Product: East UK J-Retro 01
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted
10/30/2007
at
05:06pm
by
Edd Cunningham
Email: collapseofmyheart3<at>hotmail dot com
Features
:
The East UK J-Retro 01 is an on-board preamp designed to be directly retrofitted into the existing routing on most Jazz basses.
The J-Retro operates in both active and passive mode. Active mode activates the on-board EQ, which is operated by a series of double stacked pots. The pre-amp features;
- Mid cut & boost
- Mid Frequency
- Treble (put out = Bright cut & boost)
- Bass
- Volume
- Pick-up blend.
The pre-amp also uses two small toggle switches. One to switch between both pick-ups and the blender and the other to switch from active to passive mode.
The J-Retro uses a 9volt battery and I have to say, it lasts a seriously long time!
Instrument
:
I installed this pre-amp on a Fender MIM Jazz bass along with some Seymour Duncan Basslines.
The pre-amp fits rather nicely into the existing control cavity, however it should be mentioned that on the MIM Jazz basses it doesn't sit quite flush (about 2mm). While this isn't a problem as such, as it's more of a design flaw of the bass rather than the J-Retro.
The reason I chose to use this pre-amp over say an external one is because of the space it saves. The brilliant review I read in Bass Guitar Magazine also helped me in my decision.
Sound
:
10
The output of this thing is immense!
It really does pack some punch with the right EQ-ing technique.
I am currently using the J-Retro with an Ashdown Electric Blue 180 head and a MAG 210 cab.
Because of the EQ on this pre-amp it's possible to recreate nearly any sound imaginable. I've not yet found a sound I can't use on this pre-amp (and I've been using it for a year now).
I play a wide variety of music, I mainly play rock but I also play a lot of slap and funk. This pre-amp certainly holds up great!
Overall Rating
:
9
If the pre-amp was stolen or got broke, which I hope will never happen (touch wood!), I would most certainly replace it. In fact I've vowed that if I ever did replace my MIM Jazz for maybe an American or even Deluxe, I would retrofit the J-Retro the second I got my hands on it!
(That and the 'Badass II' of course =P.
I've been playing 7 years now, however I've only been serious for the past 3 years. I also have a Tobias Toby pro 5 (pre-Gibson) which I love and I use for when I have to tune lower than drop-D.
I love pretty much every aspect of this pre-amp. It's a god send!
However, I do have my gripes. The J-Retro is in no way light. It also does tend to produce quite a bit of electronic noise, but I imagine this the Seymour Duncans producing this.
The only thing I wish this pre-amp had was the screw terminals (which they now use, but mine is the older solder version).
