I’ve actually been enjoying the Matsushita 12AU7 quite a lot. For the price, it’s one of the better 12AU7 tubes I’ve tried. Can be found for around $30 bucks or so.
For power, I’ve got a couple of RCA 6AS7G. I haven’t tried any other power tubes, but they seem to provide a lot of bang for the buck as well. Another tube choice you can find strong examples of for around $35 bucks.
I bought my power tubes from these guys. Great prices. Email for stock.
Without any comparison beyond what came with the crack I’ll say this guy is a beaut
Man that white pops! Looks great! What did you use on the wood?
Minwax Natural Wood Stain + Minwax Semi-gloss fast drying Poly (2 coats). Came out better than I thought it would. 
These were the two tubes that came with my Crack. Can you all help me identify them? The input tube is a 12AU7. But the most of writing was worn off so I can’t identify the manufacturer. The RCA power tube is marked 56-39 and I think it’s a 6080?. The other RCA tubes I’ve seen being sold have different numbers printed on them. So I wasn’t sure.
UPDATE. I think this is a Westinghouse 12AU7? Based on this listing
The top one looks like it could be a Hytron 12AU7.
Does anyone know what the wood with the kit is finished to? I was expecting something much rougher but it seems pretty smooth
Started the wood and finishing work today. Brought the metal parts to a coater to get finished. I also found some shielding paint from back in my guitar building days. Maybe ill have enough to shield the inside like others have done with the copper sheets
The long strips are then sent though a widebelt sander with the best face up where the last head runs a 220 grit abrasive. This is the final outside face.
Found this Reddit post in a Headphonesty article.
Good to know. If i knew that i would of done a quick 220 only to sure things up. Well i did a 150 then a 220, a little extra work but ill say it got things evened out and dirts and oils on the surfaced taken out. I wiped it down with naptha to clean it and raise the grain before a final pass and to see what it would look like with just truoil.
Its safe to say i just have a very plain jane piece which finalizes my finishing plans. I am going to bring it to my friend who sprays and am going to go for a transparent black. You can still see the grain but it will hide some of the darker streaks and knots.
Step 1 in the books. I had it laid out preglue im a wY that there was virtually no gaps, the wood is close but not perfect.
I asked my dad to help hold it since i dont have a box jig and i get it glued and near perfect, but he kind of heavy handed it and pushed a side in a little too much. At that point the glue dried just a little too much and i couldnt get two of the corners back flat. A little annoyed as my dad always tries to help too much and this happens a lot. But i knew the risk and i try to include him.
Im hoping the finish fills it in a bit
The clamps are on extremely light. Just touching to stop any glue expansion from pushing things out.
What glue did you use?
Wood glue would have given you a good half hour, at low temps longer.
Some older red bottle titebond. It wasnt fully dried but it was gummy enough to not want to squish out with pressure, or at least not without pressure that would of otherwise shifted everything else.
I was thinking of popping it apart and wiping it all off and starting again but the fear was parts of the glue would of dried enough too much to come off easy and that would be added thickness.
FWIW it’s the one thing I wish I’d followed the instructions on when I built mine, I used a box clamp when I glued, and I wish I’d used the tape on the outside of the corners as described in the manual, some glue got on the outside of the box, and getting it off was a pain in the ass because the wood likes to absorb it.
Worst case they sell the box parts separately.
I’ve done this on 2 Cracks and it’s 
Ill be very honest. I thought the manual only covered the actual amp build and not the box. I kind of went forward but some tape could of helped keep things in place
@Hazi59 Did you ever try the Tung-Sol 7236 with the Brimar CV4003? Any idea on what might be the best pairing with the 7236?
The best pairing with the 7236 to my ears is a tube that is warmer and spacious, as the 7236 is aggressive and forward. Something basic liked a Ken Rad 12AU7 or a GE 5 Star 12AU7 would be a nice pairing.
