Amperex "Bugle Boy" tube compatibility

Wouldn't Amperex "Bugle Boy" ECC88s, if BB ECC88s were ever actually made by Amperex, be a premium value in tube world?  If so, you can bet someone somewhere has made some fakes of it.  I think there are even fake Telefunkens with the diamond engraved in the glass envelope on the base.  To distinguish that TFK fake from real, you have to know whether the diamond is embossed or engraved (in other words, sitting ON the glass surface or grooved into the glass surface).

Wouldn’t Amperex "Bugle Boy" ECC88s, if BB ECC88s were ever actually made by Amperex, be a premium value in tube world? If so, you can bet someone somewhere has made some fakes of it.

Yes. So what? Are they cranking out these fakes at such a high rate that the world is flooded with them now, and your odds of coming across a real Amperex are extremely low?

I just happen to have some Amperex ECC88 (6DJ8) Bugle Boys. None of my E88CC (6922) have the Bugle Boy logo though. Here’s some pictures of what they look like:

6DJ8 ECC88 | tubemongerlib

If you see a Telefunken that has the diamond on the bottom etched into the glass, not molded above the surrounding glass, it’s a fake. I’ve never seen one of the fakes, Have you? I have a few of the molded diamond on the bottom Telefunkens. Two of them are in my preamp right now.

There are fakes of just about everything for sale nowdays. You just have to deal with honest sellers and be careful what you buy. Buying from Russia and China on ebay is not advisable unless you know how to differentiate fakes from the real thing.

Yes, it is pretty sad state of affairs that there are so many fakes out there.  I've never seen an etched diamond Telefunken fake.  I read somewhere that there are now even molded diamond fakes.  I know that my 803S tubes are not fakes (bought before fakes became a thing) because of their age and because the crumbling boxes would be a really tricky thing to fabricate.

Cosmetically, some fakes are quite impressive.  I've seen Western Electric transformers which have appropriately aged decals, fake rust, etc. that made them almost indistinguishable from real.  The fake Audio Note interconnects that I've seen were pretty easy to spot if you compare them to the real deal, but, I would not have spotted the difference without comparison to the real deal.