Gear Reviews
Review – John East J-Tone Preamp for J Style Basses
A Review of the John East J-Tone Preamp for J Style Basses
This John East J-Tone Preamp for J Style Basses was originally published in November 2018.
UPDATE BELOW: November 18, 2019 – Vintage Style Knobs now available for East J-Tone preamp
In our little universe, it doesn’t get much more iconic than the Fender Jazz Bass. Since Leo Fender invented the dual-pickup Fender Jazz bass in 1960, a relatively small amount of improvements or modifications have been made to the archetypal design. It still has the 34” scale, it still has the pair of single-coil pickups in the “standard locations”, the same pickguard shape and metal control plate and the passive volume/volume/tone control layout. Although construction methods and manufacturing techniques have changed, along with things like neck profiles and body contouring, the basic design has stood the test of time.
One of a few things that have changed greatly over the years is the technology around electronics, which has had a huge impact on what can be considered the “Fender Jazz Bass tone family tree”.
The diaspora of Fender Jazz Bass tone has exploded with the advent of new technologies and ideas around pickups and electronics. In recent years, there have emerged a number of active electronics designed specifically for Jazz Basses, and one of the more popular companies offering such products is UK based maker/designer of onboard bass preamps John East, of East UK.
Many may already be familiar with the popular East preamps, including his incredibly powerful and feature-packed J-Retro bass preamps, which is designed to fit inside the existing cavity of a Fender Jazz Bass, including 9v battery, requiring no routing or modifications to the body. The J-Retro was probably the first complete drop-in EQ on a J plate, first released in 1998.
With all of the bells and whistles of the J-Retro’s feature set, John has recently launched a new preamp offering for Jazz Bass players seeking to retain the original sound and feel of their passive instrument, but with the addition of transparent but powerful active EQ: the J-Tone preamp.
Like the J-Retro, it is mounted to a Jazz Bass control plate and requires no modification or routing to an existing bass. It also doesn’t require soldering skills (thank God, I shouldn’t be legally allowed to own a soldering iron), as all the connections are made via solderless screw terminals.
The John East J-Tone Preamp is geared for players who like simple, usable EQ, and want to keep the simple passive vibe and sound of their instrument.
It can be ordered with dual volume controls, like a passive Jazz Bass, or a stacked volume/blend knob for those who prefer that layout. Despite its relative simplicity, it has a whole lot going on under the hood.
The passive tone control works in both active and passive modes, and most notably, the bass and treble EQ controls offer what I consider to be the most unique, coolest and valuable aspect of the J-Tone preamp: mounted to the electronics under the control plate, there are small thumbwheels which let you dial in the exact frequencies you desire for the bass and treble EQ knobs. This feature allows you to tailor your bass and treble EQ to either your preferred sound, the exact sort of EQ your bass requires, or EQ points optimized for your rigs frequency response. The bass control offers +/- 18db of boost and cut at anywhere between 40-200 Hz, while the treble EQ offers the same boost and cut in the 1kHz-7.5kHz range.
I absolutely love this feature and am quite familiar with it, having owned John’s flagship UNI-PRE, which also contains this feature. In my opinion, it is such a smart and valuable function and sets this preamp apart from its competitors in a substantial way. As someone who tends to prefer a slightly deeper bass boost and a slightly higher/airier treble response, I have had great luck configuring the J-tone’s EQ to my obnoxiously picky liking.
While we’re on the subject of tweakability, The J-tone comes standard with a selection of “Plug In Tone Caps” which let you change the tonal response and taper of the unit’s passive tone control.
