N64Lover Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 My John East J-Retro has always sounded very weak when I switch it to passive, a very low output and very thin tone especially in the higher registers. It has never been a problem because I always use it active but last night the battery finally packed in on a gig, I flicked the switch and suddenly I was playing a ukulele. I use Aguilar hum cancelling pickups right now, but I had the same issue with my previous Bartolinis. Surely the passive switch should just bypass the preamp and the pickups should sound as normal, but I am quite sure that the wiring is sucking out all the tone. Has anyone else had this issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 It's a problem with a lot of active onboard EQ brands for bass. I've found that Glokenklang preamps have the most natural sound, ie, the sound you get when having the EQ knobs in the center detent is pretty much the same sound when you switch to passive. No volume drops whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 When I had a john east pre (uni) when in active mode and the eq was flat or slightly tweaked if you switched to passive the output was the same. Obviously if the eq was significantly boosted going into passive the output would drop. But nowhere near what you describe. The passive output will obviously be lower but it shouldn't be as weak as what your getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 The passive output on my J retro is not as loud as the active but is pretty strong. The last time I had problems with my pickups sounding weak it was because I had wired them up out of phase. It might be worthwhile checking your wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Drop JE an email, I found him very helpful with mine even though it was 3rd hand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 My battery went flat the other day and I didn't notice until I tried to adjust the tone controls. Replacing the battery there was a clear difference in tone but nothing so huge you couldn't happily gig without the audience noticing. There's definitely something wrong here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 I've never had a problem with the difference in volume between flat and active and passive. If you are using a fair amount of tone shaping then active to passive will be a lot different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largo Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 My JE circuit is exactly the same, very low output in passive mode. Because of this, I never flick the switch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N64Lover Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 Must be a Scottish thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 I find the U-retro in my Sei to be very hot. The internal pickup trim pots don't bring the active level down to that of the passive pickups. It's not that the passive sound is weak or low output, it is similar to my other passive basses, it is just that the active is hot, and even with all the tone pots set to detent positions, there is a bit of a baked-in eq curve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 My j-retro can be set very hot, but I prefer it a only a little louder than the passive setting. Big Singles here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepbass5 Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 I have john's EQ in all my basses with pull passive on two and all fine. without digging out the install instructions I thought there was a balance pot inside to adjust to set this up the same, but as stated above out of phase will cause a problem but usually identified by panning the pups and listening for volume drop when sweeping front to back through the centre position Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 [quote name='N64Lover' timestamp='1478780831' post='3171557'] My John East J-Retro has always sounded very weak when I switch it to passive, a very low output and very thin tone especially in the higher registers. It has never been a problem because I always use it active but last night the battery finally packed in on a gig, I flicked the switch and suddenly I was playing a ukulele. I use Aguilar hum cancelling pickups right now, but I had the same issue with my previous Bartolinis. Surely the passive switch should just bypass the preamp and the pickups should sound as normal, but I am quite sure that the wiring is sucking out all the tone. Has anyone else had this issue? [/quote] The J Retro has internal trimpots to allow you to set the level. If it's high (and it can be very high!) then your passive level will be low by comparison. Not that the pickups are poor, just that the preamp is hot. Try to turn the level of the preamp down so that it matches the passive volume. Depending on your pickups you may achieve that easily, or the preamp may still be a bit hotter.. but it will hopefully not be by much. If your normal active tone boosts bass a lot (the bass control is boost only, so anything other than fully anticlockwise is boosting bass) then you will always feel a bit 'meh' when switching to passive, 'though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1479047201' post='3173496'] and even with all the tone pots set to detent positions, there is a bit of a baked-in eq curve. [/quote] That's why John offered two versions of the U Retro, one had the vintage sound of the J-Retro built-in, and the other one was a flat response version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Not had the volume difference on my ACG version ( and the guitar was built in Scotland ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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