Heres a tough one:

Is a Sylvania 5751 that has Gray Plates and Gold Pins a "Gold Brand" even if it doesnt have "Gold Brand" written on the tube, but instead has the "normal" Sylvania 5751 lettering?

I guess the question is: is this tube exactly the same as one that says 'Gold Brand" on it?? The Gold Brands have the euphoric "creamy" sound that no other Syl 5751 seems to have.

Anyone know for sure?

Mikey,

I got a pair of Gold Brand Gold Pins a year or so ago, so your post caught my eye. You see Sylvania Gold Brand w/o gold pins from time to time, but I've never seen gold pinned grey plates that a) weren't gold brand, and b) didn't have gold brand written on them. I just checked Tubemonger and can't find an example of what your talking about; the only thing close is the Sanborn Label 5751 gb gp, which doesn't say gold brand anywhere. But neither, unfortunately, does it say Sylvania.
If you haven't checked already:
http://www.tubemongerlib.com/gallery2/v/5751/?g2_page=3

In any case, these tubes really do live up to the hype, so good luck.

thx