John East pre's...Thoughts?

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

Hullo! I recently got a VMJ, lovely bass, done all the upgrades that I was originally intending to do: Wizard 64's, Hipshot ultralites, Badass 3, black pickup cover over the neck pup...Sounds as awesome as it looks! Especially with the DR Black Beauty strings...Never fear, I'll upload some pics later today so you lot can drool over it...it's seriously a sexy bass, haha...Suppose I should get a black string tree/retainer from hipshot to complete the look...Should I get a 3 or a 2-string one? would it make any difference?

Anyway, on with the show...There's only one last upgrade left! I always intended on adding a marcus miller style control plate, but with the standard controls, simply because I think it looks the muts nuts...But it got me thinking, I'm quite interested in doing bass solos an such when I feel the time has come (In other words...once I'm confident enough in my ability to do so), and being able to tweak your sound on-stage mid-song is useful...so I think having an active/passive preamp on board would be a good idea, so I can just flick a switch to get a good lead tone/extra volume. I've been looking at the John East M-Retro, looks like it's exactly what I want! Only problem is I'm not sure I can really justify spending that much money on one, it's about £220 I think...Basically, what're your experiances with John East pre's in general? I don't want an actual fender Miller pre, doesn't have a mid control if memory serves...Dunno if I'd be able to get one even if I did want one come to think of it

Oh, couple of things...If I do get (an it's about an 80% chance I will, haha) the M-Retro, what would I do about the battery cover? I assume that's what the little square bit that's missing from the M-Retro is for...I'll be giving the bass to the Gallery to sort it all out for me, reckon martin would just make one for me? Of course I'm going to phone them at some point an ask anyway, jsut figured I may as well ask seeing as I'm here an all. Also (last question, I promise, haha) would you recommend wiring the battery as 18v or 9v?

Thanks in advance for any/all advice
Jack.

[Machines]

My first thought is that you'd be better off saving up and buying a Fender Miller Jazz ! You should be able to get one 2nd hand for around £650.

However, if you've grown seriously attached to that one then stick with it. If you do go for it make sure you keep all your original parts so if you ever do sell the bass, you can downgrade it back to standard as you NEVER get a decent price for an upgraded bass.

Also are there cheaper options than the M-Retro or are you set on that look ?

[badboy1984]

To answer your question:

Q) John East Preamp
A) They are very good altho many think is pricy but i think it worth every penny, i installed the J-Retro on my 60's Classic jazz and it turn the bass to a monster. Compliment on tone all the time from people. It do colour the sound a bit like abit of bass boost by default but i think is a good colour.

Q) 18v or 9v?
A) i would recommend 9v, i can't see any benifit of wiring it to 18v ......

Q) Battery cover?
A) i'm not too sure about the M-Retro but for my J-Retro their are no battery cover and neither do i have to mod the bass for the cover. Is just a direct replace for the control plate with the battery clip inside the plate ........ So everytime you change the battery you have to unscrew the plate to change battery ....... Not too sure about M-Retro, i say you better email john east, he will get back very quick.

[TPJ]

John's products are great IMO. They may seem pricey but you get a lot for your money, plus he's a great chap to deal with and is always keen to help.

I run 9v in both basses with East preamps (both U-retro deluxes). There's plenty of signal there.

You may have to look at your control cavity and have it modified to accommodate a battery.

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

I've played a couple of marcus millers, much prefer my bass atm. Don't know what it was, the preamp wasn't flexable enough, and I didn't like the look of the neck, the pale inlays on maple look silly to me, but oh well If I was gonig to get one I'd save up for a 5 string, cos the 5string Miller I played was pretty damn nice, but it cost way too much for me to afford at the moment! Plus I've already spent the money on the VMJ, don't wanna have to sell it on already ya know...It's my first bass that I've upgraded (Well, I say 'I'...I got Martin at the gallery to do it for me )
I'm mainly set on the look on the miller plate, I love the way it looks! It doesn't have to be the M-Retro in particular, but I want that style of plate on my bass...I might just buy/make a miller plate an fix the electronics to it, save me having to do any serious modifications to my bass! If anyone can point me in the direction of an alternative that perhaps isn't quite so expensive, I'd be most appreciative!

