That is interesting! The only thing is, it better sound very good because unlike a tube, we won't be able to swap them easily to change the sound. (with different models)

This is quite intriguing:

"The unique design and state of the art Japanese production facility ensures the Nutubes are built to the highest standard and offer up to 30,000 hours of continuous operating life.
The high reliability means that it can be attached directly to the circuit board with confidence knowing that it will not need to be replaced regularly like a 12AX7..."

Is it me or 30 000 hours is not a lot.
Let's think about a big facility : 30 000/ 40hours a week = 750 weeks, 1000 / 50 weeks/year = 15 years. Of course 15 years is a lot more that a tube's life but If I have to buy another 5000$ unit because of that nutube end of life... I'd rather change tubes.

Of course 30 000 years in my home studio is more then a life time ;)

Assuming that you'd be using it a full 40 hours a week, every week, for 15 years? I'd say that's quite a bit more time than you'd get from a standard valve.

I doubt that I'll even still be here in 15 years, so for me that's not a real deal-breaker. ;)

DonnyThompson, post: 424464, member: 46114 wrote: Assuming that you'd be using it a full 40 hours a week, every week, for 15 years? I'd say that's quite a bit more time than you'd get from a standard valve.

I doubt that I'll even still be here in 15 years, so for me that's not a real deal-breaker. ;)

I'm thinking of units like LA2A and others that became standards that are used everyday, those that you want to keep for life. Don't forget that when it's powered but not used it still counts hours. Unless you power your units one by one when you need them. Some big studio still work 80 hours a week you know ;)

I'm just thinking that if the big studios make the calculation the may hesitate to buy. If they do, no records will be made with them and so less publicity and selling..

But hey, I do 10hours a week in my studio.. I'd go for it any day if it sounds right !!

There are IC sockets for solid state devices. Doing the same for this part should be trivial.

bouldersound, post: 424475, member: 38959 wrote: There are IC sockets for solid state devices. Doing the same for this part should be trivial.

Agreed. This can be accomplished quite inexpensively, and manufacturers would probably be wise to do so, if only for the sake of perception. In reality, having to solder one out every fifteen years in extreme cases (or hiring a tech to do it) wouldn't be the end of the world. Swapping out models for tones would be another issue.

I'm interested in hearing these. I hope they're not dismissed as 'not real tubes', and that people hear them out. Sound SHOULD be what matters, right?

bouldersound, post: 424475, member: 38959 wrote: There are IC sockets for solid state devices. Doing the same for this part should be trivial.

Reverend Lucas, post: 424487, member: 48050 wrote: Agreed. This can be accomplished quite inexpensively, and manufacturers would probably be wise to do so, if only for the sake of perception. In reality, having to solder one out every fifteen years in extreme cases (or hiring a tech to do it) wouldn't be the end of the world. Swapping out models for tones would be another issue.

I'm interested in hearing these. I hope they're not dismissed as 'not real tubes', and that people hear them out. Sound SHOULD be what matters, right?

most modern devices are surface mount. these will also undoubtedly be as well. i don't think thy will be suitable for socket mounts.

once you get to this level of miniaturization, the devices are so inexpensive it's cheaper to replace than to service. i see them as an interesting direction for guitar amps to go ..... tube amps cheep!

Kurt Foster, post: 424488, member: 7836 wrote: most modern devices are surface mount. these will also undoubtedly be as well. i don't think thy will be suitable for socket mounts.

once you get to this level of miniaturization, the devices are so inexpensive it's cheaper to replace than to service. i see them as an interesting direction for guitar amps to go ..... tube amps cheep!

That picture looks to me like a through-hole package. Maybe not. I'm assuming there are hidden leads on the other side, or is it some sort of crazy single inline package? Also, I can't tell if it's a mock-up cutaway to reveal its guts, or if they actually look like that. I wonder if you can get any 'tube glow' out of them;)

Reverend Lucas, post: 424489, member: 48050 wrote: That picture looks to me like a through-hole package. Maybe not. I'm assuming there are hidden leads on the other side, or is it some sort of crazy single inline package? Also, I can't tell if it's a mock-up cutaway to reveal its guts, or if they actually look like that. I wonder if you can get any 'tube glow' out of them;)

i can't think of any reason why they would do that. no manufacturers make through the hole boards anymore.

I'm not disagreeeing with you, Kurt. There's technically little sense to use through-hole components anymore. But, guitarists and the audio community tend to be weary of 'newer' technologies. Op amps for example, sometimes get a bad rap. Sometimes these concerns are valid - tubes give harmonic distortion that most consider pleasing compared

I'm off topic. I just think they look like through-hole leads. I could be wrong.

they could be. it would be cool to be able to switch them out ....

There's nothing preventing an SMT board from having a socket. SMT chip sockets are already available so it's just a matter of making one for this form factor.

Interesting, time will tell.

Kurt Foster, post: 424490, member: 7836 wrote: no manufacturers make through the hole boards anymore.

Many still do. Mostly smaller manufacturers though.
But it is getting more rare every day even with the small guys.

There´s a lot of marketing BS in this announcement. We´ve had 20000hrs longlife tubs for broadcast and military use since the 70s, a few types even earlier. Production of these tubes went down, when all serious tube factories were sold to Russia, China, Yugoslavia etc. 30000hrs life expectancy for this new tube is not that much better than what we already had.
Promoting a tube for it´s rich harmonic content (spell distortion) is a joke. If a tube circuit is properly designed then it has very low distortion. If you overdrive it, then it will distort, of course. If you overdrive a transistor then it will distort faster and harder hence even "richer harmonic content" than a tube..... Yuk
Maybe they should promote what they are planning to do with it instead of putting out marketing blahblah.

Jensenmann, post: 424533, member: 18198 wrote: There´s a lot of marketing BS in this announcement. We´ve had 20000hrs longlife tubs for broadcast and military use since the 70s, a few types even earlier. Production of these tubes went down, when all serious tube factories were sold to Russia, China, Yugoslavia etc. 30000hrs life expectancy for this new tube is not that much better than what we already had.
Promoting a tube for it´s rich harmonic content (spell distortion) is a joke. If a tube circuit is properly designed then it has very low distortion. If you overdrive it, then it will distort, of course. If you overdrive a transistor then it will distort faster and harder hence even "richer harmonic content" than a tube..... Yuk
Maybe they should promote what they are planning to do with it instead of putting out marketing blahblah.

I didn't realize tubes with that kind of longevity existed. Good to know, thanks, Jensenmann.

Sure, this press release was written by a marketing department, but I don't think marketing a tube as having rich, harmonic content is invalid. I don't think Korg is denying that transistors distort when overdriven, but describing harmonic content as 'rich' has more to do with HOW tubes distort in comparison to transistors. i.e. more dominant even order harmonics in tubes that many perceive as pleasing, compared to more odd order harmonics. I'm on the same page with you on that 'rich' is one of those adjectives used in audio that people take to mean a number of things. A good word for marketing, not for engineering.

In cooperation with Noritake Itron Corporation, Korg has developed the Nutube to offer improved reliability and efficiency, while still generating the same rich harmonics which vacuum tubes are known for.

This is going to create change. here we go again. :eek:

Reverend Lucas, post: 424535, member: 48050 wrote: "Rich" is....A good word for marketing, not for engineering.

And yet, it's become standard nomenclature for engineers everywhere... along with "warm", "silky", "airy", "punchy" "muddy", "frumpy" "glassy", along with the rest of the Seven Dwarves. LOL