NPD. New Preamp Day

[Skinnyman]

I bought a Dingwall Super J through marketplace last year. A great bass but I always found it a bit.... Meh at times. The Glockenklang preamp fitted was crackly and very binary - either full boost or a very muted sound.

Now, I'm sure that there's a reason for this and I may have been able to sort it out but I decided to treat myself to a new John East preamp, the uni-pre.

Simplest thing in the world to fit as everything has a screw connector. You should be able to fit it without soldering although in my case, I needed to extend some of the ground wires.

While I was at it, I took the opportunity of giving it a good strip down and clean and put some new strings on.

And wow, what a difference! The preamp is utterly silent. No hum, buzz or ground noise at all. There's a load of adjustability on the pots (although I'm using it at factory settings) and the tonal range is excellent.

If I have a minor gripe it's that the control knobs stand quite proud and I should really disassemble it all to reseat them slightly lower - but I can't be bothered. So really, my gripe is with myself and not the preamp.

So, in summary, I'm really pleased. Can't wait to try the Ding out properly at this weeks rehearsal and see how it sounds in a band mix.

[Muzz]

I put an East U-Retro in my ABZ, and while it was a very nice bass to start with, it's raised the bar considerably. Mind you, I'm a big U-Retro fan - I have one in all my main basses.