John East makes the best Preamp in the world PERIOD - I have been a sadowsky fanboy (and have played almost every other preamp out there) and I will tell you the John East blows all of them out of the water!! Yes they are expensive and but worth every penny!
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I've really been debating switching out the original 92 preamp in my stingray for their 70's stingray recreation preamp.
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I used to have the East J-Tone and currently have the 3 band stingray preamp. Both are excellent.
Thank you for the info, I didn't know.
I love my UNI PRE, but I wasn't completely sure it was the best preamp in the world, because I honestly haven't tried all the alternatives. I'm glad you could test all the competitors, it must have been very time consuming so thank you for this.
Yep, 30 years playing bass and having owned and played 40+ basses, there are probably only a few preamps I have not tried that I can count in one hand....but the John east gives you everything you need and more......
I have a John East pre on my Custom Roscoe and just installed a jazz preamp for my Sadowsky Will Lee.....this is high end product Folks!
Have you tried the Underhill Filter preamps? Another favorite of mine.
I have East pres in three basses. One came with it as an option and two I installed myself. They not only sound great, but have a bunch of different settings that make them super versatile as well. I love them.
Yes and I love the fact you can tweak them extensively. And the installation is super easy. Super quiet too!!
J Retro Deluxe with the prescoop is the one of my favorites.
Yup, since Audere went outta business that's absolutely true
In all seriousness, I hear nothing but good things about the JE stuff. On my list to check out sometime (when money permits lol)
Yup, since Audere went outta business that's absolutely true
In all seriousness, I hear nothing but good things about the JE stuff. On my list to check out sometime (when money permits lol)
I've had a couple of Audere pres, had the Z model and a jazz 4 knob. sounded great, not amazing but the thing i hated the most was that you could not make it passive.....I even called the owner a couple of times....too bad they are going out of business.....not a bad pre
I have an ACG/East EQ-01 filter preamp in a Dingwall and it is sublime.
[QUOTE="ragetoca, post: 29227045, member: .but the John east gives you everything you need and more......
[/QUOTE]
I haven't used a John East Pre but yes have read reviews and listened to some demo's most all very Positive
Gtirard like me are not impressed by forced assertions
Only tru assertion would be "for me" I tried/played many different preamps and John East are my favorites by a wide margin YMMV
Glad you found your 'Holy Grail' preamp
[/QUOTE]
I haven't used a John East Pre but yes have read reviews and listened to some demo's most all very Positive
Gtirard like me are not impressed by forced assertions
Only tru assertion would be "for me" I tried/played many different preamps and John East are my favorites by a wide margin YMMV
Glad you found your 'Holy Grail' preamp
The best is subjective but he's definitely up there.
- Apr 18, 2008
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Was going to ask just this. Or the JTEX? Or the Lusithand filter?
“There are more preamps in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Joe.”
I haven't used a John East Pre but yes have read reviews and listened to some demo's most all very Positive
Gtirard like me are not impressed by forced assertions
Only tru assertion would be "for me" I tried/played many different preamps and John East are my favorites by a wide margin YMMV
Glad you found your 'Holy Grail' preamp
[/QUOTE]
Of course! based on my experience, which has been an extensive one, I've owned and played A LOT of basses! but at the end of the day is subjective and personal taste/preference
Oh, thank you!
Good to know that "Best of the world, period" is synonym of "subjective"
I'm French, Talkbass is a great resource for me to improve my English vocabulary.
I do have basses with East preamps but I have to disagree on the OP
The best is relative once you get to a certain level. Is it the best because of features and tweakability or because of the tome or feel it delivers. You have to define what the criteria is and possibly even though subjective come up with a scoring system how you concluded that to be
One thing is that they are not super quite as the OP suggested. , In fact you need to fully shield your bass if dropping in a an East system and that's one thing John will tell you . It is not the top one for being quite .
However for the Jazz and Uni versions he offers this:
Bass, Mid Sweep and level Treble
Active Tone with push pull active
Great Active Balance
Inside the bass controls
Bass and Treble center frequency/ character controls
Per pickup gain controls
Pre Scoop
Bass boost only mode
Fast capacitor swap to change the passive tone of the bass (probably the only one that offers this )
Tone tweakability is probably won by Alembic and possibly Lusithand following next
If you add a stone styler, you will beat it with the capacitor adjustability
EMG is probably the quietest and with their pickups the most full range hi-fi
Where John definitely excels is on the no modification Jazz plate and to me the J-Tone is the best there is. Yes no mid control but has a passive mode and passive EQ It is like a Sadowsky preamp but has the ability to , change the bass and treble character and capacitor change, boost and cut on the bass and trbel with the ability to do a boost only mode , overall gain and the ability to change the passive character via capacitor changes. It truly beats everyone else in the no modification jazz plate drop in.
