ARS Tubes

ARS is not a brand of tube. They are retailers in the LA area and they put their names on the tubes, but in my experience they make no effort to hide the original manufacturer. Take a closer look at the tube and you might find it on the side opposite the ARS logo. When you buy from them they sell by manufacturer and the tubes come in their original enclosurers.

Newbie: Thanks for your help -- what appears to be the original label on the tubes I have is in the form of a replica tube with three sort of halo-like circles around the top part. The tube is identified in the same color (as the replica tube label) ink as: Ecc81 -- ARS appears to have stamped 12AT7 on the tube. Any clues as to who original manufacturer might be?

Thanks again for your help.

Amperex Bugle Boys?

Fatparrot: Thanks for your suggestion -- I looked up a picture of the Bugle Boy and the replica tube on my "ARS" tubes is much smaller and a bit more abstact in form. It's also printed in color -- gold or tan (I'm sort of color-blind).

Thanks again for the help.

Newbee was 100% correct, ARS was an outfit in the 80s-90s based in So Cal. My understanding is that with Power tubes they simply matched and sorted common current production tubes such as Chinese, Russian, Yugo tubes. I cannot say for 100% certainty, but I do not believe the smaller ecc81 tubes were NOS, rather they were also common Yugo/Chinese/Russian types.

Justlisten, I seem to remember that they acquired the rights to the Amperex name and logo a few years ago. I believe that these new "Amperex" tubes are rebranded modern tubes, and should NOT be confused with the good old NOS originals.

I got routed to the Tubemonger page today and as I was scrolling down the page I spotted the tube I've described in this thread. It was listed as a RFT E. German Tube -- the replica tube printed on the actual tube was identical to that on the ARS tubes I pulled out of my amps.

Thanks again for all of your responses, and for helping me solve the mystery of the ARS tubes.