Not all passive tone controls are created equal, and the value of the capacitor determines how the high end is rolled off, and in some cases the overall tonal presentation of the preamp. I asked John to shed some light on the plugin tone cap options and boy did he deliver: “Several Tone Caps have been included to allow players to set the Passive Tone roll-off frequency according to what works best for them. The higher the cap value, the lower the roll-off frequency, i.e. the more mellow or deeper the sound, when the tone control is fully backed off. The default cap fitted to a J-Tone is a 0.1uF (= 100nF) which is the deepest in terms of sound. It was used in the early P basses and is the stock value for East products. The 0.047uF (= 47nF) is less deep, often the stock value for Jazz basses, which used to be 0.05uF in the vintage instruments. The 0.033uF (= 33nF) is lighter still, very close to the value of 0.03uF, used for the bridge pickup in 62 Jazz basses, which had a tone control for each pickup. The 0.022uF (= 22nF) gives the least mellow tone, close to the vintage value of 0.02uF. This value does not seem to have been used in Fender basses, but a number of bass players like to use this cap for their passive tones.” In case you have glazed over, or your head is spinning, feel free to just do what I did: try them all out and see which you prefer. It wasn’t hard to hear the differences and my preference was pretty clear after just a little testing.
I was able to get the J-tone installed and up and running in about 10 minutes (loving those screw terminals for all connections, including the ground wires).
Before I screwed the plate down, I started playing through my rig and quickly honed in on my preferred bass and treble EQ settings with the small thumbwheels. The preamp also has a trim pot for the overall output gain of the preamp, which I set to just slightly hotter than the passive volume level. I installed the J-Tone in a couple of basses, including a 2012 MIA Fender Jazz and my personal 2016 Lakland Skyline DJ5 (“DJ-Tone” is the model name, due to the slightly different shape of the control plate that the preamp comes already installed on). In both cases, it was very clear that the main goal of the design was achieved: retaining the sonic characteristics of a passive jazz bass with the addition of flexible and powerful EQ. With the output gain trim pot set at unity gain, toggling between passive and active yielded almost no change in tone or response. It doesn’t sound like an “active bass”, it truly sounds like a passive bass with some added flexibility. The circuit adds very little noise, and although almost any active treble knob introduces some hiss, it was relatively, and admirably minimal with the J-Tone.
All in all, the J-Tone is a home run. It does everything it is supposed to do, without any foreseeable drawbacks or compromises.
As with everything East makes, the electronics appear to be of top-shelf componentry, has a very high-quality appearance, and the knobs and pots have a nice sturdy feel to them. While some may prefer the more “kitchen sink” approach of the J-Retro and its slightly souped-up tone, those looking to keep the inherent characteristics of their Jazz bass will likely be very pleased with the J-tone, as it seems to split the difference between “active” and “passive” beautifully. As I really like the sound of my passive Lakland, I was very pleased that it still felt and sounded like a passive bass, but gave me more tonal flexibility for moments when I needed some more control than the passive layout provides.
UPDATE: Vintage Style Knobs now available for East J-Tone preamp.
A little while back we reviewed the East J-Tone Bass preamp, a “drop-in” preamp for Jazz Basses from John East, creator of the celebrated and feature-rich J-Retro onboard bass preamp. The J-tone was designed for “Jazz Bass players seeking to retain the original sound and feel of their passive instrument, but with the addition of transparent but powerful active EQ”. The J-Tone came with John’s standard high-quality knurled metal knobs that sat on concentric control pots. While the metal knobs had a great, sturdy, no-slip feel, some players asked John about the possibility of vintage “Fender-style” control knobs to keep the passive and retro vibe of their jazz basses.
Well, folks, ask and ye shall receive. I recently received an airmail envelope from across the pond with some lovely glossy black Fender-style concentric knobs for my J-Tone preamp! I put them on my bass and immediately felt the vibe factor go up a few notches. While the metal knobs are excellent, I really dig the chunky feel and aesthetic of the vintage-style knobs, and it definitely helps the bass retain its ‘passive feeling’.
Customers can now order their J-Tone w/ vintage knobs or update their existing preamps. Thanks, John, for keeping an ear on the ground and fulfilling your customer’s wishes!
While there are other “Jazz Bass Plate” preamps on the market, few if any can beat the quality of the John East J-Tone Preamp.
And none of them offer the type of tweakability that rewards players who willing to spend a little time with it with EQ that is just right for their preferences. The J-Tone retails for $194.00 and more info and specs can be found in the J-Tone’s manual or on the product page on John East UK’s website.
