Leslie (Tung Sol) 5660 matched tubes

[lattiboy]

Hi all,

Was messing about with a Leslie 145 cabinet speaker the other day and I noticed the tubes in the amp were in ridiculously nice condition. Apparently organ amps are very easy on tubes, and it looks like this amp had very little use.

Now, I know NOTHING about tubes except for my LittleBear preamp. But it appears these are identical to the tubes I have save for lettering. Evidentially these are rebranded Tung Sol from the late 50s.

Here's a shot of the tubes in question:

Am I missing something? Is the lettering that critical to sale price?

Thanks!

 

[bob smog]

Worth a couple of Franklins.

 

[hammr7]

Tube companies were willing to private label for big customers. In their heyday organ companies and Leslie were among the biggest tube buyers on the planet. Private labeled tubes will sell at about the same price as the ones with the manufacturer's own label. Just remember that lightly used tubes ARE NOT new old stock, and shouldn't be sold as such. They'll get a fine price if they are tested and properly described.

 

[lattiboy]

Thanks! My cranky, ex-electrician neighbor has a tube tester, so I guess I'll have to get him a six pack and ask him to test these things out for me.

 

[lattiboy]

Follow-up question: Is it better leaving everything intact and selling as a perfectly vintage cabinet or parting out the tubes and horns and whatnot?

The cab itself looks pretty great and seems to work as it should, and the scratches on the finish are very shallow.

 

[HyKlas]

You don't part a 145, 147, or 122 Leslie...

 

[Sam Cogley]

6550, not 5660. Excellent output tubes. Judging by the numbers on the side, made in 1969. The tube companies did private labeling for just about anyone except the smallest electronics outfits.

 

[darkblue94]

Sell the Tung-Sol tubes for good $, put cheap tubes in the Leslie and sell it that way, do not chop it up.

 

[soundmotor]

Pretty sure I still have some Leslie branded Tungsols in the stash as well as some Raytheon branded ones from a power supply.

Great tubes, the perforated plates are the later version and those look to be in little used condition.

 

[hammr7]

When you sell a desirable Leslie, having the original tubes usually ups the price by more than the incremental value of the tubes. Your audience is going to be pro audio and musician types. Sometimes musicians are poor, but usually having original tubes indicates the kind of care the unit received over the years. If the buyer doesn't want to pay the tube premium, you can always prove performance with the tubes installed and then sell the unit without them.

Put another way, the entire Leslie has good value, but selling the Leslie is tougher than selling just the tubes (if you need to sell each separately).