Testing Tubes

[Telemaster]

Is there a way to test 6L6's to check for wear by using a multi meter?

 

[boogiemon]

probably not. would be nice though.

i'm pretty disappointed at the options that exist for testing tubes these days: go find a museum piece somewhere that isn't really thorough or drop $2500 on a new one. Let's see: at $100 per tube set times 2 sets per year, that's 12 1/2 years worth of tubes for the price of a good tester.. :^(

 

[GD_NC]

The real question is...

I'd like to understand technical difference between a working 6L6 that sounds good and a working 6L6 that sounds bad. I assume they would both test out as "good" tubes by most tube testers, however our ears would offer a different opinion.

I guess the guitar string analogy in the Mesa manuals holds true. Worn out strings do exactly what they are supposed to do. They just start to sound like crap doing it.