I did some Googling… but I could not find the story of the WECO 300B revival… As I remember, around 1991 or therabouts, who? made a decision to bring it back. They dusted off old equipment and coaxed a few techs out of retirement to fire up production. After some grand announcements, it took almost two years to finally get the tube back to the way it was. Does it need to be that expensive? I dunno.
Anyone have a link to the original story?
Peace
Bruce in Philly
This sounds familiar, I believe you have the basic information correct.
Western Electric is expanding it’s tube production. Hopefully into some of the tubes I use.
From what I have read over the years Western Electric
tubes are very long lived with a superb quality control.
It would be wonderful if they could diversify into the small
signal tube market…
Best wishes
Just ordered a pair of GL 12au7 as backups. The last Russian products I will buy unless…
You have to remember that the vacuum tube industry (like many other industries) was born using tax dollars during one of the world wars to help make bomb targeting more accurate and taking less time than the manual “computers” (people doing longhand math) of the time.
The millions of dollars spent helped produce all of the machinery and the techniques to perfect the industry that ended up using millions of vacuum tubes annually until the transistor was discovered and developed. Also for a war effort if I remember correctly…
It would take a huge financial effort to reproduce them for a limited consumer market today. If it could be profitable it would have already been done. The fact that anyone is willing to make them today just shows how big the world is and how much demand still exists for such an antique item and technology.
The story of the vacuum tube is very interesting. They also produced a lot of industrial waste that would be expensive to dispose of in today’s world.
They do however add just the right spice to a stereo system. Dang it.
Cool Russian tube factory vid. Anyone read Russian? What is the name of the factory on the sign in the first few seconds of the vid?
I found this on the Electro Harmonix website and they note is “their” factory. At the very end, you see a quick display of tubes and boxes below … I see Sovtek, Electro Harmonix, and Tung Sol boxes… others?
About New Sensor: https://second.wiki/wiki/new_sensor_corporation
Article from 2006 Stereophile: Tube Supplies Under Siege | Stereophile.com
From EH’s website: " New Sensor (dba Electro-Harmonix) is one of the leading suppliers of vacuum tubes in the world. Everyone from famous guitar amp manufacturers to golden-eared audio fanatics use our tubes. This short movie by Managing Director, Irusha Bitukova, shows some of the highly skilled workers at our specialized Expo-pul facility in Saratov, Russia."
So my little Woo headphone amp/DAC uses 2 Sovtek 6C45 tubes, and I just purchased two Electro Harmonix 6C45PI “gold Pin” tubes that about 4 times more expensive than Sovtek… I wonder if they are… the same??? I haven’t tried them out yet, but we will see…
Peace
Bruce in Philly
Europe does not think about pipes - they lack gas 
Very labor intensive!
I just bought 4 x Tung Sol EL34B’s. Not what I initially wanted, was really after some KT88’s but I’m so broke at the moment and they’re nearly double the cost for a quad set.
These will see me through, I’ve got popping in the left channel at the moment which is really bugging me, have swapped out the gain tubes, so hopefully switching the power tubes will correct it and the Tung Sol’s come highly recommended.
It’s become more important to LOOK like you are doing something than to do actually something meaningful. What with concerts being canceled and Russian art being turned away from festivals and the like. They’re punishing people that have no ability to change what their government does. The Western psyche thinks everyone is free to protest and oppose the government. Alas, they are not.
Meanwhile the ones whose kids won’t be called to fight call for “No fly zones” with no conception that the synonym for “No fly zone” is “War”.
God help us all.
Mike
An ugly part of war is the battle for hearts and minds. Punish the innocent to bring about an insurrection targeting the regime. The innocent carry the burden, as it plays out across the globe. War is truly ugly, dirty and nasty.
“Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it.”
― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
My Tung Sol EL34B’s just arrived, as my amp died on me last night, really hoping it is just a failed tube and nothing with the circuitry. Will swap them out tonight and have a play.
I just heard Russia is ending exports of some products in retaliation… seems kinda dumb, but the whole thing is dumb. Any information if tubes are on that list?
Electro Harmonix website does not say anything.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
Vacuum tubes are such a niche market it’s difficult to tell if they’ve been included in the export ban. When banned categories such as electrical and telecommunications equipment are on the list tubes could be included.
As of now the EH website appears to be taking orders for their tubes which are presumably from stock on hand but going forward if the ban continues?
I can’t remember who was being interviewed in an article I read some time ago, but he was a product development engineer who said that he would never design an amplifier that relied solely on one of the new Tungsol KT120/150 tubes because he thought it was dangerous to be dependent on a tube that only one factory was producing. If I were Audio Research or another manufacturer building such amps, I’d be a bit worried.
Interesting… Maybe designers should consider more flexible designs. My PrimaLuna can take a host of power tubes from EL34 to the big KT150. Just plug and play (albeit they have a bias switch on the side of the amp). The appeal of this amp for tuning sound is just over the moon. It is fun to own. (To be fair, the amp is a bit veiled overall but does sound really good… I am very happy with it.)
Peace
Bruce in Philly
PrimaLuna’s are fantastic for that with adaptive auto bias, but there’s not many manufacturers that look to implement it properly rather than the cheaper and easier Cathode Bias. I’m sure as you move far higher up the price bracket it becomes less of a factor.
Looks like Upscale Audio has pulled all new production Russian made tubes from their site…
What a shame. I just bought and received a quad of Mullard EL34s from them this past week for my BHSE. I just checked their site and not a single EL34 tube listed there anymore. Hope my present stash outlasts this current agression catastrophy and its subsequent collateral impacts.
