my crack has lost its 'character'

[toby.purnell]

i first built my crack before and thought it sounded absolutely beautiful. the next day i installed the speedball kit to see if i would prefer and found i actually didnt like how it sounded any more, so i decided to switch back to the old stock crack components. however, now it sounds different than it first did when stock and it seems to have more harsh top end and less smoothness to it. what could be the cause of this and how would i go about fixing it? or is it just me?
i want to know if anyone else has put a speedball kit in and then after converted their crack back and has experienced the same thing as i am. -toby

 

[Doc B]

Are the voltages are still at spec? That is the place to start. It could be that the tubes have changed. It could be that something else in the system that has changed the sound. It could be you. It's a little difficult for us to offer useful assistance without more info.

I will offer that one day is not long enough to run the amp before deciding to make a change. Both the original stock build and the Speedball installation should have been given 50 to 100 hours of play to let them fully break in before passing judgment.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

What you're describing is how I would describe the sound of a cold solder joint.  In particular where the black wires meet at the headphone jack is a pretty common place to find a wire that isn't all that well captured by solder.

 

[toby.purnell]

i will have a look over the voltages again soon if i can find the multimeter. im not entirely sure what the issue is but i can check over all joints again to be sure. i get it wasn't long enough really to decide on switching the upgrade over. ill re-solder those joints and come back with an update. cheers!

 

[toby.purnell]

update
i checked over all the voltages and they are all correct, however when testing resistances they were all good except terminals 7, 9, 20, b3 and b6 which all just didnt give a reading at all, not even a 0 ohm which shows there is no connection made. im not sure if this is because of the multimeter itself or if there is a wire broken somewhere but thats what i got.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Did you put the 3K resistors back in the circuit?

 

[Doc B]

A 0 ohm reading does not mean there is no connection. 0 ohms would mean excellent continuity - a dead short. An "OL" or something similar typically signifies an open.

 

[toby.purnell]

yes, the 3k resistors were put back into the circuit. also the readings where there was no signal found was where it was supposed to be 2.9K instead

 

[Paul Birkeland]

If you have your black meter probe at terminal 12, what DC resistance do you get at terminal 3?

 

[toby.purnell]

my multimeter was set to 20kohm and displayed 0.003 on it so i believe thats, 3 ohms?

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Now measure between terminal 3 and 7, then 3 and 9.  If you don't get a reading on the 20K range, then keep turning up the range until you get a reading.

 

[toby.purnell]

i will try in the morning, UK time for me and almost 1am now. ill update on it tomorrow! cheers

 

[Mucker]

You bring up a really good point about the human factor. I have experienced my great fleet of amps, speakers, headphones sounding just OK some days and then totally blowing my socks off the next. I'd never be able to put a finger on what's happening but I know the equipment isn't making the dramatic impact of what I experience. Some days it just isn't happening (mood, rest, other ...) Kind of like my golf game. Some days straight as an arrow all day and then other days complete crap, same equipment.

 

[toby.purnell]

yeah i do get your point and i experience the same when playing bass, some days it just sounds godly and others its not quite right no matter what.

 

[toby.purnell]

both resistors read 2.96K ohms.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

If 3 to 7 and 3 to 9 measure 2.96K but 12 to 7 and 12 to 9 do not, then you have a bad solder joint on one (or more) of the black wires from 12 to terminal 3.  This is an exceptionally common problem that will make your amp sound bad and can cause some voltage issues as well.

 

[Drew1d]

If I was smarter...  I wonder if there is a way to record headphones in a mic.  I have a Scarlet interface and a SM57 and 58.  Like, play the same piece of music through each channel and record.  Just to have a baseline, so when you make a change you can record again and listen.  Take a picture of all the dials on all the equipment. 

The recording wouldn't be representational or what you are hearing, but the differences of future recordings and the original would at least tell you if you are succumbing to madness.  If you're not already insane for doing all this in the first place.

So if the original and the changed, sound the same, then you changed, not the device.  I don't tend to remember the exact sound anyways, just how it made me feel at the time.  And I didn't do this experiment.  But it does make me wonder. 

Even if you did all that work, and you discovered there was a change, or no change.  Probably, You'd still want to change it to get something more...  that's probably why you did the Speedball in the first place.  And Bro, trust me, I feel ya.  For me, the Crack was such a revelation, that I wanted to take it farther.

I would suggest listening to another device on headphones, then the Crack, then figuring out what exactly you want.  More Bass?  More Treble?  Definition/Clarity?  Midrange warmth?  What would really ring your bell, and then ask how to attack that specific question.