There us a Worldwide Panic on Availability of Vacuum Tubes


“THERE IS A WORLDWIDE PANIC ON AVAILABILITY OF VACUUM TUBES”: EHX’S MIKE MATTHEWS ON THE MURKY FUTURE OF VALVE AMPS

The EHX founder and vacuum tube producer sounds a dire warning over the “digital IC crisis” and the future of valves following a spate of plant closures.

Last week, Electro-Harmonix founder Mike Matthews surprised the world with the company’s plans to harvest energy from the Earth’s magnetosphere. But in the course of explaining his plans to Guitar.com, the pedal pioneer has also sounded an ominous warning about the present and future of amp valve production.

Speaking about what he described as the “digital IC crisis”, Matthews cited the closure of a factory in China putting huge pressure on the New Sensor facility in Russia, which was founded and is owned by Matthews, to supply the global demand for amp valves.

“Currently, there is a worldwide panic on the availability of vacuum tubes,” Matthews wrote. “The big Shuguang factory in China was forced to move… and the Jamona (JJ Electronic) factory in Slovakia that used to have lead times of one month, now has lead times of six months.

“We’re getting bombarded with orders from desperate customers from all over the world. Our tube factory is operating now at 100 percent of capacity, so we cannot produce all the quantities that are demanded. However, we are allocating quantities to many customers so that they can continue to survive.”

Since the development of semiconductor devices in the 1940s and 50s, and their evolution into the transistors and integrated circuit (IC) chips that form the bedrock of almost every electronic device we use today, valves have gradually become a specialist, niche product.

While the vacuum tube was once the beating heart of consumer electronics – from radios and TVs to computers and telephones – the technology was rendered archaic half a century ago. Transistors are more reliable, affordable, compact and energy-efficient.

As a result, the guitar amplifier industry is one of the few that still requires vacuum tubes – so it’s perhaps no wonder that the number of factories actually producing them has been reduced greatly over the last few decades.

The situation is complicated by the fact that many vacuum tube brands are not vacuum tube manufacturers. They source their tubes from a handful of factories from around the world that Matthews referenced above.

For example, Groove Tubes, which you’ll find in Fender amplifiers, sources its tubes from a number of other companies, including Matthews’ New Sensor.

But if the valve has been on the wind-down for over 60 years, why the sudden concern for the availability of tubes going forward?

As Matthews alludes, the big concern is the closure of a major valve-producing factory in Shuguang, China. Matthews claims the factory has been repurposed for more modern technologies and as such, they have had to move.

This is hard to fully verify, but it does seem to have scaled back production enough to spark online rumours about its factory being closed. It would also be no surprise if – with the Shuguang factory seemingly out of the picture – New Sensor and JJ Electronic were struggling to meet demand, especially given the boom in guitar gear sales over the pandemic.

So what does this mean for the future of valve amps? Well, supply and demand means that as long as guitar players want them, someone will keep making them. But like the vinyl revival leaving manufacturers struggling to fulfil demand with so few factories still producing records in a once-thought obsolete format, the industry’s reliance on a few makers to supply everyone with valves is fraught with this sort of danger.

Ultimately, this is likely a perfect storm of increased demand met with a sudden shortage, meaning that while current shortages are problematic for manufacturers, it’s unlikely to impact us long term.

However, it does reflect the precarious position that the guitar industry is in: relying on a few factories to prop up a multi-billion-dollar global industry is less than ideal, and a long-term shortage of tubes could cause prices to rise dramatically, maybe making some makers turn away from valves altogether.

But for the short term, there’s no need to panic. After all, Matthews might be sounding the alarm about the scarcity of valve tubes, but his company has recently brought out the revived Sovtek MIG-50 50-watt all-tube head for less than $700. Valve amps are not going anywhere just yet.

https://guitar.com/news/gear-news/panic-on-availability-of-vacuum-tubes-mike-matthews-future-valve-a... 
128x128vinyl_rules
oldhvymec worked at "the glass containers" for 9 months while going through Chrysler training. 10% of the town use to work for them too.
I worked off and on in the plant for 20 years on a lot of their Cat and GradeAll Equipment.

As for setting up a business, what would I know.. Why do you think I was in the plants.. I had a contract to fix some of the equipment.

