How many of you have wondered , ” How Old is the Valve (Tube) technology in my amp?”
Valves as we call them in the UK have been around for about a 100 years !! I decided to check out when the common valves ( ones that we sell) first came on the market. When checking this information sometimes there was some arguement on the exact year so if you alllow give or take one year, this is gives you a good idea.
The featured picture is that of a World War two radio that was fitted M4 Sherman tanks. ( it is called the Wireless Set No 19 Mark III and they made zillions of these radios ) This has the 6V6 output valve in it for audio. The same valve as used in the Fender Deluxe Reverb re-issues still made today !
Here is a list of common valves and the first years they came on the market
Pre-amp valves
The ECC83 ( 12AX7) is in almost every valve amp made
ECC81 (12AT7), ECC82 (12AU7) , ECC83 ( 12AX7) 1947
Rectifiers
Here are the commonly used rectifiers
5u4 1938
Ez81 1954
Gz34 1954
Output Valves
Some of the oldest and newest valves are on the list of output valves. I wonder if you can call 1954 “new” 🙂
So here is the list ..
6L6 1936
6V6 1937
KT66 1937
EL34 1953
EL84 1954
5881 1954
What suprised me is just how old the KT66 as used in those big Marshall amps really is and also the 6L6 is the oldest of all this collection of output valves. The 5881 is a lesser spec of the 6L6 and did not come onto the market till 28 years later. My guess the 5881 was released to compete with the newer lower cost EL34 that was taking market share
