John East pre-amp for Stingray?

[danny-79]

Just read a post and heard a bit about them, The John East Pre-amp for a Stingray, just googled it and came back with this : [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/East_Preamps_MMSR.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...eamps_MMSR.html[/url]
Just having an ask at who has one
What one did you decide on and why, (both my Rays are 3x bands so what would be best as replacement)
And how much work is involved in fitting one
Advantages to it over the stock EB pre-amp
(as much info as you got basically )
Thanks in advance an look forward to hearing about them. Dan

[ezbass]

Try this thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=101897&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=101897&hl=[/url] mcnach fitted the 3 band to his Ray.

Edited September 20, 2010 by ezbass

[danny-79]

This is what i was looking at for a direct replacement for one of my three bands, a Four band with the mid high & low.

[quote]BTB MMSR 4 Band Preamp by John East 3 knob, Volume - Bass - Treble - Mid/MidSweep



£157.50 Chrome, £172.50 with plate

The BTB-MMSR 4 Knob, including Mid Sweep, has been designed with characteristics very similar to the original MM Stingray© 2 Band EQ, but is not a copy of the original circuit. The original used a single op-amp chip (single amplifier stage in the form of a chip) for both bass and treble circuits, whereas this unit utilises a more modern dual op-amp chip (two amplifiers stages in a chip). The bass and treble are stacked which allows inclusion of a mid sweep, along with original MM style bass and treble, on a 4 knob plate. When the mid boost/cut is centered, its effect is neutral and the EQ is purely late 70s MM style.

This unit is supplied fully wired, including 3 single pots, 1 stacked pot, knobs, jack and battery clip, which may be spliced into an existing battery box, as would be available, in most cases.

· Single Knob - VOLUME

· Single Knob - Late 70s MM style TREBLE

· Single Knob - Late 70s MM style BASS

· Stack Knob - MID / MID FREQUENCY SWEEP (Mid Sweep 01)

POWER REQUIREMENTS: 9-18V, 2.5mA[/quote]


The power requirements 9-18V ? silly question (well not a silly question cause i don't no the answer to it) is it 9V or 18V ?. Would it run happily of one 9V battery but just for not as long as if it had the full 18V supply constantly to it, or would it need the full 18V (2x 9v battery fitted) to get the full potential out of it ?

Edited September 20, 2010 by danny-79

[mcnach]

On that thread quoted I went on about it enough so I won't repeat myself

I run mine on 9V.

The difference with a 3EQ is that with the mids set flat, the bass/treble are very very close to the 2EQ sound but -in my opinion- a bit more "tight" on the lows, less boomy. Then the mids are very useful because with the sweep frequency control you can home in the exact frequcny you need to boost or cut... simply boost or cut to max, and scan for the sweet/offending frequency, and readjust level of cut/boost knob as desired.

The bass/treble controls on a 3EQ are set differently from a 2EQ, as far as I can tell... so they sound different. No better, no worse, just different.

[jmesa]

^^^ What he said ^^^^

The trebles are slightly harsher than a MM pre (IMO), but you can always roll that off..

[danny-79]

[quote name='mcnach' post='962507' date='Sep 20 2010, 06:25 PM']On that thread quoted I went on about it enough so I won't repeat myself

I run mine on 9V.

The difference with a 3EQ is that with the mids set flat, the bass/treble are very very close to the 2EQ sound but -in my opinion- a bit more "tight" on the lows, less boomy. Then the mids are very useful because with the sweep frequency control you can home in the exact frequcny you need to boost or cut... simply boost or cut to max, and scan for the sweet/offending frequency, and readjust level of cut/boost knob as desired.

The bass/treble controls on a 3EQ are set differently from a 2EQ, as far as I can tell... so they sound different. No better, no worse, just different.[/quote]

Hi
Just read through the linked posted and just to clarify, you put the JE pre into your EB Stingray not the OLP (pretty sure thats correct)
Out of the three pre-amps that are listed on the page on the link i put in the opening post which one did you chose and how did you decide ?
I no that a two band and a three band Ray both sound totally different and with them stock you cant get one out of the other but with the pre amp that I'm looking at (the four band, volume - treble - stacked mids - bass) it can bee tweaked to sound like either and possibly something else.

You say that you run yours on a single 9V how long do you get out of the battery compared to the stock pre amp ? and have you heard of anybody who runs them on 2 ? or is there no need, much work involved in fitting them ?
Really don't no that much (if anything) about them so as much info as you guys got much appreciated

[mcnach]

[quote name='danny-79' post='962536' date='Sep 20 2010, 06:57 PM']Hi
Just read through the linked posted and just to clarify, you put the JE pre into your EB Stingray not the OLP (pretty sure thats correct)
Out of the three pre-amps that are listed on the page on the link i put in the opening post which one did you chose and how did you decide ?
I no that a two band and a three band Ray both sound totally different and with them stock you cant get one out of the other but with the pre amp that I'm looking at (the four band, volume - treble - stacked mids - bass) it can bee tweaked to sound like either and possibly something else.

