No new tube tester available, relatively speaking.
People who need tubes tested are as rare as collectors of ww1 memorabilia, or thereabouts.
Probably not going to be much in the way of even basic tube testing going on, at most dealers. I’ve got a B&K 707 in minty shape, but I went out of my way to pick it up almost 30 years ago, when they were much easier to come by.
Went and checked on eBay, seems like a lot of good testers still coming up for sale, but with commensurate rarity pricing. They can be sensitive to needing service and service intervals, so some limited tech skills might be needed if one is to keep a unit up and functional.
Most guitar shops sell tubes, but they don’t have tube testers, either.
Note that back in the day, you had to go to a tube testing place or location, as most did not have tube testing hardware, even when tubes where the norm. Now that tubes are relatively as rare as aforementioned WW1 memorabilia, it makes no sense to think that tube testing hardware would be more common then back in the tube heyday.
Moreover, I think that some are kinda cheap-ass, and would come to test their tubes, but buy elsewhere -like from the guy who has no tube tester, as the tubes are cheaper there. And view the tube testing gear in the one guy’s shop...as akin to some sort of public bathroom. They would be drawn to it.
Which leads down the road to abuse of the dealer and the tube testing hardware. Think it through. Humans and lowest common denominators, is what usually happens.
People who need tubes tested are as rare as collectors of ww1 memorabilia, or thereabouts.
Probably not going to be much in the way of even basic tube testing going on, at most dealers. I’ve got a B&K 707 in minty shape, but I went out of my way to pick it up almost 30 years ago, when they were much easier to come by.
Went and checked on eBay, seems like a lot of good testers still coming up for sale, but with commensurate rarity pricing. They can be sensitive to needing service and service intervals, so some limited tech skills might be needed if one is to keep a unit up and functional.
Most guitar shops sell tubes, but they don’t have tube testers, either.
Note that back in the day, you had to go to a tube testing place or location, as most did not have tube testing hardware, even when tubes where the norm. Now that tubes are relatively as rare as aforementioned WW1 memorabilia, it makes no sense to think that tube testing hardware would be more common then back in the tube heyday.
Moreover, I think that some are kinda cheap-ass, and would come to test their tubes, but buy elsewhere -like from the guy who has no tube tester, as the tubes are cheaper there. And view the tube testing gear in the one guy’s shop...as akin to some sort of public bathroom. They would be drawn to it.
Which leads down the road to abuse of the dealer and the tube testing hardware. Think it through. Humans and lowest common denominators, is what usually happens.