The John East preamp club

[Fazz1977]

I recently picked up a cheap Squier jazz bass from FB marketplace as a bit of a project bass/stage beater for when we're out of lockdown. Yesterday I stripped it down and shielded the cavities, before refitting the preamp and setting up.

The pre came from the seller with a busted stacked mid pot, hence the price. I contacted John East, and he replied super quick, lovely guy, but haven't got a response to my follow up. It's a fine preamp, and I'd love to have it fully functioning. That or I'll make what's left of the pot into just a midrange with no sweep. I tune to drop C with 55-110, and my low C sounds compressed and distorted, but this might be a battery issue, as it sounds like a headroom issue. Will get a new battery once I'm allowed out of the house.

For those who know, we in Melbourne, Australia have been in lockdown for over 230 days so far, and we can't even rehearse, let alone gig.

 

[SteveCS]

...
...
as it sounds like a headroom issue.
...

Just so as you know, all of John's designs can be run at 18V...

 

[Fazz1977]

Just so as you know, all of John's designs can be run at 18V...

Yep, would love to cram another battery in there, even a single 9v is quite a squeeze. I put a newer battery in and it's much better. I still get a slight clip on attack, that may be pickup height though.

 

[Geri O]

Just so as you know, all of John's designs can be run at 18V...

My Lull has a twin-battery compartment, but when the J Retro Deluxe arrived, I slapped it in the bass and used the single 9V that the control plate is equipped to handle. I don’t crank up the output trims above the bottom position of the pots. I didn’t seem to have any headroom issues at the time, even when playing slap style.
However, a couple of weeks later, I wired up the Lull’s battery compartment to run 2 batteries at 18V. Because I could….

 

[MaxSpinrun]

Yes! I did one in my Ultimate Stingray Mod Guide paired with the stock Ray24 pickup in parallel. It was a surprisingly good matchup, though I ultimately gutted that bass and used the MMSR in my Dingwall NG3.... now let me tell you, THAT is THE combo! The NG3 is so much more neutral and open, but also much more sculptable and flexible. It's a double edged sword as the controls are more complicated (I did a 6 way rotary too), but IMO that combo is the BEST 'do it all' bass.

Here's both vids-

YES! I installed the East MMSR 3band with the sweepable mids in my Sub Ray that also has a Nordstrand MM 4.2 DC pup. Nice combination. The pre brings versatility that the stock pre does not have especially in the mids. The pull bright is a nice touch as well. This combo is nice and smooth with I feel has better lows for sure. Can still get sizzle if you want. Great pre.

 

[DCFanatic]

@John East - Question for you. I recently picked up a Lakland Skyline 44-60 that has a J-Retro 01 installed (used).

When I play any notes on this bass I get a weird electronic buzzing that accompanies the note. When the note dies off, the buzzing stops. When my hands aren't touching the bass, there is no noise either, just when a note is played. Any suggestions here?

I have to use a parametric EQ at all times, set at the 7.0kHz mark with a high Q value to narrow down the pesky buzzing frequency. Anyway, this sucks because I can't just plug and play into any amp.

In the sound file attached (use headphones), the first two notes are played with the parametric eq applied, then what follows is the sound without the EQ and you should notice the buzzing. I've done the basic troubleshooting in the manual including lowering the preamp gain on the internal gain setting.

Not sure what I need to do here, I am thinking that the preamp might be defective and/or it needs servicing. I can provide other pics if that helps.

Thanks!

 

[Fazz1977]

As I'm not getting much love from the crew at John East around repairs/replacement pots, I went ahead and converted the broken midrange pot to a plain old mid pot by making a sleeve out of copper and plastic to attach the smaller concentric knob to the broken pot shaft. Works a treat. I made a little skirt out of an old jack casing to hide the rest of the pot. At least it's useable now, sounds great, looks the goods, and is completely reversible in the event I hear back from John.

 

[Steve88]

Finally finish my install of the Unipre 5 into my Lakand 55-94! Out of desperation to solve my grounding issue, I took the preamp completely out and installed it again, and for some reason this time it works perfectly. Getting all that in the control cavity was a TIGHT fit...I think I'm going to have a separate battery compartment routed at some point.