I got a real good idea what it takes to make "Glass Containers"

The money, the US is full of suckers (OPS) business partners willing to invest OTHER peoples money.. Print that $hit I’ll take a couple semi trailers full, FREE please, I sure don’t want to pay it back... It’s in our National Interest that I do it.. :-) LOL, Slapping my knees...

The internal elements of a Power Valves are hand made, then stuffed into the glass, then sealed. A bake-o-lite/now silicone or metal band added. The Russians, Chinese, Italians, and just about anyone else manage to do it.

The little valves, that could be trickier, I haven’t really thought about them..

I’m sure even us Lazy Americans can manage though.:-) We’ll hire the wave of fresh workers lined up at the border. They’ll do it.. The quality might suffer a bit, but who do you think is making VALVES in China or Russia or Italy. Could you stand the heat? That’s right the ones that drop there are 50 standing in line to replace them.

The HOT but only slightly talented skill sets needed to do the work, I could even manage. Eat celery, I did.. EVERYBODY ate celery.. the 3 Steel Mills too. HOT work, eat celery and drink celery/carrot juice. I still do.. 8 fingers 2 thumbs and all my toes.. I got them all. Neighbor across the street is a high rise window glazer. LOL It’s glass right..

Hire a local retired dope cooker (that’s out of jail) as a chemist, plenty of them around.. We have the talent..:-)
Glass, Dope, there any difference? Just keep the chemist focused on GLASS..

I’m pretty sure the old "Glass Container" in Antioch CA would be a good start. "Google Earth" the thing, look for yourself.. It has set vacant, 15-18 years. 4 blocks from a home I own. Scale it back to 1/10 the size it would still produce a slough of product.. This was a WWII glass production plant up until the early 2000s

Besides it would up the value of the little house I paid 39k for 27-30 years ago, to 425K from the 350k I was just offered..

There are a lot of old Glass Container employees still around.
Yup Yup..
The article contains news about the tube/valve industry, and that's interesting. But the click-bait scare tactic has made me trust the source less.

Supply and demand should help, but it's not like baking muffins. Something to watch.  As is this item about coffee.
A full-scale production tube plant is expensive to set up! And training workers takes time! It is a lot more involved than oldhvymec thinks!
I say two fingers to the whole LOT, and a middle one from the good old USA.

We actually have an old glass production plant that closed down 15-18 years ago. Only because the canneries shut down 30 years ago.

They never tore the place down. Still in pretty good shape actually.

Hmmmmm!!!!????

Regards
There is a panic in everything. For one very simple reason: a frightened population is easier to control. Think about it.
gofundme awaits all the glass melters…

i just work ( occasionally ) at a software startup…. raising capital is hard…
 
Oldheavy beat me to it.

Sounds exactly like an upcoming price gouge, but it also sounds like an opportunity to get valve mfg. right back here in the good ole USA.

Premium tubes with high quality control, at a premium.

I mean, we're willing to pay a premium for NOS for tubes, why not?
Interesting. The closing of the Shuguang factory isn't really news nowadays, but it definitely must have an impact on the global supply chain. And some of the tubes previously produced in the Shuguang factory are looked back on very fondly. For instance, that so-called WE 6SN7-plus, the one with the orange metal base and extra tall bottle.

I think when things become scarce there is a corresponding reconsideration of their virtues and attributes. When things which were common become hard to find, they sometimes very sought after.

Ok. Sorry to take this thread somewhat off track... 
The guy might be sounding an alarm, just to test the waters about gouging the heck out of everybody and wondering if his company can get away with it..

Don’t worry he can..

BUT thank God it’s not rocket science to make a vacuum tube. They act like it’s complicated. Couple of small startups could fill the Americas needs no problem.. Where is there a lot of sand and gas to fire a furnace and sand to make glass.. Gulf sound good or just about the whole west coast. From tip of Alaska to the bottom of Brazil.

Heck I don’t care if they melt the glass with a nuclear plant.. Might even add a whole new sound to the mix..
Tubes that glow in the dark without being turned on. :-)

Regards
"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" - sent by cable from London by Mark Twain after some newspapers reported his demise!
Mark Twain had something similar to say about this! Wish I could remember the quote!