The John East preamp club

[flojob]

Interesting that a manufacturer would not be positive about one of their products. I'd be interested to hear what they said. The b-axis are definitely a step in a different sonic direction compared to all of their other pickups (In a good way, IMO).

Here's a copy paste of the reply.
"Sorry man. Not anytime soon. They look so cool but there really are some serious downsides to the exposed poles. The next b-axis pickup that will be released is an MM 5 string in the DL shell. They are proprietary to MTD for the time being"
"The exposed metal can lead to corrosion, and the biggest downside to us is the horrible sound you get if a string strikes one of them."

 

[ctmullins]

Here's a copy paste of the reply.
"Sorry man. Not anytime soon. They look so cool but there really are some serious downsides to the exposed poles. The next b-axis pickup that will be released is an MM 5 string in the DL shell. They are proprietary to MTD for the time being"
"The exposed metal can lead to corrosion, and the biggest downside to us is the horrible sound you get if a string strikes one of them."

All good points, and basically unforseeable, since exposed pole pickups are such a recent invention of theirs.

 

[ShawnG]

Here's a copy paste of the reply.
"The exposed metal can lead to corrosion, and the biggest downside to us is the horrible sound you get if a string strikes one of them."

Wow! Yeah, the whole exposed pole thing is a total drag...yikes! I'm off to put some electrical tape on all my other sub-standard pickups.
This thread isn't the place for this discussion, but thanks for the info!!

 

[Oly Spart]

Getting back to the John East preamp,
Could someone tell me what's it's weight, please?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Killing Floor]

9V battery + a 3" x 1" pcb. If you're counting grams you can choose the plastic knobs instead of metal ones.

 

[chris70x7]

Here's a copy paste of the reply.
"Sorry man. Not anytime soon. They look so cool but there really are some serious downsides to the exposed poles. The next b-axis pickup that will be released is an MM 5 string in the DL shell. They are proprietary to MTD for the time being"
"The exposed metal can lead to corrosion, and the biggest downside to us is the horrible sound you get if a string strikes one of them."

I found this on their site. I think it has a lot more to do with the exposed poles than "corrosion"

Bartolini Inc. & Nordstrand Pickups Inc. Reach an Agreement - Bartolini Pickups & Electronics

 

[ctmullins]

Interesting. Where can I read more about this "High Asymmetry" concept?

 

[Oly Spart]

9V battery + a 3" x 1" pcb. If you're counting grams you can choose the plastic knobs instead of metal ones.

Thank you for your answer. No, I'm not looking to make it lighter, all the opposite. I think / hope it will help to balance my bass better.

 

[nonconformist]

I'll be looking to drop in a Uni 4K into my first custom build. I've done some skimming through the thread, but is there a consensus on 9V versus 18V to optimize the design?

 

[BassinCT]

Generally, there is more headroom on tap with 18v. I run my Uni Pre 4 with 9v only due to space limitations in the bass, so I don't know what I'm missing . I have plenty of headroom as it is, but if I were to do another build, I would leave room so I could have the option of doing either 9 or 18.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

I'll be looking to drop in a Uni 4K into my first custom build. I've done some skimming through the thread, but is there a consensus on 9V versus 18V to optimize the design?

If you can, go with 18v for better headroom. But know if you have space issues it still works well on 9v. I've had both.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

I keep hearing the biggest advantage to 18V is when having longer cable runs to the amp or from a heavily equipped pedal board to the amp.

I have one active with 18V and 4 with 9V. 20' is the longest cable I use and a programmable BDDI is my only effect so I don't see (hear) any difference. IME.

One of my 9V preamps is a John East Retro J in keeping relevant to this thread.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

I keep hearing the biggest advantage to 18V is when having longer cable runs to the amp or from a heavily equipped pedal board to the amp.

I have one active with 18V and 4 with 9V. 20' is the longest cable I use and a programmable BDDI is my only effect so I don't see (hear) any difference. IME.

One of my 9V preamps is a John East Retro J in keeping relevant to this thread.

You get a little more boost in the signal and it remains very clear sounding when you boost EQ with 18v.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Well, you might think this is silly but I think these preamps are so good they deserve to have a club.

I think there should be a J Retro in every jazz bass and a U retro in everything else. (I'm kidding,.........well, maybe not)

If you love your John East pre chime in. No numbers. Just put a pic of your bass w/ the pre and tell us about your John East preamp pup set up.

MMSR 3 Knob 2 Band preamp with a Nordstrand MM5.2...

It's a 2005 bass, but I was chasing a sound closer to my 1978 Stingray. For the most part, this config does that.

 

[Killing Floor]

I am in happy love with the sound of my Sabre and my Ray. I really hope my OEM preamps keep trucking. 32 and almost 40 years respectively. But if they ever do I'm glad East has a solution. Sure brought my Fenders to life.

 

[ShawnG]

When I was in the process of researching East pre-amps, I have two on order, I would've liked to have viewed this video I came across this week. Didn't see it posted in these pages previously, if it's a re-post, plz let me know and I'll delete. Maybe the best pre-amp review I've come across!

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Here is a bass I'm considering some John East electronics for. Not sure how the logistics are going to work out... these original pickups were designed for use with a 36v preamp, and I definitely want to keep them in use. The bass is just wired up with a simple passive circuit now... two volumes, two treble roll-offs, and a pickup selector switch... sounds nice and clean, just anemic and weak unless run through an outboard preamp. (it then becomes quite nice) There's plenty of room in the contol cavity... the battery box was made for four 9v cells.

It came with two volumes, two low-pass filters, and two attenuator (Q) switches. I'd like to do something at least true to the spirit of the original design, but more serviceable.

1978 Hyak Scroll-body, long-scale fretless.

Suggestions and advice appreciated and welcomed.

 

[Geri O]

Sign me up for the John East preamp club!

Installed a J Retro flat-response preamp into my bass today.

Man, to me, the combination of the J Retro and the Nord Vintage 70s wind is quite sweet. It's really taken this Mike Lull bass to a new level of tone. I didn't want to stop playing it tonight!

 

[davejnssn]

I got a Bass with an East 3-Band Pre in it and it has these two white-ish trimpots on the module connected to the treble pot. Is there anyone who can tell me any information on these? They look different from the preamp modules i found online. Thanks a lot!

 

[flojob]

I got a Bass with an East 3-Band Pre in it and it has these two white-ish trimpots on the module connected to the treble pot. Is there anyone who can tell me any information on these? They look different from the preamp modules i found online. Thanks a lot!

If you mean those white rollers, the ones on mine set the range of the bass eq that you want boosted, or the cutoff frequency of treble. Mine is the unipre, so may be different on yours