Purchasing a manual

[mcandmar]

I have an unusual request so i hope this doesn't sound cheeky, would it be possible to buy a kit without the hardware?  i.e. purchase the manual in a way that Bottlehead still makes the same profit as selling a kit, just without having to source and ship hardware?

Cheers,

Mark

[JamieMcC]

Interesting

[Doc B.]

Nope, it's not what we do. You would be better off contacting one of the Pauls to license a custom design.

[Alonzo]

Now that would be the way to go.  Would that be an inside or outside of BH exchange?

[Paul Birkeland]

It really depends on what somebody is looking for.  If you want something that's miles from what we sell, or related to a discontinued product, then it might be something that can be discussed on the forum.  (Like you want to build a Foreplay III with some strange tube)

In the case we have here where it's a matter of wanting a kit without hardware (is that just screws, nuts, and washers, or a chassis plate, or a wood base?), then it's a bit of a slippery slope.  It will actually take considerably longer to pack such an item, as the production-run style packing that we do requires reasonable consistency.  At the same time, someone buying a kit without some fairly major parts will expect a discount on the kit, despite the extra time it takes us for preparation. At the end of the day, there's also the support factor, that many of the pieces which make these kits fit together in the first place are abandoned, so supporting the end result gets pretty difficult. 

-PB

-PB

[mcandmar]

Nope, it's not what we do. You would be better off contacting one of the Pauls to license a custom design.

Fair enough, figured it was worth asking.

[Alonzo]

I was on a different tack entirely.  I was thinking more intellectual property vs physical.  Purchase of a schematic or design with some support and council for the construction, something more on the line of the old SR-45 where you (PB or JP) would supply the schematic and parts list and we'd take off with it.

[Doc B.]

Yeah, that's really not our business model. We sell and support full kits.

[Paul Joppa]

There are a number of popular, well-regarded designs on the web forums, which might satisfy the itch.  :^)

[Alonzo]

Not for a 45 headphone/small speaker amp with DC filaments and TL404 opts...I still can't get the filaments right 

[RayP]

Mark did not specify what he was interested in building. If it's a 2A3 direct coupled amp, perhaps he might take a look at Paul J's design at

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/set/messages/7/77500.html

I'm really tempted to build it myself but I've already got too many other projects on the go.

ray

[mcandmar]

I was thinking specifically about the Smash as i already have most of the main hardware.

I missed out on a couple of sets of TL-404's a few months back on audioasylum, they had me dreaming about Docs old headphone amp and modifying a Mainline to use them.  Never really seen 2A3's used as headphone amps, god dont tempt me!

P.S. Also surprised to see a tube rectifier in that circuit, thought you guys didn't like those?

[Alonzo]

The mainline is my fall back plan (first I have a Smash to finish, then a Tode).  I have plenty of 2A3's and 45 so I'd like to find a use for them, but I think it would sound great.  Now to find a use for OD3's...

[Paul Joppa]

...
P.S. Also surprised to see a tube rectifier in that circuit, thought you guys didn't like those?

The public-domain designs I've posted elsewhere are not Bottlehead designs, they were developed to meet the needs of specific individuals. One is a modification of Joe Roberts' interpretation of the WE91; I stucj as close to the Roberts design as possible while using parafeed and Magnequest iron - this was posted on the Magnequest forum. The other was a direct coupled design for a SET Asylum dweller who wanted to use a tube rectifier. I kept this one as simple as possible (it's not parafeed) and as stable as possible and used readily available Hammond iron. In both cases, I have stuck close to conventional design practices rather than push the specific technologies we use at Bottlehead (e.g. parafeed, current sources, shunt regulation, solid-state rectifiers ...) 

My Bottlehead designs get prototyped (sometimes more than once), tested, listened to, modified (almost always more than once), reviewed for buildability, cost effectiveness, and easy integration with our inventory, and eventually have detailed manuals written. None of these things happen with the non-Bottlehead designs, or rather the builder must take on those tasks and the associated risks.