Rowley Birkin QC Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Just after some advice here really. I have an East J-retro deluxe pre-amp to fit in my MIM jazz bass deluxe but was wondering if, at the same time, I should upgrade the pickups too from the standard. Would this be worthwhile, and if so, what would be a good choice? Any advice from the seasoned forum members would be welcome. Edited March 9, 2012 by Rowley Birkin QC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Ooh, the East pre will have brought that bass on in leaps and bounds. Loads of folks on here swear by the DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pups, but TBH, the East is brilliant on its own, personally I'd not bother changing the PUPs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I agreed no need to change the pickups if you have a J-retro. The J-retro can has such a great EQ that expensive new pickups aren't going to improve your sound by much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowley Birkin QC Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Many thanks for the input guys. I'd heard good reports about the East pre so ordered one last Friday. It's sat here in the box waiting to be fit sometime next week. It seems like it will improve the sound significantly which I'm really looking forward to, as I really like the way this bass plays. I wasn't sure whether adding new PUPs would be worthwhile, but it seems that it may not be worth the extra investment. Once again, I appreciate you taking the time to help out. Have a great weekend. Rowley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apa Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Another Jretro fan. Id also go for wizards if you where to replace them. Ive got 64s in a fretless with the jretro and just put a set of 84s in a VM. Love both. The 64s are smooth and rich but still clear and the 84s are nice and strong. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Lindy Fralin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowley Birkin QC Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 (edited) Hmmm. Ok, so a pretty definite message there from Ou7shined. As a respected member of the forum I'm sure there is sound reasoning behind the recommendation. Just checked them out and there would seem to be 3 types available at varying costs, so, of the 3, what should be my considerations, and what will be the benefits? Edited March 10, 2012 by Rowley Birkin QC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 [quote name='Rowley Birkin QC' timestamp='1331367836' post='1571873'] Hmmm. Ok, so a pretty definite message there from Ou7shined. As a respected member of the forum I'm sure there is sound reasoning behind the recommendation. Just checked them out and there would seem to be 3 types available at varying costs, so, of the 3, what should be my considerations, and what will be the benefits? [/quote] My reasoning behind it is purely down to my fantastic experience with them. I have a standard set in a bass with an OBP-3 (18v) and the tone is utterly, utterly awesome.... better than any combo in any Jazz I've had. Mine are fairly old and from memory are 7.6 (or thereabouts) ohms. Having a quick squint on the net, I'm not sure if you can still specifically get them. I've always fancied trying a split coil set but never got around to it. I'd recommend them to anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowley Birkin QC Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Apologies if it seems like I'm resurrecting an old thread here (but as it's less than a week perhaps that's OK) but thought I'd follow up on this. Just got the East pre-amp fitted this evening. Fairly straight forward, but was a little disappointed to find that a slight modification of the cavity had to be made in order that the control plate fit the the original holes and would sit edge to edge with the scratch plate. However. once all fitted and working It sound IMMENSE. I wouldn't have believed it would change to such an extent, but I'm over the moon with it. On the pickup issue I have left the originals in place for now, and, whilst there have been some informative opinions presented on the issue, I'm not sure the investment would improve the sound significantly over what I have now........but never say never! All in all it seems to have been a good investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Rowley Birkin QC' timestamp='1331676071' post='1577145'] Apologies if it seems like I'm resurrecting an old thread here (but as it's less than a week perhaps that's OK) but thought I'd follow up on this. Just got the East pre-amp fitted this evening. Fairly straight forward, but was a little disappointed to find that a slight modification of the cavity had to be made in order that the control plate fit the the original holes and would sit edge to edge with the scratch plate. However. once all fitted and working It sound IMMENSE. I wouldn't have believed it would change to such an extent, but I'm over the moon with it. On the pickup issue I have left the originals in place for now, and, whilst there have been some informative opinions presented on the issue, I'm not sure the investment would improve the sound significantly over what I have now........but never say never! All in all it seems to have been a good investment. [/quote] What did I tell ya? Ahem, cough, cough, saying that........I've just bought a set of Fender customer shop pickups which will be delivered next week I'll tell you how I get on. Edited March 19, 2012 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 The only bass of mine that I've left the stock Fender pickups in is the one with the East EQ, it really doesn't need an upgrade. The rest have Wizards in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowley Birkin QC Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1332200027' post='1584865'] What did I tell ya? Ahem, cough, cough, saying that........I've just bought a set of Fender customer shop pickups which will be delivered next week I'll tell you how I get on. [/quote] Yep, I now have a truly gorgeous sound without using outboard amp/cab simulators or even EQ (which always seemed to rob me of volume). Keep us posted on the upgrade. And, like Brensabre, I can't now really see the need to change pickups. Definitely worth the money. Edited March 21, 2012 by Rowley Birkin QC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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