The sound is phenomenal. It's what I wanted the 5594 to be...a perfect mix of Precision, Jazz, and Stingray. With the stock Bartolini preamp it had a baked in sound that was really difficult to dial out. The highs always sounded sort of compressed and artificial somehow, which made gettinng a nice biting tone a little tough to achieve. Now it's much more open sounding and chameleon-like. The highs are a bit more subdued, but much more natural and pleasant sounding. I was able to quickly and easily dial in sounds that approximated a P-bass (both a supportive thumping tone and a more grindy aggressive sound) or a Stingray.

I love that the passive tone control works in active mode. That paired with the midrange sweep makes this truly a "swiss army knife" bass.

The way the preamp fit means my volume and blend knobs have switched positions...thats's going to take sole gettimg used to! Control layout is (from bridge end of the bass in my picture) passive tone - bridge pickup coil splitter - volume - blend. Bottom row is bass/treble stack and mid sweep/mid boost and cut.

 

[Luke the Fluke]

Finally finish my install of the Unipre 5 into my Lakand 55-94! Out of desperation to solve my grounding issue, I took the preamp completely out and installed it again, and for some reason this time it works perfectly. Getting all that in the control cavity was a TIGHT fit...I think I'm going to have a separate battery compartment routed at some point.

The sound is phenomenal. It's what I wanted the 5594 to be...a perfect mix of Precision, Jazz, and Stingray. With the stock Bartolini preamp it had a baked in sound that was really difficult to dial out. The highs always sounded sort of compressed and artificial somehow, which made gettinng a nice biting tone a little tough to achieve. Now it's much more open sounding and chameleon-like. The highs are a bit more subdued, but much more natural and pleasant sounding. I was able to quickly and easily dial in sounds that approximated a P-bass (both a supportive thumping tone and a more grindy aggressive sound) or a Stingray.

I love that the passive tone control works in active mode. That paired with the midrange sweep makes this truly a "swiss army knife" bass.

The way the preamp fit means my volume and blend knobs have switched positions...thats's going to take sole gettimg used to! Control layout is (from bridge end of the bass in my picture) passive tone - bridge pickup coil splitter - volume - blend. Bottom row is bass/treble stack and mid sweep/mid boost and cut.

View attachment 4417437
View attachment 4417438

Yesss - I did the same in my 55-94 classic - it’s great! Although I managed to get the volume and blend the other way around. How did you find tuning the bass and treble controls inside?

for me -
p sound… 75% towards neck, forward coil on rear pickup. Bass cut a tiny bit, passive tone rolled off 50% and the mids boosted at lowest point
Ray… 100% bridge, both coils, pull bright switch engaged, bass boosted and high mids cut a little bit by feel. passive tone wide open.
Jazz… well there’s so many varieties of jazz front pickup, rear coil of rear and tune the rest to taste!!

 

[Steve88]

Yesss - I did the same in my 55-94 classic - it’s great! Although I managed to get the volume and blend the other way around. How did you find tuning the bass and treble controls inside?

for me -
p sound… 75% towards neck, forward coil on rear pickup. Bass cut a tiny bit, passive tone rolled off 50% and the mids boosted at lowest point
Ray… 100% bridge, both coils, pull bright switch engaged, bass boosted and high mids cut a little bit by feel. passive tone wide open.
Jazz… well there’s so many varieties of jazz front pickup, rear coil of rear and tune the rest to taste!!

I haven't adjusted the bass and treble controls inside yet. I'll play it for awhile and feel out if I want something different.

Your settings sound pretty similar to what I found. I think I was dialed a little more towards the neck and bumped the mids closer to the middle of the sweep. Plucking hard enough to get some fret grind with the Pbass setting is a great sound...I think I'll be using that alot

 

[Luke the Fluke]

I haven't adjusted the bass and treble controls inside yet. I'll play it for awhile and feel out if I want something different.

