John East U-Retro in a PJ

[JimBobTTD]

Has anyone done this? I have a P bass with a J pickup at the bridge, so it is a PJ Precision rather than another kind of bass with a P and J pickup in it. 

The UNI PRE 3 Knob looks good, as does the older U-Retro. But does it fit in the cavity?

Whilst I could ask John East himself, I would likely be waiting for one to show up on the secondhand market. So it seems right not to bother him with this. 

[BassBunny]

Having got/had both a Uni-Pre and a U Retro I think you would struggle to get it all in the control cavity and that is without even thinking about the battery.

I have a feeling that all John's pre-amps are modular and I think he has been able to produce a 2 pick-up P-Retro which is exactly what you would need. I am sure I have seen one in the spec for an ACG but could be talking absolute boll*%$s.

A call to John could be the answer.

[JimBobTTD]

Thank you for your answer - it kind of matches my initial feelings. In fact, I have a slight hunch that I even tried a U-Retro in my P-bass body to check and the cavity was not deep enough, but I am unsure whether this happened or not.  

A modified P-Retro - a PJ-Retro, dare I say - would be rather good if it means that the bass's output matches my Jazz with the J-Retro in. The outputs of the two basses are so different that I find that it would be impractical to take both to a gig as my pedalboard and amp need fiddling with before I am ready to go. 

What I do not like about the P-Retro is the battery solution. If you show up to a gig and it is dead, you are rather stumped unless you flick it over to passive. With a standard battery solution, you just roll your eyes at your stupidity and pop a fresh battery in the bass. 

[woodster]

I have an Overwater PJ with a P-Retro in it and it’s an amazing preamp, I’m a big fan of John’s work!

i understand your point about the rechargeable battery but it lasts ages and charges quickly too so I just keep it topped up between gigs.