Not aware of a commercial loan program.
However, in response to other posts in this thread, there are numerous well testing (per the sellers) OLD PRODUCTION TUBES available here in the A'Gon ads as well as Ebay and various other established vacuum tube dealers.
Recently purchased 7 "new" testing Amperex Holland 12au7's on Ebay (one was a dud, but the listing was for 8 untested "pulls") for less than $65 delivered.
This was my first tube purchase in 5-6-7 years and I was still able to find a bargain (as well as the specific tubes/production period, manufacturer and construction) that I wanted to try in my setup.
Bryans: Your best bet is receiving feedback from other owners of your gear (then sort through the input).
Lars hits it on the head as this is just the case with my budget gear running tubes that currently sell for much more than the electronics.
However, in response to other posts in this thread, there are numerous well testing (per the sellers) OLD PRODUCTION TUBES available here in the A'Gon ads as well as Ebay and various other established vacuum tube dealers.
Recently purchased 7 "new" testing Amperex Holland 12au7's on Ebay (one was a dud, but the listing was for 8 untested "pulls") for less than $65 delivered.
This was my first tube purchase in 5-6-7 years and I was still able to find a bargain (as well as the specific tubes/production period, manufacturer and construction) that I wanted to try in my setup.
Bryans: Your best bet is receiving feedback from other owners of your gear (then sort through the input).
Lars hits it on the head as this is just the case with my budget gear running tubes that currently sell for much more than the electronics.