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John East MM preamp replacing Stingray 3 EQ preamp?

tonymcbony

tonymcbony

Mar 21, 2006
676
526
#1
Hey peoples,

I'm loving my new SR4 HH Stingray but not a huge fan of the 3 EQ. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, I just find it a bit fiddly to get tones I like and much prefer the simplicity and tone of the 2 Band EQ.

I've read the John East Musicman Preamp is a good aftermarket replacement. I'd be going for the 4 knob model which has the Mid/Mid freq stack that has no effect on the circuit when left flat, but is otherwise a 2 EQ Stingray pre.

I'd like to hear opinions from those who've changed the stock 3 Band EQ to the John East 2 Band + Mid Preamp, and particularly those owners of the HH model. Was it very close to a 2 Band Stingray Pre? Was it worth the change? Is the Preamp now more useable, particularly the Mid?

Any info would be much appreciated as there is not much about in one place on this.
 
#3
I have one in my '88 Stingray and I really like it. It originally had a 3 band eq that I found hard to get a sound I liked. I switched to an old 2 band,much better, and a 2 and a 3 band Bartolini,better yet.It still didn't sound like a Stingray to me. I switched to the East and got what I was looking for. I still have to twiddle the knobs, like the two band MM pre there is no flat setting,but with the bass and treble boosted I'm getting what I want. With a little boost from variable mid it is even better and could be used for demolition.
 
#6
Well, I bought one and installed it. People with HH models should have no fear in regards to the length of the bushing on the pots and getting them through the wood and control plate.

I build pedals and preamps myself and the first thing I noticed was how extremely well-built the preamp was. It made me feel that the price was immediately worth it.

Sound wise it was just what I was looking for, stingray without the clack, sounding like the 2 band eq. So good! The mid eq is extremely powerful but I leave it in its off position most of the time as the bass and treble get me where I want most of the time. It would be excellent to fix issues in a mix.

What I found in different humbucker selections is that the outer coils setting sounds very close to a Jazz bass with both pickups full with the new eq. Just a better, smoother sounding bass. I don't have to fight the clack anymore and it doesn't lose the classic ray tone. I could not recommend the change enough!
 
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#8
tonymcbony said:
Hey peoples,

I'm loving my new SR4 HH Stingray but not a huge fan of the 3 EQ. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, I just find it a bit fiddly to get tones I like and much prefer the simplicity and tone of the 2 Band EQ.

I've read the John East Musicman Preamp is a good aftermarket replacement. I'd be going for the 4 knob model which has the Mid/Mid freq stack that has no effect on the circuit when left flat, but is otherwise a 2 EQ Stingray pre.

I'd like to hear opinions from those who've changed the stock 3 Band EQ to the John East 2 Band + Mid Preamp, and particularly those owners of the HH model. Was it very close to a 2 Band Stingray Pre? Was it worth the change? Is the Preamp now more useable, particularly the Mid?

Any info would be much appreciated as there is not much about in one place on this.
Click to expand...

Don't think more about it: go for it.
It's essentially a 2band, which I think is very warm, and then the mid control with sweep frequency control is extremely useful. I have two of them and love them.

Do it.

Oh, I just saw you already bought one :-)
 
#9
mcnach said:
Don't think more about it: go for it.
It's essentially a 2band, which I think is very warm, and then the mid control with sweep frequency control is extremely useful. I have two of them and love them.

Do it.

Oh, I just saw you already bought one :-)
Click to expand...

Yes, I did and I love it too! I know the fear of changing Stingray electronics is rife but if you're the tone of a two bander but with the option of mids, you couldn't do better IMO.

Have you happened to have used it in conjunction with a Nordstrand MM4.2?
 
#10
tonymcbony said:
Hey peoples,

I'm loving my new SR4 HH Stingray but not a huge fan of the 3 EQ. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, I just find it a bit fiddly to get tones I like and much prefer the simplicity and tone of the 2 Band EQ.

I've read the John East Musicman Preamp is a good aftermarket replacement. I'd be going for the 4 knob model which has the Mid/Mid freq stack that has no effect on the circuit when left flat, but is otherwise a 2 EQ Stingray pre.

I'd like to hear opinions from those who've changed the stock 3 Band EQ to the John East 2 Band + Mid Preamp, and particularly those owners of the HH model. Was it very close to a 2 Band Stingray Pre? Was it worth the change? Is the Preamp now more useable, particularly the Mid?

Any info would be much appreciated as there is not much about in one place on this.
Click to expand...


Necroing this thread... but I'm in the same boat. I have a recently acquired 2009 HH, and the stock 3-band is, well, pretty darned ordinary. The highs are super shrill (I leave them flat), mid is a weird frequency and it's missing a huge chunk of mids overall.

I've been looking at getting the John East 4-knob 3-band with mid sweep to solve this issue. No centre detent could be an issue though. I hover around flat or slightly boosted most of the time on my basses.
 

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