leschirons Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Thinking of putting a preamp in my Jazz bass. tried an East yesterday but have now decided on something else. The luthier suggested a ZAM pack to avoid any routing for a battery compartment. They're about 100 Euros here and would mean no more battery purchases. I could use it with any other active bass or electro acoustic I have already so, just wondered if anyone has one or had tried one. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 (edited) Never tried that... but the John East J-Retro01 preamp is very very good, and it [b]does not require routing[/b] as the battery fits in the control cavity under the preamp. They are more expensive than that, but well worth it... and you find them second hand relatively often on the FS forum for around £100. Really painless installation, you'll be playing with it in under 10 minutes. I see how it can be attractive to have a preamp you can use with any bass... but having an external box, cables... to me it defeats the object. I want something unobtrusive I can control from the bass... and the J-Retro is *the* preamp for a Jazz bass, for me. That parametric mid control is extremely useful. Edited November 11, 2012 by mcnach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1352643056' post='1865459'] Never tried that... but the John East J-Retro01 preamp is very very good, and it [b]does not require routing[/b] as the battery fits in the control cavity under the preamp. [/quote] Actually it depends on the thickness of the body. The Squire VMJ I used to own required me to make the control cavity another 2mm deeper to accommodate a J-Retro and its battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1352643777' post='1865471'] Actually it depends on the thickness of the body. The Squire VMJ I used to own required me to make the control cavity another 2mm deeper to accommodate a J-Retro and its battery. [/quote] That is true. Same on a Westfield Jazz I used to have. But a Fender should be fine... of course I have no clue whether the OP has a Fender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTractor Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1352645586' post='1865506'] of course I have no clue whether the OP has a Fender. [/quote] He hasn't. Read his sig fer cryin' out loud! best, bert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 [quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1352653970' post='1865642'] He hasn't. Read his sig fer cryin' out loud! best, bert [/quote] Bontempi Jazz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTractor Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1352718112' post='1866387'] Bontempi Jazz? [/quote] Now why do I feel inspired all of a sudden? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 Okay, I haven't explained myself properly. Sorry for that. Firstly I do have a Fender Jazz and I want to put a preamp in it. The luthier I use has a secondhand Sadowsky unit which he's sure he can get in. Seems worth a try as I have Sadowsky pickups on the bass. The battery compartment route is something I don't want so he has suggested a ZAM pack which is purely an outboard power supply which powers up the preamp through the lead. It can also be used with any other 9 volt active instrument I have so saves on batteries for two acoustics and the Status. With those, I'd still need to have a (supplied) dummy battery in place though. Just wanted to know if anyone had used one and if they were reliable etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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