Tubeworks

Abstract

Outside the world of music the transistor has supplanted the vacuum tube. Transistors do the same sort of job as vacuum tubes but they use germanium or silicon in their manufacture, thus the current is produced in a solid state, rather than a vacuum. Most electronic devices are built with solid state technology. Exceptions are some musical instrument amplifiers and some audiophile grade stereo gear. For the users of this equipment the transistor is unsatisfactory both spiritually and with respect to sound. The need for tubes has become specialized, to the point where designers are designing amplifiers to the specifications of available tubes. The relative scarcity of these gems makes the notion of manufacturing specific tubes under exacting conditions, in relatively small quantities, attractive. A place to make these glass jewels should respect their history, use, and the careful manufacturing techniques required to make them. It is the basilica of the church of the distorted guitar sound.