I don't think there is space in the cavity for a battery, plus when you look at the M-Retro and at the Miller basses, you can see where there's a little square bit just under the bridge where the battery goes.

It certainly does seem like a lot of money for just a preamp, no matter how amasing it is! I just can't imagine it'd make that much difference...But maybe that's because I've never really played anything with that expensive a preamp in it?

[OutToPlayJazz]

An expensive preamp can make a world of difference to a nice playing bass. Maybe worth a call to Status to see how much the vol/vol/treble/bass preamp from the Retroactive & T-Bass is. That's a serious super jazz pre.

I had the East U-retro in one of my Status S2's, but ultimately preferred the original 2 band Status unit. Just personal taste in that particular case, though.

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

Mhm, I guess it's worth a shot eh? no harm in asking after all...I'd have to have a mid with a variable sweep on it though, I love spending hours on end slightly adjusting my amp an basses to get the right sound! Anyone else you cna think of who does custom pres? I can always buy an aftermarket miller plate to attach it too...Hell, I'm pretty sure I could manage to make one myself!

[BigRedX]

Something to check first. IIRC the M-Retro is designed to be a drop-in replacement for the Fender MM Jazz which has a completely different control cavity route to the standard Jazz Bass, so if you're planning to fit one to your VMJ it won't be a reversible mod.

Even if you decide to go for the J-Retro which ought to be a direct replacement for the Jazz bass controls, check the cavity depth first. The VMJ I used to own had a slimmer body than a proper Fender Jazz and consequently the control cavity wasn't quite deep enough to take the J-Retro and required 1.5mm of extra depth routing out first (and then of course re-shielding).

[parker_muse]

Any opinions on the MM preamps?

[OliverBlackman]

The john east pre amps offer you a lot of option for cutting and boosting. Unfortunately for me they seem to have ruined every nice bass iv seen them installed on, they are far too artificial sounding and take away any character from the woods. But their great for cheeper basses which lack the wood.

+1 on saving up for a MM bass, i thought they were really good, not very versatile but they had a killer jazz tone that was consistent all over the neck

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

Hmmm, it all seems like way too much hassle to me...I might just get a black control plate an slap that on instead...I need to get the control cavity properly shielded anyway, may as well do it all at once
Thanks for all the thoughts an such Most helpful! I'm not going to bother with the john east...Sounds like it'll be too much money for not enough gain to me. I'm rather happy with the passive tone of the bass, I think it's a major reason why it's got a better sound than my other 2, active, basses

Hmm, actualy, maybe I should just get a sharpie an colour in the control plate black?

[molan]

I've got a couple of basses that came installed with East pre-amps and my only real criticism is that there's too many tonal options & I find it hard to stop fiddling with them!

[dub]

I have a MMSR in my stingray and like it a lot.
The best thing about John East Preamps is that they are very low noise with very good eq.
I can turn up the top end without getting a huge amount of hiss.
It works just fine on 9V.
You might consider 18V if you play really hard with a pick or slap a lot.
I would get one that will fit your bass without routing, still plenty of tonal variation.

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

I finally took some pics of my bass...So for those that were in any way curious, here ya go!




It's a shame the grain in the wood didn't come out quite as dark as it is in the flesh I almost forgot to flip the hipshot detuner thing up, would've looked like my bass had a wonky peg
I would quite like to get rid of the squier logo...Not so I can pretend it's a fender though, kinda irritates me when people do that...I was thinknig of putting a custom decal there or something. Anyone know how to remove them? I thought nail polish remover or something like that would work best?

[Spoombung]

I've got the stacked bass and treble/pull bright and sweepable mid on one of my basses.

I'm most critical of the bass pot. First of all there's no cut on the bass - just a massive 15db boost - [i]far[/i] too much in my opinion and the more you turn it up the less of the other frequencies you hear. I don't like the design and find it quite useless as it totally swamps and kills the tone.

I do like the treble though - and the pull bright works very well with low noise.

Critical, again of the mid control - it's difficult to pinpoint the frequency (I have no trouble on a Wal) because the pot goes way too high into the treble (all ready covered by the treble control) meaning the vital 300 - 800hz area is located in an infuriating nano- turn of the knob.

