AN INTRODUCTION TO PM COMPONENTS LIMITED

GOLDEN DRAGON TUBES

PM GUITAR TUBES

P.M. Components, Ltd. is internationally known for their two lines of vacuum tubes used in the music industry.  Founded in 1979 by Peter Watson in the United Kingdom, their precision designs and flawless quality control has made them an industry leader.  They produce two ranges of tubes designed for uniquely different markets; PM Tubes produces Guitar Amplifier Tubes and is supplier to UK manufacturers such as Marshall Amplification, Orange, Cornford and Hi Watt. PM Tubes are designed for the performer and live musician wanting to capture the ‘British Tube Sound’.  Their second line is a specialty line of Hi Fi tubes known as Golden Dragon, designed specifically for the Audiophile.  These Hi Fi tubes accurately capture every nuance of a recorded performance.  All tubes sold by PM Components’ are produced either in Russia at the original Svetlana Factory or in China to Peter’s strict manufacturing standards and are considered the finest tubes made today.

Peter has been in the vacuum tube manufacturing industry since the 1960’s as well as the supplier to Marshall for over 30 years.  In the sixties, he was involved in the UK design and production of the ECC83 Preamp Tube (the UK version of a 12AX7) chosen by Jim Marshall, its President and Founder. Jim was in search of a more powerful tube to replace the American-made 12AY7, which were used in 1959 Fender amplifiers.  He also knew the right tube would set Marshall Amplifiers apart from Fender, creating a new revolutionary sound known as the ‘British Sound’.  Peter was excited by this unique new sound and challenged by the opportunity.  He found by using a series of the higher gain ECC83 tubes as input to pairs and quads of British KT66 and EL34, a more ‘punchy’ and aggressive sound never heard before was created.  This sound revolutionized the music industry and unleashed the most amazing new music created by artists such as Jimmy Hendrix, Pete Townsend and countless others.

The UK tube industry at the time was headed by the British Valve Association (BVA), who viewed this new demand as a ‘short-term fad’.  The industry was about to wind up following the introduction of germanium transistors used in TV and Radio applications.  Peter convinced the BVA to continue development as well as future production of the tubes to meet the new demand.  In 1969 Peter received BVA’s endorsement to develop the market and became Commercial Manager of four British tube factories.  UK tube production discontinued within three years due to union and governmental constraints, changing Peter’s role dramatically.  In order to ensure the survival and continued development of this new industry, production would have to move to other countries.  Peter developed relationships with major manufacturers throughout the world and saw to it that the tubes were made to the same specifications and quality as those produced under British standards.  This resulted in his specifying  production in Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland, India, Czechoslovakia, Japan and Russia.  The tubes manufactured under Peter’s expertise and direction would later be imported and sold by Brimar, Mazda, Thorn, Ediswan, Osram to name a few.  His relationship with Svetlana in St. Petersburg and Electronska Industrija in Nis, Yugoslavia, remain to this day and are vital to the success of the tube industry.

In 1979 Peter formed PM Components, Ltd. and continued sourcing tubes for the British Valve Industry.  He began supplying tubes directly to customers, including Marshall Amplification; notably supplying the ECC83 for the launch of the JCM800.  As many of the Eastern Bloc tube producers closed in the 80’s, Peter moved production to factories in China, working closely with a select few capable of producing high-quality products.  He invested knowledge and capital increasing their production standards and quality.  In 1988, Peter funded the first production in China of valve triodes 300B and 2A3, which enabled designers like Erik Anderson of Audio Innovations to develop triode amplifiers for Hi Fi applications. By 1989 Triode based Hi Fi amplifiers were being produced all over the world.  Since then Peter has introduced more than fifty new tube designs and Golden Dragon tubes are used by discerning Hi Fi manufactures all over the world including Audio Note, Audio Research, Audion, Conrad Johnson, EAR, Marantz, Macintosh, Quad, and VAC.

The tubes PM produces are manufactured following specific theories written by Ernie Rowe of Standard Telephones and Cables.  During the fifties and sixties Ernie wrote several papers for the BVA illustrating how mass produced valves could be made reliable for use in extreme conditions, known as ‘trustworthy’ production, used in long distance telephone repeater and carrier systems. As well as being “trustworthy,” tubes made to this higher standard proved to be ideal for the music industry. Peter applied Ernie’s techniques to tubes manufactured for guitar and bass amplification with astounding results.  These techniques are being fully applied in the latest ECC83/12AX7 Trustwothy  PM design, which incorporates a locked electrode system significantly reducing “rattle” in the electrode structure, low hum and improved grid resonance.  Although conceived for the telephone industry, this ‘trustworthy’ production method enabled the music industry continuous technological improvement in both Performance and Audiophile markets.