John is also the obly resource for a Marcus Miller Jazz bass replacement, String Ray update ( and he improve on it) and even a P-Bass upgrade. And he is the competitor to what Lusithand offers in the filter preamp business and support for multi coil pickups.
For transparency Audere . Knoll and Sonar from Delano
I have had an active preamp bass since 1987/88 and that bass preamp is still working. By Bartolini.
Others I have tried or auditioned and some I own still (I have more ponboard reamps than basses) * not owned just played
Alembic and the Kawai copies *
Trick fish in new Foderas *
Michael Pope
Tune Japan (they use the same 3 band in many models)
A few Bartolinis, 2 to 4 band
Audere jazz plate drop in
Sonar
Knoll
Richter
Lusithand Filter and 800RB
Nordstrand 3band
Aguilar 2 band *
Various Fender OEM --- Deluze Jazz, Marcus Miller, MIJ in 80's basses, Precision elite (one of the best they had)
StingRay early 2000s and Special
Yamaha TRB 6
Various EMGs BTS , BQS and active tone on guitars
and of Course a few John Easts Uni , J-Tone, J-retro and a 2 band MM
There really is no best and in many cases the mass produced bass manufacturers like Yamaha, EBMM and Fender have preamps that do not need any upgrading. I am very surprised that many Fender preamps are already good and just right for the bass and upgrading them did not improve the bass, in many cases it becomes too much of a good thing.
John has great customer support but the other guys do as well. Nuno from Lusithand and EMG and the late Bill Bartolini who helped me when I was a nobody 20 year old bass player. when Bartolini was still in Livermore, CA. Bill is also the most erudite and schooled of them all . A physicist and mathematician . Was the choice of boutique makers since the late 70's I believe.
The best is relative once you get to a certain level. Is it the best because of features and tweakability or because of the tome or feel it delivers. You have to define what the criteria is and possibly even though subjective come up with a scoring system how you concluded that to be
One thing is that they are not super quite as the OP suggested. , In fact you need to fully shield your bass if dropping in a an East system and that's one thing John will tell you . It is not the top one for being quite .
However for the Jazz and Uni versions he offers this:
Bass, Mid Sweep and level Treble
Active Tone with push pull active
Great Active Balance
Inside the bass controls
Bass and Treble center frequency/ character controls
Per pickup gain controls
Pre Scoop
Bass boost only mode
Fast capacitor swap to change the passive tone of the bass (probably the only one that offers this )
Tone tweakability is probably won by Alembic and possibly Lusithand following next
If you add a stone styler, you will beat it with the capacitor adjustability
EMG is probably the quietest and with their pickups the most full range hi-fi
Where John definitely excels is on the no modification Jazz plate and to me the J-Tone is the best there is. Yes no mid control but has a passive mode and passive EQ It is like a Sadowsky preamp but has the ability to , change the bass and treble character and capacitor change, boost and cut on the bass and trbel with the ability to do a boost only mode , overall gain and the ability to change the passive character via capacitor changes. It truly beats everyone else in the no modification jazz plate drop in.
John is also the obly resource for a Marcus Miller Jazz bass replacement, String Ray update ( and he improve on it) and even a P-Bass upgrade. And he is the competitor to what Lusithand offers in the filter preamp business and support for multi coil pickups.
For transparency Audere . Knoll and Sonar from Delano
I have had an active preamp bass since 1987/88 and that bass preamp is still working. By Bartolini.
Others I have tried or auditioned and some I own still (I have more ponboard reamps than basses) * not owned just played
Alembic and the Kawai copies *
Trick fish in new Foderas *
Michael Pope
Tune Japan (they use the same 3 band in many models)
A few Bartolinis, 2 to 4 band
Audere jazz plate drop in
Sonar
Knoll
Richter
Lusithand Filter and 800RB
Nordstrand 3band
Aguilar 2 band *
Various Fender OEM --- Deluze Jazz, Marcus Miller, MIJ in 80's basses, Precision elite (one of the best they had)
StingRay early 2000s and Special
Yamaha TRB 6
Various EMGs BTS , BQS and active tone on guitars
and of Course a few John Easts Uni , J-Tone, J-retro and a 2 band MM
There really is no best and in many cases the mass produced bass manufacturers like Yamaha, EBMM and Fender have preamps that do not need any upgrading. I am very surprised that many Fender preamps are already good and just right for the bass and upgrading them did not improve the bass, in many cases it becomes too much of a good thing.
John has great customer support but the other guys do as well. Nuno from Lusithand and EMG and the late Bill Bartolini who helped me when I was a nobody 20 year old bass player. when Bartolini was still in Livermore, CA. Bill is also the most erudite and schooled of them all . A physicist and mathematician . Was the choice of boutique makers since the late 70's I believe.
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