Tubes getting hard to come by?


Hi All,

I've noticed that both Upscale Audio and the Tube Depot are running out of tubes, or, at least, they are limiting buyers to ONE TUBE PER MONTH (UPSCALE) or simply out of many popular tubes.  Am I imagining this, or is the pandemic, or something else, causing a dearth of available tubes?  Might this be a bad time to buy a tube amp because of this?

rustler

Showing 1 response by tomcy6

Most current production tubes are made in Russia and China. The war in Ukraine and supply issues with China set off a wave of tube hoarding. In order to maintain a supply of tubes for their customers, some tube sellers have limited purchases and raised prices to keep from getting cleaned out.

It has been posted that Electro-Harmonix is still making tubes in Russia and they are not being sanctioned. Electro-Harmonix is owned by an American. China will eventually get back to full production and supply chain problems will get sorted out.

It’s a good idea to have a spare set of tubes on hand, but don’t go overboard and buy a bunch of tubes you may never use.