cocco Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Anyone got one? Pros and cons? I love the tone of my Bob Glaub as it is so what would a p retro add and/or take away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I have two. I would say they are all pros and no cons. I have one fitted in my Bitsa Precision that is my main gigging bass. MIJ body, Mighty Mite Jazz neck, Hipshot bridge, Wizard trad pup. Sounds superb played passively - great woody old school P bass tone. Click on the P Retro and suddenly the range of tones is expanded - like it was before but better, more articulate, greater depth, greater clarity. Difficult to explain empirically. P Bass on steroids. They are easy to fit, cause no damage to the guts so easily reversible, hold their value well secondhand. If the battery runs out you can flick back to passive. Easily and quickly recharged via the input jack. All good, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skelf Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 All good from my point of view. Agree with every thing Paul said. Also work really well on basses that are not the usual P bass setup. I use it on two pickup basses as well with the addition of a 4 way rotary selector for the pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 What do you want it to do that you can't already get from the tone controls on your amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I like the idea of having control from the bass instead of/as well as the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 ^This^. i find it especially useful in a covers band where I want to change tone quite frequently without having to use pedals. Another good thing about the P retro is that it has a passive tone roll off, so you can get the bass/treble balance you like then just roll it off a bit to take the sharpness from it. Again, I don't have to vocabulary to describe it properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1401187818' post='2460868'] ^This^. i find it especially useful in a covers band where I want to change tone quite frequently without having to use pedals. [/quote] That's another attraction for me - having the preamp in the bass and not having to haul a pedalboard/power supply/extension leads etc. No point having a lightweight amp and cab if you've got a crapload of ancilliary gear. Edited May 27, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Where does the battery go? :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oopsdabassist Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Its a rechargeable unit that goes in the same cavityas the pots, you charge it by plugging the charger into the instrument jack socket. Obviously you cant charge and play at the same time, but since you have a 'passive' mode if battery goes flat mid gig its not the end of the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1401186835' post='2460859'] I like the idea of having control from the bass instead of/as well as the amp. [/quote] I've found that for me having controls on the bass other than master volume is of little benefit. When I'm playing I'm too busy playing to alter the settings, and when I'm not it's just as easy to step back to the amp and make changes there where the tone controls are nearly always more effective. Edited May 27, 2014 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I had a P-Retro last year. Its all everyone says it is, but for me it had one big negative (although this is a personal one). Too much control, and i found myself going from never needing to touch the two knobs on my P bass 99% of the time, to constantly fiddling with the 4 controls. I felt that the tones were pretty good, there really wasn't anything i could find fault with, but for me it was overkill and one more thing to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1401186652' post='2460852'] What do you want it to do that you can't already get from the tone controls on your amp? [/quote] To be honest I'm just wondering if it will make my Bob glaub any more awesome than it already is or take away from the awesome that I have. I currently run a sans amp BDDI, but that's mostly for dirt and garaunteeing a good DI sound, rather than tone shaping. It's probably gonna be a waste of money/time as I'm not a fan of activeness anyway. Edited May 27, 2014 by cocco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 [quote name='cocco' timestamp='1401199603' post='2461040'] To be honest I'm just wondering if it will make my Bob glaub any more awesome than it already is or take away from the awesome that I have. I currently run a sans amp BDDI, but that's mostly for dirt and garaunteeing a good DI sound, rather than tone shaping. It's probably gonna be a waste of money/time as I'm not a fan of activeness anyway. [/quote] Exactly what i was hoping to do. Ive been using a BDDI for a few years, always on, and hoped the P-Retro would help me replace this so i could have all the control on the bass. It didnt work like that for me, unfortunately. I too am not really an active guy, although i have had them, but these days im just back to using a BDDI and a passive bass. It can make it sound more awesome, but so can the BDDI IME. Keeping it simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Thanks Dave! I see you have a GZR and a fralin too, how do they compare? My other temptation is to swap the Fralin out for a GZR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Good points about P Basses... I never found it necessary to have anything more than a BDI-21 or VT Bass at most, just to warm up a clean SS amp. The joy of a P is the fact that it's plug and play and you turn up the volume and tone and away you go. Everything else is set on the amp. Now I'm dabbling with dual-pickup basses, it's a bit different... I think a preamp works in a Jazz (for example) because as you have more tones at your disposal anyway, a preamp turns a Jazz into an uber-Jazz... YMMV, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 [quote name='cocco' timestamp='1401200702' post='2461072'] Thanks Dave! I see you have a GZR and a fralin too, how do they compare? My other temptation is to swap the Fralin out for a GZR. [/quote] No problem. It's just a personal thing of course. Another reason for going back to the BDDI was so I could have that awesomeness on all my basses, not just one. There were sown great tones coming out of the P-Retro, and playing in a covers band it seemed perfect. Thing is I've been playing for the past 10 years without needing that versatility, same goes for effects. I really like the GZR set. To my ears it lacks some of the low end mud that my Fralin has. It still thumps but it's a cleaner thump. There seems to be a bit of upper mid boost that I've not heard in a P before. This helps get a bit more growl with the neck pup, but it can still definitely do vintage warmth. The bridge pup is dead silent, and while not as strong tone wise as my Fender Super 55, it seems to work better when blended in than my pervious set up. In fact the tone I have now with both pups on is more or less the tone I was looking for with the P-Retro in my Squier CVP bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1401201152' post='2461092'] Now I'm dabbling with dual-pickup basses, it's a bit different... I think a preamp works in a Jazz (for example) because as you have more tones at your disposal anyway, a preamp turns a Jazz into an uber-Jazz... YMMV, etc. [/quote] Yeah, there does seem to be a lot more active jazz basses off the shelf than P basses Edited May 27, 2014 by dave_bass5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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