A NUTUBE FOR A NEW AGE

Korg is set to revolutionise vacuum tubes, with the help of Japanese tech firm Noritake, making them smaller and more affordable to run. The companies have joined forces to develop a new miniaturised and high performance vacuum tube – the Nutube 6P1.

For the last fifty years, the vacuum tube has largely remained the same, most manufacturers stopped producing them in the ’70s and since then, little to no research has been done to improve their performance or make them relevant with today’s digital technology. All of that is set to change, with the Nutube bringing the vintage sound of vacuum tubes into the new millenium.

The newly-developed Nutube is small, it’s less than 30% of the size of conventional vacuum tubes. The smaller size allows it to be directly mounted to circuit boards, without the need for a socket.

It uses much less power, reportedly only 2% of the power needed for conventional vacuum tubes and it offers (up to) 30,000 hours of continuous operating life. Meaning battery operation will be less costly and they won’t need to be replaced as often.

The re-designed tube operates as a complete triode, constructed using an anode, grid, and filament and will also feature the Noritake vacuum fluorescent displays. Production of the new tubes will take place at Noritake’s state-of-the-art Japanese production facility, which Korg says will significantly raise the product quality.

“As an electronic component, a vacuum tube has the disadvantages of being larger than a transistor, having a shorter lifespan, and a higher power consumption, and although many people like the sound of a vacuum tube, historically they have been more difficult to deal with,” stated Fumio Mieda, Korg’s longstanding developer who was involved in creating the MS-20 synthesiser from the late ’70s. “The Nutube sets us free from these many limitations, making it possible for us to think about using it in new products.”

The 6P1 has been tuned especially for Korg products, and the company says a number of new products featuring it are currently in development, with announcements expected later this year.

Excerpts from announcement.