David C Gross has been the bassist for a lot of folks. He has written 14 bass books and 3 instructional videos, hosts “The Notes From An Artist Radio Show” on www.cygnusradio.com Monday nights 8 PM EDT, and the “Notes From An Artist” podcast available on iTunes, Spotify and all podcast platforms.
NFAA brings you behind the scenes with individuals who forged a timeless musical canon – spanning rock, jazz, funk, blues, folk, country, and permutations thereof. Listen to stories and anecdotes hitherto untold and relive more than a few chronicles that have become lore with a fresh vision. It’s the soundtrack of our lives. Celebrate the past, live in the present, and anticipate the future – take Notes From An Artist
You can contact David @ www.thebassguitarchannel.com/contact for more information regarding his online lessons and world-renown correspondence course.
Gear Reviews
Review Transcript: BITE Custom Bass – The Black Knight PP Bass
This is a written transcript of our video review of the BITE Custom Bass Black Knight PP Bass originally published on March 4, 2024
BITE Custom Bass – The Black Knight PP Bass Review…
Bass Musician Magazine did a review on a Steampunk bass from BITE Guitars about three years ago, it was an amazing instrument, and we were very impressed. Now we’re happy to bring you another BITE bass, the Black Knight PP.
Everybody needs a P-type bass, it’s the standard of bass. If you’re recording, they want you to have a P bass. So why not have something that gives you a little more by having two instead of one P pickup. That’s the idea of this bass, it’s the first thing that leaps out: the double P pickup configuration.
Installing two of their 1000 millivolt split-coil pickups, BITE then went one step further and wired them up in a 4-way parallel/series circuit, a look at the controls reveal a 4-way rotary selector:
The first position, marked “B”, gives you the bridge pickup by itself.
The second position, marked “P”, gives you the bridge and neck pickups in parallel mode, that’s the traditional J-type circuit, it reduces output due to the physical law of parallel circuits.
Position number 3 is marked “N”, it gives you the neck pickup by itself.
And finally, number 4, marked “S”, gives your bridge and neck in a series (humbucking) mode which adds up resistances and thus boosts output. The other two controls are master volume and master tone.
What’s more, like every BITE bass, this one also has a reinforced headstock heel designed to give it extra output and sustain. The BITE website features a graph and explanation of what they have done to the heel, as compared to traditional headstocks.
A look at the body reveals a beautiful Black Blast body finish and underneath that we have alder wood. The bass has a matching headstock with a 4-in-line tuner setup and the traditional bite out of it, so everybody will know what kind of bass you’re playing. The pickguard is 3-ply black, the neck is vintage tinted hard maple and it has a satin speed finish at the back which keeps your thumb from sticking.
On top of that, there’s a clear-coated roasted black locust fretboard with black blocks marking the frets. The nut is a black Graph Tec nut, we’ve got diamond dome control knobs, and the tuners are lightweight compacts with cloverleaf buttons and a 1:17 ratio precision gear. The bridge is a Gotoh brass bridge with 19-millimeter string spacing.
Overall measurements: we’ve got a standard 34″ scale, a 1.65″ width nut and a C neck profile. This bass weighs 8.2 pounds, or 3,7 kilograms for our metric friends, and it uses standard 18% nickel silver frets.
Taking a closer look at the sound, this bass is a joy to play. The BITE proprietary 1000 millivolt pickups deliver an extraordinary amount of output which is surprising considering this is a passive instrument. You may even want to set your amp to active mode because of all of the juice you’re getting out of this guy.
The tonal possibilities are very versatile, it’s a straight P if you want but also much more with those different arrangements of the circuitry. So why have multiple basses when you’ve got one that can give you your basic P plus a lot more?
To sum it up, the Black Knight PP is an amazing instrument. The attention to detail that BITE puts into their basses is second to none. This bass is also amazingly balanced and gorgeous to hold and feel with the satin neck finish.