You say that you run yours on a single 9V how long do you get out of the battery compared to the stock pre amp ? and have you heard of anybody who runs them on 2 ? or is there no need, much work involved in fitting them ?
Really don't no that much (if anything) about them so as much info as you guys got much appreciated [/quote]


Yes, I installed it into my Stingray. Although I do have the very one you quote (4 knob) too, in my drawer... it was meant for an OLP, but with my imminent acquisition of a MM SUB5, I think it'll probablygo there instead.

As far as I can tell, all the SR preamps are the same... they're based on the 2EQ, plus a mid-sweep module if you go for the 3-band options. In other words, the JE 3-band is not like the Stingray's 3EQ and will not sound like it... it'll sound like a 2EQ with extra "tweakability". So the choice is purely how many knobs you want. I went for the 3 knob one because I didn't want to drill a side hole on my Stingray. I got the 4-knob one for my OLP because... that's the version I found for sale on the for-sale section of basschat!

Ah, there's another difference between teh 3 and 4 knob one... bear in mind I haven't yet installed the 4-knob one, but as far as I can tell, the 4-knob one have separate bass and treble controls, neither of which have a centre detent: like the original 2EQ. However the 3 knob version have stacked bass/treble, and that one DOES have centre detent positions, although they do not entirely correspond to a flat position (I asked JE to put a bypass switch too, so I was able to tell the difference).

[mcnach]

[quote name='danny-79' post='962536' date='Sep 20 2010, 06:57 PM']You say that you run yours on a single 9V how long do you get out of the battery compared to the stock pre amp ? and have you heard of anybody who runs them on 2 ? or is there no need, much work involved in fitting them ?
Really don't no that much (if anything) about them so as much info as you guys got much appreciated [/quote]

I forgot to reply about this!

I don't know how long the batterly lasts, on the JE, original, or the SD I have on one of my OLPs... they last months of regular use, for sure. I check it with a multimeter sometimes... I know that by the time it measures 8.4V on my Warwick Corvette $$ it sounds bad. But that's the thing, it does't sudenly die, you'll hear sound degradation, so you can change the battery before the bass is unusable. I tend to change battery every 6-8months just to be on the safe side (for a bass I use everyday... for others I may leave them on well over a year), although when I have a bypass switch (the Stingray now, and my Warwick) I don't worry so much, because in case of trouble I can get by in passive mode. If I have an important gig I'll probably change the battery if it's been already a few months, just to have peace of mind.

Batteries last a long time... and an 18V one won't last any longer, unless you hook the two 9V batteries in parallel... but then it's not 18V anymore, but 9V...
The choice between 18V and 9V will be based on sonic differences... if you can tell the difference. I'm happy with 9V.

The JE preamps are dead easy to fit. All the work has been done for you.

Edited September 20, 2010 by mcnach

[danny-79]

Thanks for that.
As far as i can work out the the one i was looking at is the 4 band eq and if I'm right should run in the same order as the stock 3 band that is already on my rays, for pots going
Volume ----> Treble ----> Stacked pot, Mids ----> Bass .... Jack plug on the side of bass
Well thats the order that there in now minus the stacked mid pot, just a standard single mid pot, all three have center dents but can live with out that.
The information on there page (well the page i was looking at as in the link i posted) really isn't that clear, i hear what your saying that it will run just fine on 9V but if you give it a full 18V (2x 9V batters running in parallel) is that going to give you maximum potential out of it ? you no yourself when a new 9V battery drops down in charge a bit to 8.4V there is a huge difference in performance so the brief description in the advert specification is bit brief lol, bit of a difference between 9 an 18V
Can see it being a hastle fitting it to run 18V (routing out the body to take bigger battery box etc) but wold the end result be worth it ?

Another question, fitting, is it as simple swapping solder joints on the pickup an battery , appreciate that it comes ready assembled so I'm guessing that thats about it to fit it
Thanks again.

[simon1964]

+1 to mcnach's posts. I fitted the three band to my Stingray and it really is a fantastic bit of kit.

As to battery life, I run mine on a 9 volt battery. Its been my main gigging bass for the last year, and I can only remember changing the battery a couple of times. Even then it wasn't because the battery had died - I just changed it as a precaution. I certainly haven't noticed that it gets through batteries any quicker than the stock pre.

John East's customer support is first rate, by the way - when I've bought his stuff he's emailed me back by return with any technical queries.

Edited September 20, 2010 by simon1964

[danny-79]

Thanks all for responses so far, its still something that I'm looking into, thinking the way that I'm going to go is going to be the four band as a direct replacement for the three band that is already there ?, from what i can make out the only major difference being the stacked MID pot with high and low rather than just the one with an indented neutral point.
Just need some suggestion on the powering, a single 9V seems to be the general way to go just want to no if anybody has gone the whole hog an powered there upgrade with the full 18V ? and even if there is any point in even doing so ?