Western Electric (tube Manufacturer)

Western Electric Export Corporation (typically known as simply Western Electric) is a manufacturer of vacuum tubes and high end audio gear. Based in Rossville, GA, they are best known for building an ultra-premium version of the 300B electron tube. They trace their roots (indirectly) back to 1872 and AT&T, when the original Western Electric was a baby Bell, before AT&T was split up, and many of the baby Bells were carved into smaller companies or had their assets sold off until little existed except the original trademarks and intellectual property. The original AT&T based company was shutdown in 1984. The beginning of the current incarnation was in 1995, when AT&T granted Charles G. Whitener (Westrex Corporation) a license to the trademark and intellectual property of the original Western Electric. The company has announced intentions to manufacture vacuum tubes for musical instruments, such as electric guitars

300B

Few factories make tubes of any kind, as the market for these devices is small. Tubes have generally been replaced by transistors, which are much more efficient, smaller, produce less heat and are less expensive. However, there still exists a couple of markets for tubes, such as high end audio reproduction and many electric guitar amplifiers. The current product line consists of just the 300B, which was originally designed for use in telephone amplification in the 1930s. By the 1980s, they found use by audiophiles. Western Electric's tubes are considered "ultra-premium", designed for audiophiles that want the absolute best and are willing to pay for it. In 2020, their direct price for a matched pair of these single ended tubes was $1499, while a matched quad cost over twice as much.

Guitar amplifier tubes

In March of 2022, Western Electric announced they would soon be producing tubes for the guitar tube amp market. This includes 6L6, EL34, 6V6, EL84, 12AX7 and others. This comes as most nations have banned imports from Russia due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, Chinese manufacturing is being phased out, leaving only a single factory in Slovakia (JJ Tubes) as a ready source for these vacuum tubes. The existing 300B tubes they currently produce are very dissimilar to tubes used in guitar amps, however, many parts like the base mounts are identical, as well as the glass being made from the same material.

Western Electric has just finished a major expansion of their Georgia, United States facility, two year undertaking that had them move to their current Rossville location and gives them ample room for production. According to company sources, the jump from making 300B to these other models is not that giant of a step, due to the similar materials. They expect the American made tubes to be more expensive than compatible tubes from Russia or China, but not extraordinarily so. They confirmed that they have no intention in expanding outside of the United States.

Other products

In 2022, Western Electric began production of the 91E amplifier system, utilizing the 300B tube in a single ended configuration. The amplifier is a high-end model, designed for audiophiles specifically, costing $15,000 or more depending on options. It can produce from 14 to 20 watts (at 8 ohms) per channel, depending on the user's tolerance for distortion. This is considerably higher than the standard 10w per channel from a typical 300B amplifier. Like all their products, the amplifier is built in America.

References

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External links

Official website

Guitar amplification tubes
Audio equipment manufacturers
Former Bell Media networks