Of the multitude of horrors, human and sovereign rights violations, and threat of larger-scale conflict currently percolating due to the situation in Ukraine, what I’m about to examine is, unquestionably, small potatoes.
But this is MMR and not the BBC, The New Yorker, or whatever other news sources you trust to cover such global matters.
Now that that’s out of the way, what are some of the implications of what’s going down in Eastern Europe as it pertains to the MI industry? Well, plenty, to be sure. The already-tangled supply chain – and not just for music-related stuff – is certainly going to be even more banged up (in some aspects it already is). But one of the most immediate cracks in the armor of MI revolves around vacuum tubes, the devices that power the amps discussed in this issue’s cover story (page XX). Long gone are the days when U.S.-based companies such as GE, Raytheon, and RCA were cranking tubes out by the 1,000s annually. Rossville, Georgia’s Western Electric still produces some high-end tubes, but for the past many, many years the bulk of the tubes relied upon by musicians have been sourced from Russia and China. Oh, and Slovakia.
Odds are, you’ve spotted the problem.
“Any significant shortage in supply of electron tubes will lead to significant availability issues since there have been only three manufacturers, worldwide, during last 10 years,” said Andreas Hecke of Tube Amp Doctor when I connected with him via email in late March. “Meanwhile, we heard that there has been an exemption made to allow the export of tubes made in Russia for use in musical instrument and audio equipment. So far we have not experienced this to come through, but it is too early, as they say it will take about three weeks. Without this exemption the shortage would be even worse. The handling of rules connected with the exemptions and the rocketing of raw material and energy cost will add to the cost of electron tube products, for sure.”
Another thing that’s for sure is that once word spread in March that tubes would likely soon be in short supply, there was an aggressive sell-off that has depleted many vendors of their entire stock of vacuum tubes. Just spend a few minutes digging around Reddit and message boards and you’ll see what I mean.
Or, ask someone like EveAnna Manley of Manley Laboratories, Inc. who, when I reached her for comment, only had the time to quickly respond, “It’s all I have been working on for the past few weeks – securing supply for production!”
So how will this get resolved – and when?
Hecke says, “I assume that once the Ukraine conflict has been solved that Russian-made tubes will be available again. But today nobody can say if and when.”
When I checked in with Dalibor Farny (also in late March) of the Czech Republic to discuss the availability of tubes – an essential component to their Nixie tube clocks – I was told that, “There might be a shortage of neon as most of it is produced around Mariupol in Ukraine. These factories might have been already bombed by the Russian mob.”
Let’s hope availability of tubes used for musical gear is resolved happily and quickly, absolutely – but of far greater importance, let’s look forward to an end to bloodshed, a negotiation of peace, and a return to greater stability, worldwide.
