I have a tale of woe that I'd like to share with my fellow 300b-ers in here. I had gotten a pair of Western Electrics a few months ago, which very much angered the tube gods. The ominous thunder clap when I picked them up should have told me. A few weeks ago, one of the tubes developed a subtle but unmistakable static - not too bad, but could be heard over music. I thought I'd take advantage of that excellent warranty, and I eventually got a second pair. This pair was straight from the distributor, supposedly fresh from the manufacturer. I put them in and almost blew my left ear off! The left tube was clearly and immediately defective - the VU metre on that side was going crazy, and not long after the fuse blew. Just to be sure it wasn't the amp, I put the stock tubes back in and everything was fine again.
So did I just have the worst luck, or what? Anyway, I contacted Parts Connexion (who are EXCELLENT to deal with), telling them I was feeling a bit gun-shy about yet another pair of WE300b. It wasn't said directly, but it was heavily implied that Western Electric might be going through some of the growing pains that many other 300b manufacturers do. Western Electric isn't new of course, but their plant is new. Perhaps they don't quite have their new 300b formula down yet.
If I remember correctly, there was another person in this thread that had similar issues with WE300b. Let this be a lesson, don't anger the gods! That said, I love angering gods, so I exchanged the WEs for Takatsukis
(Elrogs are 3-4 months out from Part Connexion, one of the reasons I didn't join the cult...yet)