He has plenty of products so choose carefully till you find the one that suits you.

[Lfalex v1.1]

That looks like a familiar concept- here's mine (so far...)


I have an E-Pro in my Zoot. Tons of boost/cut and low noise, but the centre frequencies on the 3 bands (Bass, Treble, Bright) seem a bit off to me. Not my favourite EQ.

[bh2]

I have an East J-Retro in my 62 Jazz fretless... it really is a bass monster, superb, rich lows.... almost sub bass. I'd recommend to any JB player...

[JTUK]

I am a fan of John East pre amps...but agree like all EQ, you can go a bit silly as there is a lot of control there.

I never have to touch my amp and never have the bass beyond the centre, treble about the same unless I want to liven some dull strings up
but this is just a last ditch tactic, really. The key is the mid sweep.
The passive option is good, but I'd approach this from the stance that bass sounds good passive and going active just adds another notch. I would suggest a pre amp can rescue a bass sound, but if I was going active for that reason, I'd more likely change the bass.

[parker_muse]

[quote name='bh2' post='923386' date='Aug 13 2010, 12:01 AM']I have an East J-Retro in my 62 Jazz fretless... it really is a bass monster, superb, rich lows.... almost sub bass. I'd recommend to any JB player...

[/quote]

Bh2,

That thing has literally made me weep. One of the best looking basses i've ever seen. Must have cost you an arm and a leg!

[Prime_BASS]

You are under estimating how much the M-retro choice will eventually cost you, it'll end up costing the VMJ bass brand new, the gallery will have to route for the M-retro to fit and for a battery.

You'll be much better with the J-retro.

However I think for what you think you will eventually use it for, you'll be better with some kind of EQ/preamp pedal.

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

Gah, I'm such a moron! The thought of an EQ pedal never even crossed my mind! >.< That'd cover all my needs, and it's easier to stomp on a box than quickly flick a switch! Also there's no worries of it effecting my bass' tone while it's off...provided I get a true bypass one that is, but I always aim for them anyway...

Just out of curiosity...Are there any difference in passive circuits? do the high range fenders have better passive circuits than the squiers? I know bugger all about passive stuff, so forgive me my ignorance of such matters I need to get the traditional J bass knobs anyway, I don't like the chrome ones, they make getting back to that precise setting harder than it should be...

[bh2]

[quote name='parker_muse' post='923741' date='Aug 13 2010, 12:43 PM']Bh2,

That thing has literally made me weep. One of the best looking basses i've ever seen. Must have cost you an arm and a leg![/quote]

Well... not really... there's a bit of history. It was a wreck when I got it. Another thread perhaps.

[Veils]

I've only ever played one bass with a John East in it and it was absolutely brilliant. Superb bit of kit.

[Gunsfreddy2003]

Out of curiosity did you replace the original pickups too?

I was in a music store the other day and was advised that I should replace the pickups in my 74 jazz as they are old hat and technology and you would get a much better tone out of Nordstrands or similar. I was surprised by this as I actually like the tone from the bass and think that changing the p/ups would take the essence of the bass away!

I have however considered adding a J-Retro just for a better output and more EQ options.



[quote name='bh2' post='923386' date='Aug 13 2010, 12:01 AM']I have an East J-Retro in my 62 Jazz fretless... it really is a bass monster, superb, rich lows.... almost sub bass. I'd recommend to any JB player...

[/quote]

[bh2]

[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' post='924217' date='Aug 13 2010, 06:10 PM']Out of curiosity did you replace the original pickups too?

I was in a music store the other day and was advised that I should replace the pickups in my 74 jazz as they are old hat and technology and you would get a much better tone out of Nordstrands or similar. I was surprised by this as I actually like the tone from the bass and think that changing the p/ups would take the essence of the bass away!

I have however considered adding a J-Retro just for a better output and more EQ options.[/quote]

yes... I replaced them with a set of DiMarzio's, I don't recall the model type, it was back in the days (70's). Sounds fantastic with the east unit. I remember it was nothing special until I popped in the J-Retro. It was a case inhabitant for nearly a decade!