NancyJohnson Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 (edited) If you know me, you'll know that I've tended to convert my passive basses to active via the addition of John East circuits; I reckon I'll installed maybe ten Uni-Pres in total (not all mine). About three years ago I put a Uni-Pre 3 in one of my Lulls (the JAX/NRT); the installation wasn't that straightforward to be honest, just problematic. John and I had a loooong conversation over the phone; he gave me a diagnosis that proved 100% correct (it was unrelated to the Uni-Pre and was actually a ground-wire issue on one of the pickups) and I fired up the soldering iron and repaired it while we were speaking. Oddly, the bass itself was generally fine, there was an intermittent issue where if I fiddled with the stacked mid controls too much the bass would make a noise not dissimilar to a theremin until I tapped the mid-pot a few times. Given the reliability issues, I tended to lean on other basses and left the Lull at home, thinking that at some point I'd just get another Uni-Pre and just swap it out. I decided to give John a shout. We exchanged emails, he advised me to take the mid-pot out of the circuit (there's a little jumper that allows this), remove it and send it off to him. I did this and a couple of days later I got the pot back (with a clean bill of health) and a new wiring loom. All fitted. Fantastic. I'd wager the bass actually sounds a little different too. I'd just like to convey that John's customer service here is off the chart. Legendary. I really have no doubt that had the issue been with one of the bigger manufacturers (ie EMG/Aguilar), I wouldn't even have got a reply from their service teams given the age of the part, but John seems to thrive on this stuff. He's all over Talkbass threads. 100% legend. What a bloke. Edited August 22, 2023 by wateroftyne 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oopsdabassist Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 (edited) I bought a Jazz pre from John many moons ago, Given I don't live that far from him he invited me over and I spent a wonderful afternoon in his workshop drinking tea and talking bass and electronics, he let me touch his vintage Fender P bass too, must be worth a fortune, but he wasn't fussed, lovely man!! Edited August 22, 2023 by Oopsdabassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 Agreed. Having discovered missing springs between the upper and lower knobs of a couple of ACGs that have passed through my hands, I emailed John who sent me out a bag of said springs at no cost. He has also quickly and thoroughly answered a couple of emails about technical stuff too. The more I use small, often one-person, outfits the happier I am, usually a quicker response and much more helpful than bigger companies/brands who are often simply varying shades of indifferent. I have had great service/advice from... John East Newtone Strings Effectrode Lusithand ACG (of course) Grace Design Rob Allen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 He was absolutely brilliant when I was enquiring about piezo bridges for a jazz bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 9 minutes ago, Geek99 said: He was absolutely brilliant when I was enquiring about piezo bridges for a jazz bass Same here. Most of my basses are piezo and he gave a lot of valuable advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 He’s a member here, someone should tag him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 Great that we acknowledge good service not just winge about poor service like some other forums/ fora. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafbass02 Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 I’ve had a few dealings with him too, and he’s been nothing but a gent and a legend every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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