For more information, visit online at bite.guitars/product/black-knight-pp
Bass Videos
Reviews: Phil Jones Bass Compact Plus 450 and Bass Engine 17
Phil Jones Bass Compact Plus 450 and Bass Engine 17 Reviews…
In this issue, we take an in-depth look at two new amps from Phil Jones Bass, the Compact Plus 450 and Bass Engine 17.
For more information, visit online at pjbworld.com
Bass Videos
Video Review: BITE Custom Bass – The Black Knight PP Bass
BITE Custom Bass – The Black Knight PP Bass Review…
I am sure many of you saw my review of the Snobby Steampunk Bass from BITE Guitars back in February of 2021 and will remember what a remarkable bass it was. BITE has been building custom basses since 2019 and has a unique custom approach where you can configure your bass to your specs.
I am very excited to have another Bass From BITE Guitars in my hands, The Black Knight PP Bass!
The need for a P-Bass in one’s armamentarium is pretty standard for bass players and I recall chatting about this with Marty O’Brien about a year ago. It turns out that Marty and BITE Guitars got together and came up with this excellent configuration that gives you a P-Bass with a whole lot more. Marty even played his own Black Knight PP bass at the 2024 NAMM show. You can see his review here.
Join me as I take an in-depth look at this very cool instrument and share all the details.
Here is The Black Knight Bass from BITE Guitars!
For more information, visit online at bite.guitars/product/black-knight-pp
Gear Reviews
Gear Review: Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass
Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass Review…
Throughout the evolution of music, bass players have sought tools to sculpt and enhance their sonic landscapes, and one indispensable ally in this pursuit has been compression. Origin Effects, a name synonymous with premium audio craftsmanship, introduces the Cali76 Compact Bass Compressor, a pedal that pays homage to the legacy of compression and brings forth a new chapter in bass sonic mastery.
As we delve into the world of the Cali76 Compact Bass Compressor, we’ll explore how Origin Effects seamlessly weaves together the heritage of compression and contemporary bass demands, promising a pedal that not only honors the past but propels your bass playing into the future. Join us on this sonic expedition as we dissect the nuances of the Cali76 Compact and uncover the secrets it holds for bass players seeking the perfect blend of vintage warmth and modern versatility.
For Starters, the Cali76 is a studio-grade FET compressor pedal, based on the classic Urei 1176, but with some features optimized for bass guitar. For those of you who are not familiar with it, a FET (Field Effect Transistor) compressor is essentially a solid-state tube compressor emulation that allows for fast and precise control over the attack and the release parameters; allows for extreme compression ratios; and finally adds the typical 1176 color and character to the sound.
Together with the common controls we see in most compressor pedals – Ratio, Attack/Release, input (just like the original 1176, the threshold in this pedal is fixed), and output (makeup gain). The Cali76 offers two more controls dedicated to us bass players.
A Dry control – This allows us to mix in our dry, uncompressed signal to the pedal output. This is great for when we want to add back some of our playing dynamics to the compressed sound or for when you want some volume back in situations where the compression starts taking away the volume.
A High Pass Filter control – Low frequencies on a bass guitar signal normally overwhelm compressors. This high pass filter allows the compressor to only react to higher frequencies, which helps preserve the natural dynamics of our playing while keeping the low end intact.
Metering on this pedal can be a bit hard to get used to at first. There’s a single LED light on the pedal, that not only serves as an On/Off light, but it’s also our meter. It glows red when no compression is applied and orange for active compression. The brighter the light, the greater the amount of gain reduction. Yellow signifies that the gain reduction reached 27dB and maximum reduction occurs around 38 dB.
In practical terms, it’s all about working with the input and the LED to find the sweet spot (turn the input to zero, start playing and slowly increase the input level until you start seeing the LED glowing orange, which means there’s reduction going on).
With 6 highly interactive knob controls, this pedal implies some degree of compressor knowledge and also some amount of tweaking and experimentation to find the perfect settings. The good news is that it is very hard to make this pedal sound bad…
It can go from very subtle compression settings to very extreme, and it can do everything in between. Also, the team at Origin has been kind enough to add a couple of sample settings in the manual to get players started and to help us understand better how the pedal works.
