A warning bell on getting parts...
If you follow the link there is a 6 month old Wall street fluff piece about the supply and demand mantra that the 'men in suits' are well known for, but it does remind us all (pro electronics guru's and kit amp/pedal builders alike) that many of those familiar items with long histories (read 'antique amps') may soon disappear entirely from our parts box's... A time will soon come that if it can't go into a car autonomy system or a mobile phone or a TV or PC then it won't be on the shelves of our parts suppliers ...
"Yeah, we can easily get the tubes, but can't get the exact resistors. I do have a very similar equivalent" is already something that I'm finding myself saying to customers. True fact - I've had 3 values of very specific 1/2W axial lead resistor on backorder for over 6 months, and two values only just delivered after a 5 month wait... and I personally can't see the situation getting any better for these components that were very common only 10 years ago.
Heaven forbid the day when every amp in a music store is made entirely from those microscopic SMD components.... It may not be in our lifetimes, but it could well be the norm for our descendants .... Most wouldn't care but some of the music industry people might take up the often despised moto of "Don't go throwing out that old broken amp cos we may just need it in the future for parts..."
https://epsnews.com/2017/06/06/27098/
