At last, it’s finished!

[Silky999]

My Warwick Rockbass Corvette is finally finished and all working. It started out as a 2009 Rockbass Corvette Basic 4. The previous owner had the truss rod repaired and an ebony fretboard fitted at the same time. 

I stripped the original finish and hand sanded it with oil. Then the preamp wouldn’t work so I decided to upgrade to a John East Uni-pre 4 running at 18v along with some Dimarzio Model J pickups. 
 

Got it back from the luthier as the pot holes needed enlarging and wiring isn’t my strong point. it sounds so much better with more punch and definition but still has that Warwick growl. It’s much more versatile now. I can’t recommend the East preamp more highly. The luthier also commented on being able to speak to John East on the phone about some wiring queries. The Model Js have a decent output for passives and for the price are fantastic.   

From this;

To this;

[uk_lefty]

Great stuff! I'm thinking of adding a pre to my Warwick Corvette fretless. It's currently passive but I think it wants that extra boost... 

[Silky999]

I’d really recommend the East Uni-pre. I managed to find a pre owned one about half price on flea bay. As I said, the only headache was enlarging the pot holes from 7mm to about 9mm for the concentric pots. I wasn’t confident to do it myself especially after spending weeks doing the oil finish so got Richard Pilkington at Reading Guitar Repairs do do that and fit the new pups and preamp at the same time. If you’re handy, I’m sure it isn’t that difficult. The instructions with the East are very clear. It does need copper foil put in the electronics compartment to ground the pots against not just the usual paint but that was a couple of quid.

[bloke_zero]

Looks great! I really like my John East MM pre. John is a great person to deal with. I emailed a couple of questions, one of which was to do with an un documented jumper and he came back really quickly with a useful answer about how it was for non-standard MM pickups, so not just good communication, but also flexible design!  I heard nothing but good things about the uni-pre.

[Silky999]

The luthier was really impressed with John East’s customer service and actually spoke to the man himself on the phone about some jumper questions. 
 

if anything the uni-pre is too adjustable with its little circuit board dials for bottom and top bass freq. selection and treble freq selection as well as pots

[bloke_zero]

I guess that stuff is set and forget, I think it can be really useful for really tailoring the pre to the bass. But I do agree - too many options can be counter productive. Especially on stage where doing much more than rolling off the treble is a bit of a challenge for me!

[Silky999]

I’ve put some tapewounds on and I think I have found my perfect sound. The Model Js and tapes just really seem to gel. 

[3below]

10 minutes ago, Silky999 said:

I’ve put some tapewounds on and I think I have found my perfect sound. The Model Js and tapes just really seem to gel. 

I have used model Js in 3 different basses (2 Corvettes and currently a Chowny SWB1) with TI flats.  A great combo imo.