Tubes getting hard to come by?

Unless you cannot operate without a particular tube, it might be best to wait until the hysteria\hording abates.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) for me, there is no change in the availability and price of the tube types I need (348, 349, 310)--they remain rare and expensive.  I have not seen a recent listing for a 348, and the offers I have received are $2,000 each for pulls that test good; the 349s are about the same.  The 310s are, fortunately cheaper, but I don't need as many of them.

With NOS, this is simply law of supply and demand. There is a finite supply and  continuing depletion of that finite supply over time. There will come a day when NOS will cease to exist, I can't predict the day. I assume the larger stashes from closed down factories and hoarding individuals are fast disappearing. Pre-boomers and boomers both had access to large stashes at cheap prices, these guys dead or dying off, where will these stashes come from in future? At some point, end of nos will bring about price pressures on new tubes unless manufacturing ramped up.

Hopefully we'll see both innovations in tube manufacturing which will create new tubes with improved quality over nos, and increased production capability. If not, the future may become grim at some point. As for myself, I mostly now use unusual tubes not in high demand or have my own stash of both NOS and more common tubes.

Case in point @rodman9999.

Prices are high though but what can you do.

Always keep some spares.

Why do you even bother posting jjss?

sometimes i wonder myself... 😂

it is a such hard, worried-filled life we lead in expensive-tube-amp owners tip-top-1%er land... oh, and then you get old, go deaf and die... wonder how the tube amp aficianados in kyiv are getting tubes these days 🤔... btw i hear there is a quad of kt120’s to be found in the aiming mechanism of bt7 russian tank turrets 🙄

i do hope you find a source a source of cheap plentiful reliable good sounding tubes soon... or at least the reassurance you seek from others in this oft-suffering, deprived community of ours

Hopefully we'll see both innovations in tube manufacturing which will create new tubes with improved quality over nos, and increased production capability. 

Redesigning what? Tube topology? What makes NOS tubes desirable is their sonic character and durability compared to modern production contributed by used materials used back then. Nowdays most of these materials are health hazardous.

Still you need new plants and raw material, back to square one.

Old tube factories are sold or dismantled, ROI would be low.

As for NOS how many hands to switch before dead if not already.

My friends every year old production tubes availability is dropping drastically and only hope for users to benefit is a min demand.

Anyway procurement was not great, for new tubes, but during this time nothing is.