Glowing glass and the history behind it.

I think it goes without saying that most guitarists today prefer tube amps. While the rest of the electronic world has moved on to solid state devices which are growing ever smaller, the die hard guitarists won’t, no, can’t let go of the old vacuum tube. This technology from days gone by has long since died off in every area of electronics except for the musical instrument world.

The deep sound, the rich harmonics, the bone crushing distortion that comes out of the little glowing glass bottles in our amps is an addiction for which there is no cure. No tiny transistor or modeling software can truly replace the dynamics that you get from a tube amplifier. I found a few resources on the history of tubes which I found interesting. If you like watching the History Channel, and you love guitar, then this might be right up your alley.


Blackburn micro technologies was born from the former Mullard Company. Mullard tubes are legendary in guitar circles. People hoard NOS Mullards as if they were gold. Check out the old film about the factory on their website. While it's a little dry, it is pretty cool.


I found this DVD available on Amazon. It looks to be along the same lines as the Mullard film. This might be a good addition to your DVD collection if you dream of RCA 6l6's.



The vacuum tube guitar and bass amplifier theory book is for those a little more adventurous. Dive into some heavy electronic theory to find out what those tubes are really doing.



I don't think anyone can discuss tubes without bringing up Aspen Pittman's tube amp book. While there are many choices in sources for matched tubes and NOS tubes today, Aspen started Groove Tubes, offering graded tubes back in the day when you normally picked up a tube at the local drug store.


You can also search the net for some great history on tubes. There are lots of great articles from colleges and hobbyists alike.

And just for nostalgia's sake (I'm showing my age), here is a great shot of an old drug store tube testing station. I remember seeing these when I was a kid. I wasn't exactly sure what they were at the time I just remember thinking they looked cool.

Scott