How big of a deal is decal paint on vintage tubes??

[vanishingpoint]

How important is paint/decal on tubes? I ask because the str415's which came onboard a used musicman 150 combo were taken in and out a lot while trying to find a intermittent problem which turned out to be a chip on the power board. The amp tech said they were blown tubes and sold me sovteks for 90 dollars and was kind of reluctant to give me the 415's back when I paid him for the damages he inflicted on the amp (random unnecessary soldering).

The thing is...I picked up a replacement 150 combo which came with sylvania's and I must say that I liked the sound of the other amp better...possibly due to the 415 quad? And since the paint is pretty much intact on the sylvanias...why not sell the sylvania quad and play through the mesas?

Only one tube still has 415 visible...and this one has strong paint. The others have weak paint, same shade blue, same bat channel etc... There was nothing wrong with the tubes; it was my fault they were handled so much by bringing the amp to a bad guy who saw an op to snatch the tubes and then play with his solder gun at my expense. This guy should be outed! Once home I found the same cutting out that came intermittently with the brand new $90 Sovteks, which sounded piss poor I might add.

It seems there are any number of audiophiles which can tell at a glance what a tube is even w/o paint. Thus I wonder about paint condition as to resale value. I can get diagnostic numbers for these tubes if I could only find someone who doesn't act like the fact that their growing older is some sort of guilt-sin. Tired of snarky technicians.

I have no idea how to place an image here...but I showed the tubes on craigslist yesterday in LA and Chicago. Basically I have one amp needing 6L6 and I have two sets of vintage tubes. The sylvanias are prettier.

Which should I part with??[/img]

 

[stokes]

You are selling used tubes that look very used.What would you pay for them?The only test numbers that mean anything useful is the current draw,to verify a matched set.Tube testers dont have nearly enough voltage to give you any indication of how well they will work in an amp.There is an article,I dont remember where,but it showed an obviously broken tube on a Hickok tester reading excellent numbers.I buy a lot of NOS tubes from various sources,and I pay no attention to gm numbers,they never match what I get on my tester anyway,but I do for sure avoid tubes that appear to be old and worn,unless the price is so low and they are something special.If you know they are good,just keep them so when the ones you plan to use wear out,which all tubes do eventually.

 

[vanishingpoint]

Thanks for the info. I would like to have them tested in the most objective manner. I know they sound great, and many amp techs are kind of jaded and weary of people asking for test results:

"Do they sound good in the amp?"

"Yes"

"Then quit bothering me!"

So I need the best possible info on diagnostics. The next thing would be to put on special cotton gloves and switch out the JAN Sylvania's and put in the 415s. If they sound as good as I remember, and if they sound better than the green syl's in the amp presently, then I'll live with the missing paint. They had the coolest glow. I may just be dissatisfied with the sound of the HD 150 in general...it seems to lack the color and raw blues tone that my other MM amps provide. I keep reading reviews on how happy everyone is with their 150 (one of Leos later designs which has only output tubes..no PI tube) but I have to be honest...this amp has a lot of power..it can peel paint from walls, but I just don't find myself enjoying the tones that seem too clean, too heavy and too solid compared to the ripped sails sounds of Leo's other, earlier amps. I thought a Mesa freak would like the 415's due to the engineering and design match. Musicman's also have huge plate voltage demands, esp. the 150. My God you should try standing in a room with the volume only on half! No one could take full volume unless it were outdoors!

For this amp I would consider yellow jackets as a way of sweetening the beast and bring out the more natural distortion and chime. Loud music should make one want to unwind and relax, to forget about the police scanners for twenty minutes. Loud music should not cause one to search a venue for a safe corner to hide from the sound! And, in my view, the phasor is a failure in sound. It's what Dr. Fischer would have used in "The Way to Eden"*

"I'm using sound against them..."

"Sound that loud doesn't stun....it kills"

No more trouble in my body or my mind...eat all the fruit and throw away the rind...Yeah brother...

*star trek episode