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Welcome to the Bottlehead Community Page. One of the most important things about a Bottlehead kit is that when you build it you become a member of a community with a support structure second to none in audio. This is the place where we organize all the creative loose bits that community comes up with - talented Bottlehead's DIY upgrades to kits, construction tips, interesting schematics, photos of completed and modified kits, etc., etc., and so on. Need a tutorial on a the assembly of the kit you just bought? Dying to try out some of the mods you've heard about? This is the place to find answers.
Look for fellow bottleheads in your area on our Frappr map-
Photos posted to the Bottlehead frapper map by bottleheads from around the world -
A
S.E.X.y DIY speaker system to go with your S.E.X. kit!
NEW - a bit more advanced DIY speaker system - the Climax
Need to pack your Bottlehead gear for shipping?
PREAMPS
Foreplay III stuff
Manual errata
corrections to Foreplay III manuals through the 1-24-06 revision
the 5-16-06 revision and any after that incorporate these corrections
corrections to first version of Extended Foreplay III Upgrade manual
the 6-27-06 revision and any after that incorporate these corrections
Sweetest Whispers Stuff
Sweetest Whispers questions, with answers by designer Paul Joppa
Here's Ed B's tips on what to do if you goof up the positioning of the resistors on the Sweetest Whispers switch.
Getting a little bit of bleed through on the mute setting? Here's some tips
Switch cutting out at certain settings? Try this
Seduction stuff
Quest's Seduction Construction Page
Quest does it again with detailed coverage of the assembly of one of the first production Seduction phono preamp kits. This is required reading if you are considering buying the Seduction kit.
Wardsweb's Seduction Construction Page
Detailed assembly pics of another superbly crafted Seduction kit, this one by Luther Ward
Seduction tape head preamp mod
AMPS
S.E.X. amp stuff
Wardsweb's S.E.X. amp construction site
planetWav's S.E.X. amp construction photos
can you say "red"?
nice custom walnut chassis
pendergast's S.E.X. and Fostex system
buy two kits and make some PP monoblocks
Paramount stuff
gkennedy's awesome red based Paramounts
we don't support this at all, but that doesn't stop some folks from taking a stab at it. Remember, you're on your own with this mod - be very careful!
Legacy Products
Foreplay 1 and 2 Stuff
Here's master builder Quest's site, with detailed photos of the building of a Foreplay preamp and some great info on the art and science of soldering. This is a must-see if you're new to the kit building community.
Another cool website with lots of neat Foreplay mod ideas from one of the best known members of the Bottlehead tweakers community. Home of the snubbers, attenuator mods, pseudo dual mono power supply, etc., etc., etc. often mentioned on the Bottlehead forum. Once you finish your stock Bottlehead kit plan on spending some serious time here, there is an abundance of interesting things to try.
A very creative page showing Randy's heavily modded Foreplay and other audio projects
not just one, but three custom Foreplays and links to Foreplays by other talented builders
a beautiful cabinet upgrade - click on "'Valve Audio" in the menu
an interesting wesbite with lots of non - bottlehead stuff too.
it has "musical" written all over it
Wardsweb's customized Foreplay
A very cool looking new cabinet
Anticipation Stuff
Here's Voltsecond's notes on debugging the Anticipation
Sweet Whispers Stuff
Here's links to the original Sweet Whispers kit mods at Voltsecond's tremendous site:
+/- 1 dB Trimmer for Sweet Whispers Attenuator
Fixing the popping noise when adjusting the volume with a Sweet Whispers Attenuator
Single Series Single Shunt Stepped Attenuator + other attenuator ideas (with XLS spread sheet)Here's a nice simple JAVA program to calculate any impedance and step separation that you might want to modify your Sweet Whispers kit to.
AMPS
Paraglow stuff
Paraglow mod to avoid wear and tear on TJ Meshplates
PGP 8.1 power transformer installation notes
Here's info on how to install the bell end cover and also the terminal identification info of our versatile, exclusive MagneQuest PGP 8.1 power transformer
Paramour stuff
Wardsweb's Paramour construction site
An absolutely gorgeous set of Paramours, with super detailed assembly notes and lots of pictures. This is a must see if you are building your own Paramours, and a great look at what you can do to beautify any Bottlehead kit using a little elbow grease and some patience.
Super Bottlehead VS comes thru nobly, this time with the definitive repository of Paramour pics, tips, and links
Did you just get black Teflon wire in your Paramour kit? Here's why
Converting the Paramour to use 45 tubes
a Bottlehead expresses his feelings on the tube vs. SS debate
SPEAKERS
The updated Straight 8 crossover
This is the finalized crossover design for the now retired Straight 8s.
beautiful round tops on the mahogany cabinets and lots of pics of the assembly
other designs
This is the archive of all the DIY speaker designs we developed over the past five years, leading up to the design of the Straight 8 loudspeaker.
Systems
Technical Stuff
Resistor color codes
slick calculators to help you figure out any resistor substitutions you may find in your kit
uF to nF to pF and back again
some basic guidelines to get you up and running
A few basic tips to keep you from getting a jolt!