Orange Amplification built up anticipation big time at The NAMM Show, inviting people to the launch of a ‘revolutionary new product’. After their innovative Orange OPC amp/pc/studio-in-a-box, no-one knew what to expect. The product they unveiled - the DIVO VT 1000 valve tester - turned out to be a study in sleek pared-down design that will help a huge number of musicians, studios, amp retailers and makers.
The device can test both pre-amp and amp tubes and is easy to use to help match valves and check out their performance. We know many musicians who treasure vintage amps, and Orange say it will be easy now to check out whether an amp is a dud, or whether the tubes just need replacing.
You just insert the valve in to one of the three sockets, choose the valve type from the list on the machine and press Start. There’s an LED display for results, and the unit is designed to test for a wide range of faults. The sockets comprise of one octal and two nine pin connections.
The design may be sleek, but inside there’s a CPU controlled testing system that gives you the results you need - Good, Worn or Fail.
If you’re not an expert it’s been hard to test valves, and the VT 1000 should make things easier - and cheaper say Orange - for everyone from enthusiasts to guitar techs and other music pros. We’ve already found it generating a lot of excitement among people we’ve been talking to.