SiriusBlack Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) need a bit of advice. i have an OLP MM5 Tony Levin (not the pink one. the other one) which i think has a terrible preamp. from what i have read pickup is rather good but i am not sure really. so i would like to mod it with a JEast preamp to start off with, and perhaps later replace the pickup with a Nordy MM5.2 (but not before i am sure that the pickup is as terrible as the preamp). when not plugged in, the bass feels, sounds, and plays really well. obviously it is not as good as a proper Stingray 5 but it is very solid. i like it a lot. when plugged it in, i have to turn a lot of knobs on the bass and on the amp to make it sound anything like decent. my question is should i upgrade/mod it with JEast or am I wasting time and money? cheers Edited April 5, 2016 by SiriusBlack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 If you're up for modding, I'd start by bypassing the preamp. If necessary, just wire the pickup straight to the socket. That'll tell you how much you like the pickup. Get the pickup right (easy to upgrade such a one) before worrying about the pre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmettC Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 The John East MM pre is great, if the bass plays nice then it can only be improved by the East pre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiriusBlack Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) [quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1459864935' post='3020352'] If you're up for modding, I'd start by bypassing the preamp. If necessary, just wire the pickup straight to the socket. That'll tell you how much you like the pickup. Get the pickup right (easy to upgrade such a one) before worrying about the pre. [/quote] my worry is that by bypassing the pots and caps might present me with a lack of resistance which is essential to the tone of the bass. so i might be hearing a sound which in a way is misleading. bottom line is, JEast is about £160 plus MM52 is about £110. is it worth investing that sort of money on an OLP. maybe it is. i need to find out i guess :-) Edited April 5, 2016 by SiriusBlack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiriusBlack Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 [quote name='EmmettC' timestamp='1459865243' post='3020356'] The John East MM pre is great, if the bass plays nice then it can only be improved by the East pre. [/quote] i agree. JEast preamps are really, REALLY nice. is an OLP worthy of such a preamp though (or even a new MM5.2 pickup) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigevilman Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 If the bass plays and feels nice, its always worth upgrading the electronics, whether its a £100 bass or a £5000 bass....just my 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) [quote name='SiriusBlack' timestamp='1459866026' post='3020367'] bottom line is, JEast is about £160 plus MM52 is about £110. is it worth investing that sort of money on an OLP. maybe it is. i need to find out i guess :-) [/quote] My personal theory on these things is that you'll see a more dramatic improvement from modding the electrics of a cheap bass than you would a more expensive one. It is worth remembering though that the value of the mods (pretty much regardless of how much you spend) is rarely reflected accurately in the resale value of the bass. Edited April 5, 2016 by Cato Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmettC Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 But you can always put it back to standard and sell the pre-amp seperately, or keep it for the next bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) These Tony Levin OLPs are quite rare. I remember when they came out an article with Tony Levin indicated he worked with the company to tweak the pre amp so they do actually have a 'Tony Levin signature preamp', always presuming someone else hasn't swapped it out previously. People say great things about the John East Stingray pre amp, which I have heard said is based on his 76 Stingray. However, information now coming to light from posts on the EBMM bass forum, based on company records shows there to have been a series of pre amps used on the pre EB basses - and up to a major upgrade in late 1978, they were all doused completely in epoxy - unless John's bass was one of those which went back to the factory for rectification and got the free pre amp upgrade as part of the work. Long and short, it's your bass, up to you to do what you like, but the pre amp should be a TL special rather than the standard OLP. Edited April 5, 2016 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Why not fit a Stinger pre-amp from Retrovibe. These are based on what is the "Holy Grail" of Stingray electronics, the Classic Stingray 2-band Active Tone Circuit. At £49 it is a much cheaper option and from what I understand they are supposed to be incredible. http://www.retrovibe.co.uk/stinger.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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