Ella sighting, or..., a new passive pre, or... teeing off with a three wood

Ella didn't go for Foreplay. My $80 a copy Telefunken 12AU7's in the Foreplay began to crackle, snapple and pop. Vibration? Impedance mismatch? Bad Karma?
So instead of Foreplay re-build #1236 I pulled the Goldpoint shunt attenuators out and put them in a Hammond box with Fava Beans and a nice Chianti.
Hooked up the Paramours whilst I sweated over the Ella.
So you want to hear nothing but 2A3? No buzz, no crackle, no tube rush? Just music? You got it. Goldpoint's $136, magnet wire $1.50, 4 RCA's $17, box $20.
But not using a pre-amp is kinda like leaving your Driver in the bag, isn't it? You know: 2 good swings will get to the green but you lay up 'cause the last hole you sliced it into the woods.
So now I'm struggling to attach what amounts to litz wire to 1/4" long tabs on the Alps pot in Ella. Using solder as glue. There's gotta be a better way. Got it. Let it cool. Tug on it a little. Okay. Close it up. Hook "her" into the system.
And the left channel sounds glorious!
Right channel RCA is bad. Fried, defective, who knows! And of course the 4 I put in the passsive were the last I had on hand. Ordered some more. Hurry up and go to the post office, Kevin.
Hey, Kevin. Percy get's $38/pound for Cardas solder. You and Ron Wellborne and parts Connexion get like $800. What's up?


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