small world eh Doug! the tung sol I just put in is the cryo one with gold pins
they not only last twice as long, 40 000 hrs, the tone is actually better too! and thank goodness for the eastern european/soviet/chinese miltitary keeping valves alive! gawd bless their pinko 50's technology
they actually bought all the tools/machinery off the west when they went totally solid state - i think the tung sol factory in romania? is old phillips factory from NY?! stay away from the chinese stuff tho - altho they have their qualities
my mate has the ampeg valve bass pre amp, and loves his telefunkens - they sound awesome - changes them between sets - now that is a serious valve nerd!
but its like having different amps with a quick change!