What comes in a Bottlehead kit?

What comes in a Bottlehead kit?
We build our kits to include all the pieces and components you need to assemble your new Bottlehead gear. That doesn’t include tools, so check this post for the basic tools we recommend. In this post, however, we’ll provide more details about what we provide in each kit.

The Manual
The moment you place an order, we shoot you an email with download links to our best-in-class manuals. Each manual walks you through steps you’ll take to prepare, assemble, and test your new amplifier. Here’s a more detailed peek into a Bottlehead manual.

The Wood Base and Chassis Plate
Bottlehead’s signature look over the past thirty years has included our signature Pacific alder bases and laser cut aluminum chassis plates. 

We know Bottlehead amplifiers become a part of your home’s aesthetic, so we have our bases made specifically for us by Harmonic Designs in Washington. They include a rabbet along the top that the chassis plate rests in and are milled with consistent 45 degree miters to give you tight, premium corners typically found in high-end furniture. Alder takes stain well, so you should be able to paint or stain your base to your liking. John Rutter at Harmonic Designs has also taken custom base orders in the past, or you can find a custom wood shop in your area to build you a new one. Just be sure to make the bases at least four inches tall to accommodate the components underneath, and add feet to lift the base off the table and get enough airflow.

Our chassis plates are designed in-house by our techs and are laid out in the optimal layout for part efficiency, noise reduction, builder friendliness, and (where possible) upgradeability. We have them laser cut to spec, and we apply a light grain pattern on the topside. We recommend a clear coat on the plates at a minimum, but our builders often paint, powder coat, or otherwise decorate them to fit their tastes. 

Chokes and Transformers
Bottlehead’s proprietary power transformers were designed by Paul Joppa and are manufactured in the US by our partners. We supply all the power transformers, output transformers, and plate chokes you need to get up and running. 

Some of our kits, like the Eros 2, can use step-up transformers to achieve different use cases. We do not provide those transformers, but we can point you in the right direction in our forums.

Most of our kits use a universal power transformer that can be wired for nearly every country’s mains voltage using instructions we provide in the manual. We send a US-style power cord in every US-bound kit, but international customers will need to provide their own. Any power cord with an IEC C13 inlet plug will work. 

Hardware
Each kit contains the screws, nuts, bolts, terminal strips, knobs, jacks, and feet required to complete amp. Builders often customize their kits by finding different knobs and feet. Black screws and nuts can be found at online retailers like McMaster Carr or Amazon if preferred.

Electronic Components
We provide all the resistors, capacitors, wire, transistors, and tubes you’ll need. We try to provide a little extra wire in every kit to account for a couple errors. We provide the tubes we’re able to obtain, so we’re unable to tell you in advance which brand we have in stock.

Builders love to upgrade their kits using boutique capacitors and high-end tubes. We haven’t found a way to provide options at a better cost than what you can find online, so we don’t currently offer these upgrades ourselves.

Optional Accessories and Upgrades
We offer a wide range of accessories, ranging from badges (note: Unfortunately, Shopify doesn't allow us to roll badge shipping costs in with kit orders, so that artificially inflates your shipping charge. International customers should let us know if they want a badge by putting a note in their order. We'll send an invoice.) to leg kits, to enhance the look of your kit. 

We also provide a number of upgrades to add new capabilities or improve your sound. We recommend building your kit in its stock configuration first and adding any upgrades later. This ensures that the basic kit is working as intended and provides a baseline sound to compare. 

Hopefully this overview helps you understand what you get when you buy a Bottlehead kit. Hit us up with any questions you have, or ask on the forums.