[vintinfinity]

Just took out the Speedball from the Crack. Threw the stock resistors back in and while I was worried about the bass seeming to be less after the speedball, it sounds fine on W9 by Nicola Ratti, just a bit less controlled. I did gain back the sweet reverb and echo in regards to the vocals on songs like Hello - by Adele. For me, the speedball was so forward that it was a little too intense and was more fatiging than the stock circuit. 
 
I was having a microphonics issue with a 12BH7 I put in there with the speedball, but I'm not sure if it was the circuit itself or the tube. The ebay seller thought the higher gain on the BH7 was causing it, but I'm not sure if that's true. Other people have reported using 12BH7 without microphonics. idk. Anyone have input on that? He was perhaps offering a replacement 12BH7 but seemed to back off that notion when he found out the stock tube is the 12au7. 

 

[JamieMcC]

  Just took out the Speedball from the Crack. Threw the stock resistors back in and while I was worried about the bass seeming to be less after the speedball, it sounds fine on W9 by Nicola Ratti, just a bit less controlled. I did gain back the sweet reverb and echo in regards to the vocals on songs like Hello - by Adele. For me, the speedball was so forward that it was a little too intense and was more fatiging than the stock circuit. 
 
I was having a microphonics issue with a 12BH7 I put in there with the speedball, but I'm not sure if it was the circuit itself or the tube. The ebay seller thought the higher gain on the BH7 was causing it, but I'm not sure if that's true. Other people have reported using 12BH7 without microphonics. idk. Anyone have input on that? He was perhaps offering a replacement 12BH7 but seemed to back off that notion when he found out the stock tube is the 12au7. 

I believe the Speedball increases gain a bit as well if I remeber correctly I did have several 12au7 that were silent in use without the Speedball fitted but did noticed after I had fitted it a few of them now had a bit of noise.

 

[vintinfinity]

 
I believe the Speedball increases gain a bit as well if I remeber correctly I did have several 12au7 that were silent in use without the Speedball fitted but did noticed after I had fitted it a few of them now had a bit of noise.

I had a couple 12au7 (out of about a dozen) that were microphonic with it too, but I'm not sure if the 12bh7 tube itself was undesirable in that regard or if the circuit was causing it on an otherwise good tube. (I spent a decent piece of change on it, so I want to know if it is within reason to exchange it for another one, not sure I can sell this one if it is microphonic in all circuits. [I don't know enough about problems with tubes to know if that makes sense)

 

[cddc]

Do put some kind of protection on the bell end, even if it's just paste wax or regular treament with a wipe of light oil like 3 in 1 or Remoil. It's raw steel that just gets a temporary coating of a sort of waxy oil in manufacturing, and it will eventually rust if left in even a moderately humid environment without any protection. Best bet is to clean it well to remove the existing treatment (naptha or acetone) and then shoot it with your choice of clear coat or paint.

Hi Doc,

Do I need to clean and spray paint both sides of the bell end? I initially thought only the up side needs treatment.

 

[Tom-s]

It's over. It's done!
After almost 12 months with my crack i'm finally done building it.
Started out as a normal crack. Then speedball. Caught the modding bug, and the never-ending story begun. 
It was a journey in search of the perfect sound, the cleanest soldering, the best cable routing and interference-less position for components.
Thanks Bottlehead. I learned a lot from this project!
In order of implementation:
- Speedball
- Stepped attenuator
- Schottky diodes
- Speedball 12bh7/e80cc mod
- Dual choke in Power Supply
- New housing for Crack On Steroids
- Russian paper in oil output capacitors with new alloy frame inside
- Russian teflon bypass for the output capacitors
- Russian paper in oil last PS cap bypass
- Power-amp: Direct wiring of RCA's to input tube (removal volume pot)
- Speedball Maxhawk's switchboards for 12au7/e80cc/12bh7 and 5687 tubes
- 730uf PS cap upgrade for cap 1 and 2
- 120uf film cap for last PS capacitor and removal of PIO bypass.
- Bottlehead Badge
- Done .
Pictures:


 

 

 

[Keithpgdrb]

Hmm. Bypassing to an external volume control. Never thought of that. I'll have to read more about your project.

 

[Walderstorn]

  It's over. It's done!
After almost 12 months with my crack i'm finally done building it.
Started out as a normal crack. Then speedball. Caught the modding bug, and the never-ending story begun. 
It was a journey in search of the perfect sound, the cleanest soldering, the best cable routing and interference-less position for components.
Thanks Bottlehead. I learned a lot from this project!
In order of implementation:
- Speedball
- Stepped attenuator
- Schottky diodes
- Speedball 12bh7/e80cc mod
- Dual choke in Power Supply
- New housing for Crack On Steroids
- Russian paper in oil output capacitors with new alloy frame inside
- Russian teflon bypass for the output capacitors
- Russian paper in oil last PS cap bypass
- Power-amp: Direct wiring of RCA's to input tube (removal volume pot)
- Speedball Maxhawk's switchboards for 12au7/e80cc/12bh7 and 5687 tubes
- 730uf PS cap upgrade for cap 1 and 2
- 120uf film cap for last PS capacitor and removal of PIO bypass.
- Bottlehead Badge
- Done .
Pictures:


 

 

 
 
I cant even understand what you did on those pics lol wth dude eheh would like to hear it to compare to the regular crack w/speedball.