Your settings sound pretty similar to what I found. I think I was dialed a little more towards the neck and bumped the mids closer to the middle of the sweep. Plucking hard enough to get some fret grind with the Pbass setting is a great sound...I think I'll be using that alot

The bass boost controls are worth playing with - you can decide how much low bass you want to boost, and also how much of the low mids - it was really really important for me as my 55-94 seems to have a glut of low mids which dominate, which sounds great but made the stock Bart eq quite hard to get useful adjustments out of - this way I can boost lows but not make it crazily fatter with lots of low mids

 

[ptidwell]

I dropped a Uni-pre in my 55-02 and loved it. It really opened up the tone pallet.
I had some issues in the beginning but John help me work them out, although it was a bit difficult working out the issues from across the pond. The end result was very pleasing. I had to work really hard in the control cavity to get everything situated the way I wanted but again it all came out great. I’m on the fence about dropping the Uni-pre in my 55-94 with the stock LH3 system, I’ve been experimenting with the dip switches and I’m not really dissatisfied with it. I’ve had at least 5 of the East preamps and consider myself a fan of that particular pre.
Off topic, my company does business with Demeter and I am compelled to try out his preamp, I’ve never been disappointed with Demeter’s products.

 

[macribas]

I’ve had at least 5 of the East preamps and consider myself a fan of that particular pre.

Do you or anyone else can compare the current Uni-Pre with the old U-Retro?

 

[ptidwell]

As I recall they are similar in sound. Differences, the U-Retro has Passive Blend in Active Mode and Overall System Gain Trim. The Uni-Pre has Active Blend in Active Mode; Individual Pickup Gain Trim; Boost/Cut Bass Control Setting; Bass Control Lower Frequency Int. Trim; Bass Control Upper Frequency Int. Trim; Treble Frequency Shelf Int. Trim; Screw Terminals for all External Connections and Modular Pluggable Connections.
So, the improvement allows for more customizable sound shaping.

 

[5fingerfrenzy]

I have East preamps in my Marcus Miller 5, my May Custom 5 and also my Warwick $$. I think I'm the happiest with the way it enhanced the $$. I'd originally ripped out the MEC for an Aguilar OBP3 and was seriously disappointed. The Uni Pre4 gave it the balls I was looking for! Pics of it are before the East was installed but basically looks the same. The problem now is I have a Stingray HH I'm thinking of installing one in and an Ibanez Affirma as well. I've found the East preamps to be kinda like potato chips..

 

[Shiveringbass]

Hello,

A little question. Do you know if it's possible to add a passive tone control to a East Unipre 3 (3 stacked knobs).

I have the Opportunity to buy one second hand but the passive tone control is a must have for my tone.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Luke the Fluke]

Hello,

A little question. Do you know if it's possible to add a passive tone control to a East Unipre 3 (3 stacked knobs).

I have the Opportunity to buy one second hand but the passive tone control is a must have for my tone.

Thanks for your help.

I think so , but John would be the man to email and ask!

 

[pmad_bass]

Lakland DJ5 - John East J retro, Hanson Pups. A killer modern combination as many on the forum can attest to. Having a problem loading pics but found a twin on the forum.

View attachment 338200

Oh - we get to show what bass it's in? Cool. I'm sure you haven't seen this one before.

View attachment 2123677

Here it is next to the bass with the Flex Core. Listen to the sustain.

View attachment 2123678

Have been GAS'ing for a Lakland and/or East for some time. Just pulled the trigger on on a DJ-5. Have yet to receive. Will play as for a bit....then I'm sure I'll get bitten by the East bug and will pull the trigger on one of those. How not, right?

 

[daddymactx]

1st time seeing this club!!! Yes I'm a member wit my Lakland 55-60, BUT anyone has DJ retro they want to sell, please

holla at me!!

 

[Funky40]

@John East

1. when is the uni-pre 3 expected to be back in stock ?
2. or: could i just take a uni-pre 4 and leave out the passive control ? = uni-pre 3 ?
( in fact is 3 posts above, @Luke the Fluke looking for the passive control alone / i personally have no use for that one)

3. would it be doable to have the outjack wired in a way that it is NOT activating the Battery,
but the battery soldered to a switch to activate it ?
5. would it be doable to send my Pickups ( Nordstrand BigBlades) to a second onboard electronics/Pre at the same time, -beside the Uni-pre 3-, without any additional inbetween buffering ?

( i want to send my pups to two electronics ! the other one is active too ( 3 band)
( stock Ibanez EQ/pre / the Ibanez pre creates a sort of strange compression effect with these very hot Nordy pups ! which i kind of liked. From there my wish to use both electronics at the same time in my bass / gonna do me a new body, which will have a big enough cavern for such experiments)