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How Many Brimars Are There??

I've owned many of the Mullard ECC82 & ECC83 variants and currently have a pair of the Brimar CV4003/12AU7 Boxplates (love these tubes). Now I'm looking to replace a Mullard 12AX7/ECC83 with a Brimar, but how many versions of the 12AX7 Brimar are there?
  I'm looking for a legitimate CV4004 Half Wing/ Box plate, but I keep seeing Brimars marked as CV492, CV492/CV4004, 12AX7, and 7025. Most online dealers state that these versions are the same as the CV4004 Boxplate. This doesn't make sense since some of these tubes have long blackplates, some have gray short plates, and some have the Gray Half Wing/ Box plate.

I don't believe Brimar would mark their tubes "12AX7" at the factory since this UK tube is known as ECC83. It looks like some of the tubes for sale have been remarked with new Brimar logos; it's easy to tell when compared to a tube marked with a factory code.
Does anybody know the real story about the production of Brimar valves in the 1950's and 60's?


128x128lowrider57

Showing 4 responses by lowrider57

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57 OP
3,018 posts
 
Thanks, @nonoise .
There's a good discussion over at Tube Asylum without any real consensus. One item up for discussion is about this dealer who has admitted his tubes are re-branded, but insists they are genuine NOS.
http://www.tubeaudioproducts.com/Mullard-Brimar/Enlarge.aspx?ProductID=154

See the pretty label. UK does not use the 12AX7 code.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57 OP
3,018 posts
 
@nonoise , thanks. Brent is one of my go-to-guys and he describes the tubes pretty well, but his prices for Brimars seem very high.

Here is a CV4004 boxplate, but don’t know anything about the dealer...
https://www.kcanostubes.com/content/nos-brimar-12ax7cv4004


This is a CV492 with same plates as a CV4004. But much cheaper than CV4004’s...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/True-NOS-Vintage-Brimar-CV492-Mil-Spec-12AX7-Long-Gray-Box-Plate-Vacuum-Tub...


Here is a 6057 that the dealer states is the same as a CV4004,
but Brent says... "One of the rarest Brimar made 12AX7 tubes is this long plate with the famous Yellow T decal on the glass. These are all the older long plate version that is so difficult to find today."
And to make it more confusing, the "T" is not yellow.
https://tubeworldexpress.com/products/copy-of-6057-cv4004-mullard-rebranded-brimar-t-nos-1981-gm-160...


I’m wondering if many of these tubes are being re-branded. The safe bet would be to go with Brent, but first I’m hoping one of our members knows some Brimar history.


lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57 OP
3,018 posts
 
@tls49 , @tomcy6 ,
Many thanks for the information. It makes sense that tubes were labelled for export, although I didn't know the Brit's did this.
And tis49, I love the sound of my Brimars. No surprise that your friends wanted to keep those tubes.

With regard to the Vivatubes Brimar, that's what I would expect some vintage tubes to look like...marked with the factory code.


lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57 OP
3,018 posts
 
@whart , thanks for your comments. I find tube history very interesting, going back to when I would watch the TV repairman open the back of our B&W TV.

Many people go for Mullards first w/o ever considering trying a Brimar. In fact, there is a lot of misinformation on the web that  Brimar is made by Mullard.

I found this quote from a startup company in the UK...
The UK was the centre of thermionic valve (tubes for our U.S buddies) production for many years and we produced the best and most consistent products which are still highly sought after even now – nearly 50 years after production stopped. Our dream is to restart manufacturing of valves in the UK using existing knowledge and equipment but bringing it into the 21st century where not only consistency and performance are drivers but efficiency and the environment.

http://brimaruk.com/menugbvp/great-british-valve-project/

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