Harlequin74 Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Hi all Having traded with the excellent Frank from Belfast, i have a very nice Fender Jazz 70's reissue, but want to improve the tone and flexibility of the bass. I want to upgrade the pick ups, and could really do with some good advice! Also planning to fit the John East J-retro preamp. Any thoughts or advice from the wise heads here, much appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 If you're set on fitting the East, do that first before changing the pickups. You may find that does all you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Like he says,get the J retro first and you'll not need to upgrade your pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LewisK1975 Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Yep - my USA 75ri had a J-retro fitted when I got it, but I'm not really into active Basses so I replaced it with a Kiogon loom and sold it on. No doubt it's a great piece of kit though, and really easy to fit. As said above, put it in before replacing the Pickups, it'll do all you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 An excellent upgrade would be to fit a set of straplocks. The other halves are on their way to you now. Sorry for the delay. I couldn't face the queues at the Post Office over the last month or so. Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harlequin74 Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 Thanks all, i was thinking it was the other way round. Pick ups first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 No, I'd follow the advice of others on here and do the pre-amp first. I'd say it's best to make one upgrade at a time - that way, if you're not happy, you know whether to swap back. If you do both at the same time, it's harder to judge what each upgrade is doing - so if you're still not quite 100% happy, you don't know which change had what effect, and which to change back - or both! Like Lewis says above, I'm not a fan of active basses either. But if you are set on fitting the retro pre-amp - do that first. Personally, I use a Pre-amp pedal, and I get all the additional control / frequency boost I want from that. This way, I don't have to add a pre-amp to each of my basses (I have too many, I know!) But also, I'm only concerned with having one spare pre-amp battery. And if I sell a bass on, I don't have to start retrieving components I want to keep.... I did change the pickups on my Roadworn Jazz - the stock ones were fine, but someone locally was selling an old 70's / 80's set of DiMarzio J pups -so I thought I'd give them a whirl... and boy, are those old DiMarzios very nice! Great, punchy sound, high output, without any additional noise, and still sounding vintage... Obviously, it's your choice & preference, but I find the Pre-amp / D.I. Pedal works for me Good luck PS. Nice basses those 70's R.I.s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harlequin74 Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Thanks Marc S, great advice. Which pre amp pedal as a matter of interest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 (edited) Sorry I've only just seen your question Harleqin74 I use the MXR pedal. It also has a distortion function, with an extra footswitch. I don't use it often, but it's there & it's handy You can set the distortion to a low setting, and pump up the gain..... Not tried one myself, but there's a lot of love for the Sansamp on here. I actually started with a second-hand Behringer. It was under a tenner! And though it's a bit noisy if you set the treble up high - it's not bad at all. It was cheap, so I just keep it as spare, and use it for the odd gig here & there.... Think they're about £25 new - so might be worth it, just to try one out? Edited February 14, 2017 by Marc S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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