# News Update Valve Supplies



## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

This post was written on 27th February, 2022 and it summarises the precarious situation concerning valve supplies ................

What can you do?
Do not over order ! ( I thought I would never be saying to folks to not buy valves !!) It would be good to know what you will need in the future.


https://valvetubeguitaramps.com/news-update-valve-supplies/


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Latole said:


> This post was written on 27th February, 2022 and it summarises the precarious situation concerning valve supplies ................
> 
> What can you do?
> Do not over order ! ( I thought I would never be saying to folks to not buy valves !!) It would be good to know what you will need in the future.
> ...


This slow-motion train wreck has been unfolding inexorably for a while now. It's going to really impact the industry from all angles. Hopefully, there will be some relief in the not too distant future. Save your pulls gents.


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

At the moment I have three tube amps and enough good used tubes to re-tube two of my amps.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

The semi-con industry is struggling too and I doubt that music gear is on the top of the heap for priority.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

Link doesn't work for me.


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

WCGill said:


> Link doesn't work for me.


This is what the link show ;

*___*
*News Update Valve Supplies*
This post was written on 27th February, 2022 and it summarises the precarious situation concerning valve supplies
*Current Suppliers*
It is worth mentioning the suppliers so that we are all on the same page.
There were and you notice I use the word “were”. The three big manufacturers were New Sensor, Shuguang, and JJ Electronic. The largest is the Russian New Sensor factory and the smallest is JJ Electronic.
Shuguang had a fire and closed at the end of 2019 and has never been rebuilt.
You might think there are a lot more but the reality is that folks such as Ruby Tubes, Tube Amp Doctor ( TAD) , Groove Tubes, Mesa Boogie, Bugera, Marshall all make a living buying in from these three manufacturers and re-branding them with their own name. Many of these companies claim their product is better. However, I do not understand how you can build quality into a good tested product that is already manufactured.
With Shugang’s disappearance, roughly 30%+ of production capacity disappeared. Covid masked the problem due to all the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Shuguang
Lets look at the two remaining manufacturers
*Shuguang*
With Shugang’s disappearance, roughly 30%+ of production capacity disappeared. Covid masked the problem due to all the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Amp production was reduced to zero and then much lower levels. By October 2021 their stock appeared be all gone. The companies re-marking valves had now to try and find alternatives from the remaining two valve makers. I believe that Shuguang also made component parts for Hi-Fi valve suppliers such as PSVane and so they were impacted
So lets look at the two valve companies
*JJ Electronic*
The smallest of the two remaining manufacturers is in Slovakia. They make a wide range of audio valves. They now have orders that outstrip their production. I have talked to other valve distributors and folks who bought directly from JJ. They are now only supplying amp makers and are quoting lead times of 14-16 months to everyone else. So for folks like us JJ has effectively stopped supplying us and other valve resellers.
*New Sensor Inc*
New Sensor owns the Russian valve factory in Saratov in central Russia. They offer a wide range of products branded with Tung Sol, Genalex / Gold Lion, Sovtek, Electro- Harmonix.
New Sensor is again seeing massive demand and some valves were taking months from to arriving in stock. However, we have a good relationship with New Sensor and they have done their best to support us over these challenging times.
*Russia Ukraine War*
We cannot ignore the Russia Ukraine war. Sanctions are being applied by USA, UK and the EU. On Saturday evening (26th February, 2022) sanctions were extended through cutting off the Russian banks from the international SWIFTbank transfer system. Russian banks can no longer send or receive money outside of Russia. Not all Russian banks are affected so we hope there is no disruption . It is possible that the Russian banking system could be cut off from the “West” in coming days/ weeks. It will be very challenging for them to receive payments . It is possible that the factory will run out of money and stop production.We are continuously monitoring the sistuation
We have to expect that Russia will retaliate with their own sanctions and the valve factory, being American owned, might be on their hit list to block exports
This is not a pretty picture
*What are we doing ?*
We placed our biggest order ever for Russian valves last week and since the start of the year, we have been workin gto build up our stocks. Our new order we hope will arrive in the next couple of weeks.
We shut down our Ebay store so that we can support our website customers.
We will always endeavour to give our loyal regular customers priority in receiving stock.
*What can you do?*
Do not over order ! ( I thought I would never be saying to folks to not buy valves !!) It would be good to know what you will need in the future.
If you have any questions or need advice email us on [email protected]


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## Rski (Dec 28, 2013)

Informative post and suggestions .. Russians tubes have been my choice of replacements .. stocked up a few years back .. never anticipated Covid then war 

Yikes


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

I was expecting this... 
Fortunately I have enough reserves to hold me for quite a while.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I ordered & received about a thousand dollars worth of tubes in late January. I'm good for a while, but not forever.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I'm going to use solid state amps for the foreseeable future.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

I have enough NOS tubes to last me longer than I will live. I was starting to sell off a few pairs, but I may hold out a bit to see what happens. I stocked up in the 90’s knowing this day would someday come.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

Apparently Western Electric is now going ahead with US production


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