Considering a East J-Retro Deluxe

[mozarwasagenius]

Can anyone familiar with the unit comment on it?...

I'm curious if you feel it is worth the price ~$350

is silent in terms of hiss.

how is the tone and control thereof?

Do you find there to be too much control?

Thanks

[warnan]

+1 East pro j retro deluxe.
I have owned j retro deluxe, delano sonar 3ms, audere classic 4b, kent armstrong mm3, and glockenklang 3band(for 2months), j retro deluxe is most powerful onboard preamp to my ears. and the custom service is superb.

[mozarwasagenius]

Originally Posted by warnan

+1 East pro j retro deluxe.
I have owned j retro deluxe, delano sonar 3ms, audere classic 4b, kent armstrong mm3, and glockenklang 3band(for 2months), j retro deluxe is most powerful onboard preamp to my ears. and the custom service is superb.

By "powerful" do you mean in terms of tonal control, useful tones, signal strength or something else?

I appreciate your perspective based on how many of the aftermarket preamps you have tried!

[warnan]

Originally Posted by mozarwasagenius

By "powerful" do you mean in terms of tonal control, useful tones, signal strength or something else?

I appreciate your perspective based on how many of the aftermarket preamps you have tried!

yes, i could get most tone that i want to get. that's what i mean 'powerful', very versatile. somebody said that it has a noise problem but i haven't met. I use aaron armstrong hum canceling pickup so...it is quiet. the cheapest is kent armstrong MM3 preamp distribute by wdmusic.com and i think it is designed for live.

[mozarwasagenius]

soliciting more opinions

[bassybill]

I have a regular J-Retro (not the deluxe) in my main bass and I woud replace it in a heartbeat. It's just a great design and it's really helpful to me to be able to set my rig at a baseline tone for a gig depending on the room and then dial in whatever sounds I need during the set straight from the bass with it's brilliantly thought out control and EQ options. I would never have believed it possible to get so much flexibility mounted on to a J bass bell shaped control plate until I tried this. John East is the man.

But is it totally silent? NO. That's impossible with any circuit that adds gain to your signal. I can hear some hiss introduced when I flip in the pre-amp at high gain settings in a quiet room at home. Can I hear it on stage in a gig situation, or does it make the bass noticeably noisier when recording? Not at all.

[J.Wolf]

I'm curious if you feel it is worth the price ~$350 I think its very well built from high quality materials, and the pots feel very smooth.. Its more bucks than other pre's, but its feature set kinda makes it unique enough to say that its worth it if you want those features,

is silent in terms of hiss. not silent when I owned one, not as quiet as some other pre's I've heard, when treble is boosted I hear slight noise

how is the tone and control thereof? Amazing control IMO. love the frequency points and the parametric mid control is great

Do you find there to be too much control? not for me, I like being able to conjure as wide a range of tones as possible from any given bass. But for some who like things simple and more pure, it may feel like overkill.

overall, I like the East pre alot. It is not the most neutral sounding pre on the market, and it definitely imparts a tone of its own to whatever bass it goes in, but for what it does, its very hard to beat. The fact that there are more quiet units out there is only an issue for me if I were planning on boosting alot, especially the highs, which I do no typically need to do. But expense, complexity, noise, and my love of several other onboard circuits factored in, the U retro is still going on my incoming custom

If you had a jazz bass and really wanted to stay close to the current tone with a little added flexibility, I would vote Audere. If you really value powerful tone shaping, J retro all the way.

[Josh Pelican]

I'm with you, mozarwasagenius. I'm considering getting the J Retro (not deluxe), but I can't decide between that and the Audere JZ3. Are the switches on the J-Retro for mid-frequencies and active/passive? If this is incorrect, I am confused on the settings of the preamp.

I am building a jazz with parts and might have a '62 reissue body coming to me. I just don't know which preamp will be better with the pickups. I'm stuck deciding between Aero, Nordstrand, Bartolini, DiMarzio Model J, Seymour Duncan Antiquity II, and Villex. I know Villex work well with Audere (according to Garry Goodman and William Villex). I should probably figure out what pickups I want, too...

All of those pickups get such amazing ratings.

[J.Wolf]

Originally Posted by Josh Pelican

I'm stuck deciding between Aero, Nordstrand, Bartolini, DiMarzio Model J, Seymour Duncan Antiquity II, and Villex.

Those are all gonna sound so different. I would figure out what tone is most in line with your goals, and then ask around (especially with David Meadows, maker of Audere) about how your pickup of choice will pair with the Audere.

Hard to go wrong with an Audere, they're great preamps too, just pretty different from a J Retro

[Josh Pelican]

Yeah, I'm still working on that list. I want that typical jazz growl with a bit more bite to it. Lots of punch. Finger or pick, I still want to have crisp highs with tight lows.

Depending on the pickup, I can still tweak the preamp(s) to give me a wide array of tones.

I'm still thinking it over, and I've heard many people say the J-Retro preamps are worth the money... but at nearly double the cost of the Audere, it's hard to say if it's for me. I like being able to switch up my tone with different genres, but it seems like the J-Retro just has so many options.

[J.Wolf]

Originally Posted by Josh Pelican

I want that typical jazz growl with a bit more bite to it. Lots of punch. Finger or pick, I still want to have crisp highs with tight lows.

hmm... YMMV, but given that info: I'd go with Fralins

[Josh Pelican]

I forgot about Fralins. I've only heard soundclips and read reviews, but they seem like pretty sweet pickups. I always liked their telecaster pickups, too.