Motorola Tubes

[guitarpkr67]

Hey guys, just wondering if anybody has any experience with motorola tube. I found a bunch at my new job and was wondering if they were worth having.

 

[slider313]

I have some Motorola 12ax7's. All were made by GE. All the Philco, Delco, Zenith, etc. were made by the big tube mfg. companys and relabeled.

 

[Scott Auld]

What kind of tubes are they?

 

[studiodunn]

I had some NOS Motorola 12ax7's that sounded awesome in V1's of alot of amps I had.
I was told they were tung sols.

 

[uberpict]

I'm using rebranded RCA 12AX7 Motorola's in V1, nice full frequency tube and not very "hot". The manufacturer's code is usually printed on the tube along with the brand so you can tell who the original manufacturer is. Unless they're 70's versions they're probably old American tubes like GE, RCA, Tung-Sol or Sylvania.

 

[Timbre Wolf]

Hey guys, just wondering if anybody has any experience with motorola tube. I found a bunch at my new job and was wondering if they were worth having.

Post a couple of clear photos if you want an i.d. - Motorola re-branded many different manufacturer's tubes, so you can't generalize about the "brand." Also include any numbers, letters, or symbols on the tube.

- Thom

 

[rockon1]

Post a couple of clear photos if you want an i.d. - Motorola re-branded many different manufacturer's tubes, so you can't generalize about the "brand." Also include any numbers, letters, or symbols on the tube.

- Thom

+1 They could be anything. I have GE Motorola and Mullard Motorola 12AX7's. Bob

 

[Bisbee]

Motorola seems to have sourced based on performance and reliability, not price..Pretty much everything Motorola branded tube I've seen is the "best" of that type of tube from the given era. Lotsa nice Tung Sol/Motorola 6V6GTA's out there! The Converse is Zenith branded tubes, which were notorious for being the lowest bidders work.

 

[guitarpkr67]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll try to get some pictures of them. The one I have here is a 12ax7 with a code on the side that says 63-52 274. They have a ton of other motorola types too. I took all the RCA and Sylvania 12au7 and 12at7s I could find.

 

[Timbre Wolf]

The one I have here is a 12ax7 with a code on the side that says 63-52 274.

274 is the EIA code for RCA. Photo will confirm.

- T

 

[guitarpkr67]

274 is the EIA code for RCA. Photo will confirm.

- T

Thanks for the help, man. I'll try to get some pics up after this weekend.

 

[mc5nrg]

Send them to me so I can dispose of them properly!

 

[guitarpkr67]

Hey guys, here are some pics I took of the tubes. Sorry For the crummy pics.

Motorola tubes. 1. 12AU7=76-02, 76-17, 188-5 2. 12ax7= This one says Matsushita, must have just been in a motorola box 3. 12ax7= 63-52, 274 4. Same as 3

Sylvania tubes. 1. 12au7a= No Codes 2. 12az7= L5A 3. 12au7a= BF? It wiped off when I was handling it. 4. 12au7a= kc axf or axe?

RCA and National. 1. 12au7a Codes wiped off 2. 12au7a=Wiped off 3. National 12at7= NL Made in E. Germany

And the boxes:

Are any of these decent sounding or worth anything? Thanks for the help guys and thanks for looking!

 

[Timbre Wolf]

Motorola tubes. 1. 12AU7=76-02, 76-17, 188-5 2. 12ax7= This one says Matsushita, must have just been in a motorola box 3. 12ax7= 63-52, 274 4. Same as 3

1. GE
2. Matsushita (sometimes you trust the label)
3. RCA - note the unique mica shape
4. RCA

Sylvania tubes. 1. 12au7a= No Codes 2. 12az7= L5A 3. 12au7a= BF? It wiped off when I was handling it. 4. 12au7a= kc axf or axe?

1. Sylvania - unique plate structure gives it away
2. I'm not familiar with 12AZ7
3. not sure from that photo
4. Sylvania - again, the plates give it away

RCA and National. 1. 12au7a Codes wiped off 2. 12au7a=Wiped off 3. National 12at7= NL Made in E. Germany

1. RCA - again, note the mica
2. GE - etched "stencil" lettering and dots are the clue
3. National rebranded everything. This one is RFT - clues are the unique "star" mica, and the East German production

Are any of these decent sounding or worth anything? Thanks for the help guys and thanks for looking!

Most of these tubes are not worth much - sorry to say. The RCA 12AX7 is probably the most coveted. Value will depend on how strong they test, and how well they perform. I would recommend you keep them for experimentation, rather than sell for the relative pittance you're likely to get.

- Thom

 

[uberpict]

+1 They're not like the Mullards and Amperex that the audiophile covet but they're great in guitar amps. You're sure to enjoy those, nice find!

 

[guitarpkr67]

Most of these tubes are not worth much - sorry to say. The RCA 12AX7 is probably the most coveted. Value will depend on how strong they test, and how well they perform. I would recommend you keep them for experimentation, rather than sell for the relative pittance you're likely to get.

- Thom

Thanks a lot for the help, man! I appreciate it. I wasn't really planning on selling them anyways. I can't wait till I can get some time to try these. My employer said they had some tube testers that the just threw away 6 months ago before I started working there. The good thing is there are a lot more 12ax,au,at7s there and hundreds of other tubes that are more for communications equipment than audio applications. I'm gonna write down some of the other tubes and see what you guys think. I may just snap a pic of them and see if you guys can spot some good ones. Thanks again for all the help guys.

-Brenton