 

[chuckwheat]

  It's over. It's done!
After almost 12 months with my crack i'm finally done building it.
Started out as a normal crack. Then speedball. Caught the modding bug, and the never-ending story begun. 
It was a journey in search of the perfect sound, the cleanest soldering, the best cable routing and interference-less position for components.
Thanks Bottlehead. I learned a lot from this project!
In order of implementation:
- Speedball
- Stepped attenuator
- Schottky diodes
- Speedball 12bh7/e80cc mod
- Dual choke in Power Supply
- New housing for Crack On Steroids
- Russian paper in oil output capacitors with new alloy frame inside
- Russian teflon bypass for the output capacitors
- Russian paper in oil last PS cap bypass
- Power-amp: Direct wiring of RCA's to input tube (removal volume pot)
- Speedball Maxhawk's switchboards for 12au7/e80cc/12bh7 and 5687 tubes
- 730uf PS cap upgrade for cap 1 and 2
- 120uf film cap for last PS capacitor and removal of PIO bypass.
- Bottlehead Badge
- Done .
Pictures:


 

 

wow

 

[numberandlocation]

  Just took out the Speedball from the Crack. Threw the stock resistors back in and while I was worried about the bass seeming to be less after the speedball, it sounds fine on W9 by Nicola Ratti, just a bit less controlled. I did gain back the sweet reverb and echo in regards to the vocals on songs like Hello - by Adele. For me, the speedball was so forward that it was a little too intense and was more fatiging than the stock circuit. 
 
I was having a microphonics issue with a 12BH7 I put in there with the speedball, but I'm not sure if it was the circuit itself or the tube. The ebay seller thought the higher gain on the BH7 was causing it, but I'm not sure if that's true. Other people have reported using 12BH7 without microphonics. idk. Anyone have input on that? He was perhaps offering a replacement 12BH7 but seemed to back off that notion when he found out the stock tube is the 12au7. 

 
How difficult is it to remove the Speedball upgrade? I just ordered the Crack+Speedball from the recent sale and wanted to be able to test it with and without the Speedball and be able to revert back to just the Crack if possible. 

 

[vintinfinity]

How difficult is it to remove the Speedball upgrade? I just ordered the Crack+Speedball from the recent sale and wanted to be able to test it with and without the Speedball and be able to revert back to just the Crack if possible. 

It's very easy to remove. You just desolder a few small wires and remove the boards, then reinstall two sets of resistors.

 

[numberandlocation]

It's very easy to remove. You just desolder a few small wires and remove the boards, then reinstall two sets of resistors.

Would that be permanent then? Or could you choose to put it back in, for instance if I want to sell it at a later point.

 

[chuckwheat]

 
Would that be permanent then? Or could you choose to put it back in, for instance if I want to sell it at a later point.

As long as you don't clip the wires, you could probably add and remove it in 15 minutes or so. (that is, after you've already assembled the speedball boards)

 

[vintinfinity]

Just got a Garage1217 6SN7 adapter in for my Crack amp. I've got a 60s (I think, it's got red lettering) staggered RCA black plate in there right now. Electronic stuff with vocals sounds good (great bass response and spaciousness), but for some reason, Adele's Hello and Say Hello (To Your New Lover) sound like a completely different microphone set up on her vocals, in a way I don't like as compared to my favorite 12au7 tubes. -edit:  after getting used to it, and going back to this material it sounds pretty good on the second time around.
 
The Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody0 2005 Remaster has a lot going on that stands out a bit more with the 6SN7. 
 
Soon I will be able to try this thing with a NOS Tung Sol 5998 output tube that I snagged for less than half the going BIN rate on eBay. Not sure if it's a JAN tube, since I didn't get a clear shot of the base. Either way, supposed to sound good.

 

[Aradea]

Just got myself the Bendix 6080WB.. wow! Much better than my Tungsol 5998. Dont know why but the noise floor is much lower with the Bendix. I can hear everything much clearer and instrument separation improved by quite a lot.
It needs more dial on the knob to a achieve the same level of volume compared to the Tungsol..
Could be the end game power tube hehe

 

[Paladin79]

I am at work and we have restrictions on searching some sites so I was curious if the Bottlehead Crack is still being sold in kit form and what the approximate price was at this time?
 
I have plenty of experience in electronics and soldering so the assembly would not be an issue for me and I am apt to make some of the modifications listed here.
 
If that amp has been replaced, is there a current model I should look for?
 
thanks