Missing input resistors on 5E3

[mnexsen]

I picked up a 5E3 build but it has a gain issue: even with the amp volume all the way down, the amp distorts way too early. There's no clean headroom and at any volume above headphone levels the amp goes into a harsh blatting distortion. I haven't done a lot of troubleshooting yet but 2 things jump out at me: The 68K input resistors between the input and the first preamp tube are missing, and the builder used a big 5 watt wirewound resistor for the 5K between the first and second filter caps. I'm guessing the 68K's need to be there, not sure about the wirewound.

[loudthud]

That 5W wirewound probably won't cause a problem. The 68Ks will take a little of the edge off but overall not make a huge difference. You may not even notice. The one nice thing the 68Ks give you is the option of the #2 input. If you are using a 12AX7 as the first tube, you won't have much headroom. The amp will distort before the Volume control is past 2. There could be other issues in the amp. A check of the voltages on the tube pins usually reveals the problem.