Sunn branded Genalex???

[soberskipper]

I snagged a sceptre off of ebay a few weeks ago and it has a sunn branded (what looks identical to) genalex kt88 and a genalex branded kt88. The sunn tube is identical to the genalex in everyway except for the silkscreen, it is simply the sunn O))) logo in white on one side. Thats it. The Genalex branded tube has the usual white rectangle with tube type and code with the brand name color silk screen label below it. Also, the sunn tube says made in england while the genalex says made in UK.

Has anybody EVER seen or owned the sunn branded tubes? Im assuming both tubes are original for the amp but curious about the sunn one and/or why it has one of each. I have never seen or even heard of this, and i sure didnt expect it.

They sound amazing btw!
Thanks
Uri g.

[Isaac]

I don't recall hearing about such a thing before, but Sunn made deals to get their brand on other stuff, such as JBL drivers, so why not?

[Soundmasterg]

Yes it was done by many companies back then. Conn, Silvertone, a million others had their own names and logos put on other tubes. I believe Sunn did the same with their earlier amps before they changed over to 6550's. Conrad would know for sure.

Greg

[EdBass]

It's pretty cut and dry; who else made KT88's in the 1960's?
Who actually manufactured what in the tube world was much more simple back in the Good Ol' Days of tubes.
I'm pretty sure all KT88's prior to the late 70's-early 80's and possibly later (I think GEC went away about 2000)were manufactured by M-OV (Marconi-Osram Valve Company), a subsidiary of the British company "GEC"; General Electric Company Ltd, not to be confused with the US General Electric.

These M-OV tubes were branded as Genelex, GEC, Genelex Gold Lion, but also were often private labelled for various other manufacturers/OEM users, including IEC/Mullard in the UK and Sunn in the US. I think they also screened them as Dynaco for a while.

I always thought that a "Mullard" branded KT88 was kind of ironic, but they do in fact exist.

I've got a pile of the Sunn labelled KT88's, and they are unquestionably GEC tubes.

[soberskipper]

It's pretty cut and dry; who else made KT88's in the 1960's?
Who actually manufactured what in the tube world was much more simple back in the Good Ol' Days of tubes.
I'm pretty sure all KT88's prior to the late 70's-early 80's and possibly later (I think GEC went away about 2000)were manufactured by M-OV (Marconi-Osram Valve Company), a subsidiary of the British company "GEC"; General Electric Company Ltd, not to be confused with the US General Electric.

These M-OV tubes were branded as Genelex, GEC, Genelex Gold Lion, but also were often private labelled for various other manufacturers/OEM users, including IEC/Mullard in the UK and Sunn in the US. I think they also screened them as Dynaco for a while.

I always thought that a "Mullard" branded KT88 was kind of ironic, but they do in fact exist.

I've got a pile of the Sunn labelled KT88's, and they are unquestionably GEC tubes.

Thanks ed, i knew you would know! So... A pile huh?

[EdBass]

It's pretty cut and dry; who else made KT88's in the 1960's?
Who actually manufactured what in the tube world was much more simple back in the Good Ol' Days of tubes.
I'm pretty sure all KT88's prior to the late 70's-early 80's and possibly later (I think GEC went away about 2000)were manufactured by M-OV (Marconi-Osram Valve Company), a subsidiary of the British company "GEC"; General Electric Company Ltd, not to be confused with the US General Electric.

These M-OV tubes were branded as Genelex, GEC, Genelex Gold Lion, but also were often private labelled for various other manufacturers/OEM users, including IEC/Mullard in the UK and Sunn in the US. I think they also screened them as Dynaco for a while.

I always thought that a "Mullard" branded KT88 was kind of ironic, but they do in fact exist.

I've got a pile of the Sunn labelled KT88's, and they are unquestionably GEC tubes.

Thanks ed, i knew you would know! So... A pile huh?

Well "pile" may have been a little optimistic on my part, maybe 10-12. They are mostly pulls from Sunn amps I've bought.
I take them out because a pair of healthy, well matched GEC KT88's are worth (sometimes substantially) more than the amps they originally came in on today's market, and I didn't want to take chances with using them to fire up amps that sometimes haven't been used in decades.

Something to consider IMO, 'skipper...

[soberskipper]

It's pretty cut and dry; who else made KT88's in the 1960's?
Who actually manufactured what in the tube world was much more simple back in the Good Ol' Days of tubes.
I'm pretty sure all KT88's prior to the late 70's-early 80's and possibly later (I think GEC went away about 2000)were manufactured by M-OV (Marconi-Osram Valve Company), a subsidiary of the British company "GEC"; General Electric Company Ltd, not to be confused with the US General Electric.

These M-OV tubes were branded as Genelex, GEC, Genelex Gold Lion, but also were often private labelled for various other manufacturers/OEM users, including IEC/Mullard in the UK and Sunn in the US. I think they also screened them as Dynaco for a while.

I always thought that a "Mullard" branded KT88 was kind of ironic, but they do in fact exist.

I've got a pile of the Sunn labelled KT88's, and they are unquestionably GEC tubes.

Thanks ed, i knew you would know! So... A pile huh?

Well "pile" may have been a little optimistic on my part, maybe 10-12. They are mostly pulls from Sunn amps I've bought.
I take them out because a pair of healthy, well matched GEC KT88's are worth (sometimes substantially) more than the amps they originally came in on today's market, and I didn't want to take chances with using them to fire up amps that sometimes haven't been used in decades.

Something to consider IMO, 'skipper...

I absolutely agree.
As soon as i got this amp i updated all of the important stuff plus i use a powerstat at 117vac so i feel comfortable using the tubes now, but i have them boxed up until i can upgrade the sockets to ceramic.

Any suggestions for a place i can send them to get fully tested? Im just curious as to how much life is left in them.

[Soundmasterg]

There isn't a need to upgrade the sockets to ceramic. The only advantage ceramic has over the micalex, plastic, etc sockets is that they won't arc. They are often much harder to re-tension the pins than the other types.

Most tube testors test at 250v or less, so they aren't really an adequate test for a tube that runs at 500+ volts. I suppose you could have Eurotubes test them for you as they have a pretty good test setup and they're good people...but I don't know that they would be able to get you an idea of how much life is left in them. I'd just use them myself....bias them up good and go for it.

Greg