Dynamic Control is a setting that provides natural compression, balancing dynamics between various playing techniques. It is a subtle compression that will work almost out of the box almost all the time. Having a medium setting for the High Pass Filter ensures an honest translation of the lower string dynamics.
Parallel compression is a popular studio technique, where both compressed and natural signals are blended. We get the sound and feel of hard compression while retaining the natural playing dynamics.
Percussive, lively & Fat is a setting that uses a slower attack time to accentuate the start of any note. Then using a fast release allows the compressor to recover between notes so that the phrases sound more percussive. Ideal for slapping and other percussive techniques.
Finally, I would like to mention the classic 1176 tonal coloration. It’s not a secret that engineers all around would sometimes use the 1176 compressor, without applying any compression, just to get the tonal coloration into the instrument sound.
And the Cali76 compressor is no different, it has such a rich, warm, and full coloration that’s super pleasing to the ear and makes you want to have it ON all the time. So be aware, that if you want a transparent compressor, this pedal is not for you!
All in all, it is easy to understand why this pedal became a favorite of so many bass players around the world. The Cali76 Compact stands as a testament to the meticulous craftsmanship and thoughtful engineering that Origin Effects is renowned for. It seamlessly navigates through the rich history of compression, offering bass players a gateway to the soulful resonance of the past while empowering them to sculpt a contemporary sonic future.
Whether you’re a seasoned bass maestro or a budding virtuoso, the Cali76 Compact invites you to embark on a sonic journey where every note is held in a delicate balance between tradition and innovation. As we bid farewell to our exploration, we do so with the realization that the Cali76 Compact is more than just a pedal; it’s a sonic companion that elevates the artistry of bass playing
For more information, visit online at origineffects.com
Gear Reviews
Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass Review
Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass Review…
Not long ago, I did a review of the Spector NS Dimension HP 5 Bass and I have just been given the honor and privilege of reviewing the Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass. I have to say, another great bass from Spector that is hard to put down! While there are some similarities between both basses, there are also some noticeable differences which is why I believe having both is essential to any bass arsenal.
Spector, widely used by many rock and metal bassists like Ian Hill, Alex Webster, Colin Edwin, Doug Wimbish, and many more, just to name a few, has a long-standing in these genres. Well, that’s about to change! The bass I used for the review, didn’t see any of those genres, matter of fact, I used it on a few classic country gigs and at church too! However, when at home in the studio, I let the funk out. The NS Ethos HP 4 Bass is an all-around great bass for any genre and will not disappoint.
Let’s get into the specs about the bass, and here we will find the differences between the HP 5 Bass and the HP 4.
Forget that one is a 5 string, while the other is a 4, while that is a difference, that’s not one that I feel needs to be noted as both models are available as 4 and 5 strings. The Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass has a 34” scale, 24 fret, 3 piece maple neck through construction with solid alder wings, ebony fingerboard along with centered and side dots and the 12th fret Spector logo inlay with a brass nut.
While the pickups are different as the NS Dimension HP 5 Bass uses the EMG 45DC and the NS Ethos HP 4 Bass sports the EMG 35DC pickups, they are the same pickup configurations, the difference being, one for 4 string, the other for 5 string. The electronics are the same, consisting of a Darkglass Tone Capsule preamp which consists of +-12dB @70Hz for Bass, +-12dB @500Hz for Mids, and +-12dB @2.8kHz for Hi Mids. Controls for Spector NS Dimension HP 5 Bass consist of Master Volume, Blend, Bass, Mid, and Hi Mid controls. The electronics are powered by a 9-volt battery.
The bridge is a Hi-Mass locking bridge with intonation screws and the tuners are sealed die-cast. All hardware is black. Same as the Spector NS Dimension HP 5 Bass, the HP 4 Bass is available in 4 different finishes, White Sparkle Gloss, Gunmetal Gloss, Plum Crazy Gloss & Black Gloss. The bass also comes with a very nice and well-padded gig bag.
Check out the Spector NS Ethos HP 4 Bass at a Spector Music Retailer today near you or visit online at spectorbass.com/product/ns-ethos-hp-4/
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