Test To The Limits, Hear Beyond Expectations
Background
Our goal at Valve Tube Guitar Amps has always been to deliver the absolute highest quality valves. Of course, valve manufacturers do their own quality assurance, but their focus is on valve production and meeting market demands. A lot can go wrong during the manufacturing process. And nothing spoils a gig or jam session faster than a failed valve. Valves are old technology and they can develop vague faults that ruin their audio quality.
That’s why we use our own gear and our 40+ years of industry expertise to guarantee every valve we sell. We use the term “Premium Tested” to indicate the valves we test personally in-house at the highest standards in the industry.
Until the end of 2022, we’ve used our trusty AVO testers which have been out of production for decades. They’re a tried-and-true industry standard. But hey, as much as we love them, they do have their quirks.
- They’re picky about mains voltage fluctuations.
- No accurate read out of plate, screen, and bias voltages.
- No simultaneous reading of anode currents for four valves under test
- They’re slow, since they can only test one valve at a time.
- You cannot listen to them. They might measure a valve as good, but when you listen, it’s microphonic, noisy, or rattles.
The VTGA -200 Output Valve Tester and Audio Monitor
Our latest custom designed output tube tester is now up and running. We worked in partnership with Cliff Brown of 633 Engineering. He has designed various Blackstar amps, and has in-depth experience of valve amps. Check out his site. He designs and builds really nice amps which can be customised to your requirements and he exports worldwide. And he’s a mean guitar player too!
We created this tester to fix what we see as the limitations of current output valve testers
Traditional Tester Limitations
- Testers like AVOs and other modern testers have high voltage power supplies that are sensitive mains voltage fluctuations. They change voltage when the mains voltage changes. In the UK, I’ve seen the mains voltage go from 228 to 253 volts over the course of a day. If you measure a valve on Monday at 9.00am, you’ll get a different reading at 5pm!
- Most testers can only test up to 400 volts B+ and 350 volts on the screen. Many amps run much higher voltages. Some EL34s run at 585 volts. Even Fender amps run 6L6s in the mid 400 volts.
Introducing the VTGA-200 Custom Output Valcve Tester
It took a lot of careful consideration to dial in the functionality of this output tube tester. This unit is effectively a 100 watt amp loaded with state-of-the-art testing sensors.
VTGA 200 Key features:
- Tests four output valves at once in a true Class A circuit configuration. The tester is effectively an output stage of an amp. No simulation, but real amp conditions.
- Tests at up to 600+ anode voltage. Examples include Marshall, Blackstar and Fender, which run their output valves at almost 600 volts!
- Digital display of plate, screen and bias voltages
- tests four valves simultaneously, and shows the anode current for all four valves at the same time
- Includes a built-in 100 watt output transformer. We can listen to them and check for microphonics, rattling, and noise.
- Continuously adjustable power supplies for plate, screen and bias voltages to ensure repeatable results.
Treat Yourself to the Best Possible Tone
Quality testing means quality valves and, most importantly, quality tone for your amp. Why waste time and money on dicey equipment when you can rock out with confidence knowing you’ve treated your gear — and your ears — to the best?
So click over to our shop and check out our fantastic valve selection! Expertly tested and quality guaranteed. Let us put our cool new test gear to work for you!
