a drug.

 

[jon_s]

Who are you kidding. For one thing, you don't "consume" tube amps, i.e. you can resell them later and not lose that much money if you are careful. I don't think tube amps drive too many people into rehab or out into the street, or leave them dead after an overdose. Sure, it's all in good fun, but just because something becomes engrossing as an enjoyable hobby does not mean it's a drug.

Not many people die from MJ, either... it's the slippery slope to the "hard stuff" that always gets 'em.

Just like with tubes, one starts small... maybe an EL84 amp.

Then upgrades to KT88s.

Then 300Bs (mistake...).

Then builds a monster, running 813s or 211s at nearly 1kV.

Then some esoteric transmitting pentodes.

The cost, the transformers, the high voltage -- everything much, much worse than before. Then one day, drunk on tone and PRAT, pacing around while listening to medium jazz and debating if their input stage's operating point is sub-optimal, they trip across the uninsulated plate caps on their creation --- Bam! Done.

 

[spaceman]

So, am I new addict or a former addict coming back to the habit?

That's called relapse, when you revert back into your disease.

 

[spaceman]

... or use my 30% off thrift store coupon (I have a "frequent buyer" card now)... there is no hope for me !

Umm, that COULD be a sign of a problem. You're not going in there with a checkbook or credit card, are you? :nono: