My build....Crack + Speedball

[Mucker]

I'll have to admit I haven't been much of a hardcore DIY audio builder. I haven't soldered much or to any degree of skill. But I take great pride in finishing a Crack and Speedball and have been enjoying it immensely since. I stumbled a bit on the Crack (imagine a bull in a China shop trying to solder) and had a couple of pilot error mistakes I had to have sorted out. The Spedball went better and I nailed it on the first try (good bull.....good bull).

I tried a Valab 23 atep attenuator from the get-go and it turned out to be faulty, so used the stock pot and it worked beautifully. A couple of days ago I added a PEC and it has been working OK, although there is imbalance at low volume and a bit of slop in the dial. I just ordered some Dayton film output caps and may try a Blue Velvet pot.

The wood base finish didn't turn out on first try. I wanted charcoal black stain with a satin clear coat, but it didn't turn out the way I wanted so today I went to Walmart to get some Cobalt blue Rustoleum (totally different direction).....however......I spied some 252304 Moonlit Copper Rustoleum and it looked good enough to try (and IMO more fitting for this particular amp) and man am I ever happy with the result. It looks like a very  dark bronze with copper flakes......very rich and textured (see pics).  Kind of astronomical, deep space look....it's cool!

I am ecstatic with this amp and can't thank Bottlehead enough for the opportunity to build a very nice piece of equipment at a cost well beneath its' value. Thanks Doc B and crew!

 

[Loggie]

Very nice "Star"base I would say  .
Interesting choice of material to finish the base.
I finished my Crack a few weeks ago and still haven't decided what to do with the base.
So checking the forum gives me a number of great ideas.

Enjoy your build!

 

[Paul Birkeland]

I really like that base!

I wouldn't give up on the PEC pot so easily, have a look at the Crack FAQ for padding down the volume pot, that ought to take care of the imbalance, and really give you an opportunity to evaluate the PEC before deciding to discard it.

-PB

 

[Mucker]

Very nice "Star"base I would say  .
Interesting choice of material to finish the base.
I finished my Crack a few weeks ago and still haven't decided what to do with the base.
So checking the forum gives me a number of great ideas.

Enjoy your build!

Star base! I like it, thanks for the comment and good luck with your pick!

 

[Mucker]

I really like that base!

I wouldn't give up on the PEC pot so easily, have a look at the Crack FAQ for padding down the volume pot, that ought to take care of the imbalance, and really give you an opportunity to evaluate the PEC before deciding to discard it.

-PB

Thank you PB!

I have a question. With the stock pot, the volume position was about 10 o'clock and with the PEC it's now 12-1 o'clock for the same perceived loudness. Both are 100k.

If I pad down the pot will it effect the PEC even more? Thank you!

 

[Paul Birkeland]

It's always hard for me to know what "12 o'clock" indicates, as you can set your zero point anywhere.  The nice thing about the padding mod is that it's very inexpensive, and if you don't like the results, it's quite easy to remove.

The difference in loudness level may be a minor difference in the curve used for each pot.

-PB

 

[Mucker]

OK thank you. I ordered a resistor kit off eBay that includes 33k and 75k ..... 1% at 1/4 watt ..... I assume they will be OK??? Or should I go with "audiophile" ones?