Craigslist tube haul - jackpot?

[jubal81]

Saw an ad for old tubes ($6). Took me a week to get around to going over there, but the guy said he found a bunch more and would sell me the whole lot for $20. He said they were pulled from organs years ago. No boxes. They were all loose in shopping bags.


Got about 24 12AX7s and maybe 40 12AU7s.
Part numbers are all in hexagons. Long, black, 3-rib plates. D-Getters.


A couple still have "Lowrey Organs" on them. A couple still have "Made in USA." One has that with the codes 58-2 / 274.


No idea how good these are. Wondering how to find someone nearby with a tube tester.

[287m]

Jackpot? No!
Double Jackpot? Yes!
Lucky Luke never lucky than you

why not build http://valvewizard.co.uk/valvetester.html?

[TNblueshawk]

Damn, nice score.

[jubal81]

I have an ef86 amp, but I just tossed one of these in my phase inverter and it works! Sounds great clean and really good when driven. Looking more like a real score.

[nzCdog]

nice haul!

why not build http://valvewizard.co.uk/valvetester.html?

yes!

[culturejam]

I have an ef86 amp, but I just tossed one of these in my phase inverter and it works! Sounds great clean and really good when driven. Looking more like a real score.

I was going to suggest a tube amp as a good-enough-for-now preamp tube tester. Output and rectifier tubes are a different story.

I've got a B&K 747b that I'd part with for cheap, if you want it. It will need to be calibrated before you'll get anything useful out of it, but it's a hella-nice tester. I stopped buying vintage tubes a while back, so I have no real interest in it anymore.

[Leevibe]

Yeah, you scored for sure. My buddy who is into organs told me a lot of thes old organs would have 40 or more tubes and they tend to last forever in that application unless they're in the amp. Those will likely test out strong. Those hexagon markings are on all the preamp and PI tubes in my Hammond and Leslie. I know tubes got rebranded with organ manufacturer names. I'll ask my friend if he knows who the Lowery suppliers were.

[jubal81]

Yeah, you scored for sure. My buddy who is into organs told me a lot of thes old organs would have 40 or more tubes and they tend to last forever in that application unless they're in the amp. Those will likely test out strong. Those hexagon markings are on all the preamp and PI tubes in my Hammond and Leslie. I know tubes got rebranded with organ manufacturer names. I'll ask my friend if he knows who the Lowery suppliers were.

Cool, thanks. Can't seem to find that on the internet.


My best guess is they're RCAs from the 50s. The traits seem to match. The getter is actually a square and not a D.

[Leevibe]

Yeah, you scored for sure. My buddy who is into organs told me a lot of thes old organs would have 40 or more tubes and they tend to last forever in that application unless they're in the amp. Those will likely test out strong. Those hexagon markings are on all the preamp and PI tubes in my Hammond and Leslie. I know tubes got rebranded with organ manufacturer names. I'll ask my friend if he knows who the Lowery suppliers were.

Cool, thanks. Can't seem to find that on the internet.


My best guess is they're RCAs from the 50s. The traits seem to match. The getter is actually a square and not a D.

I had the same RCA hunch. I'll let you know what I find out. They probably sourced tubes from multiple suppliers but I bet there are identifiers like the getter etc.

[wgc]

RCA black plates is my guess too.  Score for sure.  Dibs if you want to sell a pair or two. 

[Leevibe]

Yeah, you scored for sure. My buddy who is into organs told me a lot of thes old organs would have 40 or more tubes and they tend to last forever in that application unless they're in the amp. Those will likely test out strong. Those hexagon markings are on all the preamp and PI tubes in my Hammond and Leslie. I know tubes got rebranded with organ manufacturer names. I'll ask my friend if he knows who the Lowery suppliers were.

Cool, thanks. Can't seem to find that on the internet.


My best guess is they're RCAs from the 50s. The traits seem to match. The getter is actually a square and not a D.

He said they can usually be identified with the EIA code. Look for a number printed or etched on them somewhere. The first three digits should be the manufacturer code and the next 3 or 4 digits will be a date code. I hope that helps! A little google-fu should get you the reference.

[lego4040]

What a score man, 12ax7's have been shooting up in price for the nos stuff. Ive been grabbing some here and there from http://www.audiotubes.com/ and Ive sent tubes to him to have tested out. Theyre a family owned business and Ive never had issues

[Govmnt_Lacky]

There is a guy by me selling a fully functional HeathKit tube tester for like $40

[jubal81]

What a score man, 12ax7's have been shooting up in price for the nos stuff. Ive been grabbing some here and there from http://www.audiotubes.com/ and Ive sent tubes to him to have tested out. Theyre a family owned business and Ive never had issues

Great site! He's selling the 'butt ugly' RCA black plates from organ pulls for $55 each.


Called the local music shop and they have a tube tester. Sounds like dude wasn't enthused, but I don't mind making it worth his while to get these checked out.


Played some more on one today and I'm loving it. Amp's never sounded better.


There were a couple other goodies in the bag. Got a handful of RCA 6SL7s (which I'd never heard of before, but turns out ar a very interesting dual triode) and a pair of RCA black plate 6L6GBs.

[pickdropper]

What a score man, 12ax7's have been shooting up in price for the nos stuff. Ive been grabbing some here and there from http://www.audiotubes.com/ and Ive sent tubes to him to have tested out. Theyre a family owned business and Ive never had issues

If even one or two of those tubes tests strong, that's a nice score.  When you are testing them, try and find a tester that does transconductance as that will do a better job of telling you what functional life they really have.

If you are lucky, and those 6L6 tubes are a matched pair, then you did VERY good.

Great site! He's selling the 'butt ugly' RCA black plates from organ pulls for $55 each.


Called the local music shop and they have a tube tester. Sounds like dude wasn't enthused, but I don't mind making it worth his while to get these checked out.


Played some more on one today and I'm loving it. Amp's never sounded better.


There were a couple other goodies in the bag. Got a handful of RCA 6SL7s (which I'd never heard of before, but turns out ar a very interesting dual triode) and a pair of RCA black plate 6L6GBs.