Gibbo9876 Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 Hi all I'm looking to get an active P bass circuit, in particular a treble, bass and mid boost/cut, does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 John East's P Retro gets a lot of love on BC (currently out of stock it appears). http://www.east-uk.com/index.php/all-products/p-retro.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo9876 Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 My only concern about the P retro is that you have to boost treble and bass at the same time (I'm a real lover of load of bass and little treble) would the deep boost be able to achieve this and can you vary the level of bass boost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 Sounds like the active circuit comes after the passive tone control, and there is a separate bass boost switch, so I guess you could achieve the tone you want somehow through those combinations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 What pickups and strings are you using on this P bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo9876 Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 Seymour Duncan Quarter pounders and Daddario rounds ( I know I should really be using flatwounds but I find them a little weird on the hand) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 All IMO. . . . but I'd say there's arguably no point in using flats on an active bass. The possibilities, the dynamics and tonal range of a pre amp are largely wasted on flats. I've put flats on active and passive Jazz type basses and the end result was that I'd moved the sound so far over to P bass that I'd have been better off with a real P bass. In the 90's I upgraded my old Precision with Bartolini pickups. It was a 110% night and day improvement. A year later I thought I'd finish the job and add a pre amp. I put in a top of the range Bart pre amp and improved the sound by . . . about 5%. IME good pickups give you the most benefit to the sound of a P bass. The preamp and J pickup (which I also did) gave such little improvement that, all this time later, I still regret wasting all that money. If you really want a pre amp I'd suggest an outboard pre amp, such as the Sadowsky. My 2p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 what about the Seymour Duncan Blackout would that be what you need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 [quote name='Gibbo9876' timestamp='1495277872' post='3302647'] Hi all I'm looking to get an active P bass circuit, in particular a treble, bass and mid boost/cut, does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks, [/quote] I used the John East P-Retro... it was good but I never got along with it 100%. I find their Stingray-style preamp (MMSR) much more to my liking and works well with Precision type basses. The 3-knob 3-band is really good, and the mids control have a frequency-selector knob, which is very useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 [quote name='Gibbo9876' timestamp='1495279752' post='3302667'] My only concern about the P retro is that you have to boost treble and bass at the same time (I'm a real lover of load of bass and little treble) would the deep boost be able to achieve this and can you vary the level of bass boost? [/quote] The thing with the P Retro is that you still have the passive tone control (with a choice of capacitors) so you can dial in the desired amount of passive treble cut, and use the concentric dual control to choose whether to scoop mids (turning up low/treble) or to boost them... and select exactly the mid frequency range to be affected. I *think* the amount of low boost was selectable in the circuitry via a trim pot (not 100% sure). So you'd most likely get the sound you want from it. Personally I find it easier to deal with a more standard type of preamp. Hence my preference for the MMSR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo9876 Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 [quote name='DarkHeart' timestamp='1495286486' post='3302720'] what about the Seymour Duncan Blackout would that be what you need? [/quote] What are the blackout's like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 [quote name='Gibbo9876' timestamp='1495282406' post='3302689'] ( I know I should really be using flatwounds but I find them a little weird on the hand) [/quote] Dude, seriously...when did you decide that? Play what you like and don't pander to the basschat flatwound mafia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 [quote name='Gibbo9876' timestamp='1495296438' post='3302813'] What are the blackout's like? [/quote] Dunno never used one but youtube is your friend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 I have the P Retro in an ACG bass, the deep boost (frequency selectable) and tone controls are your friend here. I find it very easy to adjust to get pretty much what I want. Alternatively you can set the control to mid boost and add the deep boost too. Which for what you describe may be the better option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andytre Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 (edited) [color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=4]i have the artec SE-2A in my one of my Franken P's and for the £20 it cost i really like it. it has bass and treble boost/cut on a stacked pot so you can use the existing 2 holes in the pickguard. i'm only using a cheap stellah pickup but the tone out of it is really usable. probably not the hottest output but i've never had an issue with volume levels. i think they also do others with mid control and such but for the price its a great way to dip your toe into an active Precision [/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=sans-serif]EDIT the Artec SE-3 has mid control and is £15 on Thomann[/font][/color] Edited May 24, 2017 by Andytre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 EMG's BTC Control is a stacked bass/treb unit that works with any pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 I've got a bass with a J-Retro and is is rather good; if I were activating a P-bass, I'd definitely look at the John East product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 [quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1495297572' post='3302833'] Dude, seriously...when did you decide that? Play what you like and don't pander to the basschat flatwound mafia. [/quote] It is written! Bassaniah chapter 2 verse 17 "He who hath a P musteth use flats" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 [quote name='Andytre' timestamp='1495620246' post='3305299']i have the artec SE-2A in my one of my Franken P's and for the £20 it cost i really like it. it has bass and treble boost/cut on a stacked pot so you can use the existing 2 holes in the pickguard. ... EDIT the Artec SE-3 has mid control and is £15 on Thomann [/quote] I've got the SE-3PA in my Yamaha fretless, it's a great little unit and I'm chuffed with it, especially for the price. If the SE-2A is as good as this, it'd be well worth considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo9876 Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 The artec certainly sounds interesting, and at the price it seems like a steal. many thanks, everyone. I'll have a go with a few options and see what works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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