I'm finished with my Crack/Speedball...What's next?

[Jimb0]

I just completed my Crack/Speedball a few weeks ago and I'm looking to see if I should upgrade it a little more. I've seen a few Crack kits with added film capacitors and some other stuff but I'm not sure what that will give me as far as sound. I've heard some people say the difference is negligible so I'm thinking it's not really worth the effort. The only upgrade that I've made so far is by replacing the potentiometer to Blue Velvet. Looking for your suggestions. Btw, I bought some new tubes, Tung Sol 5998 and CBS/Hytron 5814a so very excited to see what that will sound like.

Thanks!

Jim

[kscwuzhere]

I just completed my Crack/Speedball a few weeks ago and I'm looking to see if I should upgrade it a little more. I've seen a few Crack kits with added film capacitors and some other stuff but I'm not sure what that will give me as far as sound. I've heard some people say the difference is negligible so I'm thinking it's not really worth the effort. The only upgrade that I've made so far is by replacing the potentiometer to Blue Velvet. Looking for your suggestions. Btw, I bought some new tubes, Tung Sol 5998 and CBS/Hytron 5814a so very excited to see what that will sound like.

Thanks!

Jim

The most significant upgrades for me was retrofitting to run the 5687/7119 tube as well as upgrading the output caps. Next would be the pot and capacitor bypasses. Replacing the oblong resistor with a choke and installing a film in place if the last cap on the power supply helped a lot too. Check out my thread called "My crack journey" for all my upgrades, I'd be glad to help you along the way.


I wouldn't say the difference is negligible at all, the cap adds so much texture and gives lower and lower mid frequencies a lot more depth. A much more musical presentation is achieved with a touch more articulation. Absolutely worth the $65 it costs to upgrade imo

[Nathan]

I think you'll get a lot out of bypassing the audio output caps with teflon caps. I bought a pair, shipped from I think Lithuania, for about $10. That was a great upgrade. It was the best bang for the buck mod I've done.

I also use Tung Sol 5998 and Mullard 12au7 nos tubes. The pair cost $150, and sound very nice. However, here's a $35 nos solution- GE 6as7ga output tube and an RCA 12au7 clear top.

I also bypassed the last cap in the power supply. Not sure that made much difference.

I've not bothered with the volume pot. Seems the greatest issue with the stock pot is low level linearity. However, as I've padded down the volume pot, I no longer use the volume pot typically at its lowest range.

I also changed the input RCAs to cardas. I really don't think that made much or any  difference but they seem to be finished a little nicer than stock rca jacks.

Finally I'm using a diy power cord- Belden 19364 which is 14 awg (I think) and has a shield and a drain wire in addition to ground, neutral and live conductors. I used a right angle iec which is nice since the power jack on the Crack is on the top plate. The male plug is Wattgate.