AJC08 Posted July 5 Posted July 5 Hi guys This year I have acquired a Lakland DJ 5 which I absolutely love! Out of a great deal of gear I have owned and used this is absolutely one of the best all around basses I've had so top marks to Lakland. I do however want to add a preamp of some sort. I've tried over a period of months to contact East for their specific one and had no response via email or on here. I hope everything is ok on their end but this is very frustrating. The preamp must ideally have bass, treble and a passive bypass. Don't mind stacked or anything along those lines. Ideally I'd have a passive tone control as well as I use that a hell of a lot. I just do not know where on earth to turn. It also needs to be easily available in the UK too as I cant be dealing with shipping from the US. Literally any advice on where to turn would be a huge help! Thanks as always Aj Quote
chris_b Posted July 5 Posted July 5 If you love the sound, why do you want to change it? I'd buy another bass to fiddle with. 1 Quote
Acebassmusic Posted July 5 Posted July 5 Sadowsky pre would fit the description....only drawback would you would need to fit a side jack. 🤷♂️ Bass Direct Pre Quote
chris_b Posted July 5 Posted July 5 44 minutes ago, Acebassmusic said: Sadowsky pre would fit the description.... Good call, but I'd suggest trying the Sadowsky preamp pedal. I have one and it's the more flexible option. 2 Quote
Terry M. Posted July 5 Posted July 5 5 hours ago, chris_b said: If you love the sound, why do you want to change it? I'd buy another bass to fiddle with. To be fair he didn't specifically say he loves the sound. But I'm sure he does 😊 Quote
Terry M. Posted July 5 Posted July 5 (edited) 12 hours ago, AJC08 said: Hi guys This year I have acquired a Lakland DJ 5 which I absolutely love! Out of a great deal of gear I have owned and used this is absolutely one of the best all around basses I've had so top marks to Lakland. I do however want to add a preamp of some sort. I've tried over a period of months to contact East for their specific one and had no response via email or on here. I hope everything is ok on their end but this is very frustrating. The preamp must ideally have bass, treble and a passive bypass. Don't mind stacked or anything along those lines. Ideally I'd have a passive tone control as well as I use that a hell of a lot. I just do not know where on earth to turn. It also needs to be easily available in the UK too as I cant be dealing with shipping from the US. Literally any advice on where to turn would be a huge help! Thanks as always Aj Another vote for the Sadowsky outboard premp pedal. You have the bonus of the bass's tone control in both active and passive a la VTC and you don't have to perform any surgery on the bass should you desire to move it on as-is. It will sell as it left the factory no problem as a lot of users want them all-passive. Then sell the pedal on also if needed. Edited July 5 by Terry M. Quote
itu Posted July 5 Posted July 5 A preamp may have some or many of the following features: - active mixing (instead of two vol, or blend) - bass -middle - treble - semiparametric eq - filter - tilt eq - individual adjustments for two pickups or coils On top of that there may be: - ser/par/single switching for pickups or coils - pickup selector - passive, or rather, hi-Z switch - hi-Z tone During the years some effects have been built to basses, like fuzz, and comp. Even a headphone amp. List the feats you want, and we can try to recommend something suitable to your bass. Quote
itu Posted July 5 Posted July 5 If you want B/T/tone, and blend/vol, your wish not to have stacked pots is rough. However if you leave T away, put the output jack to side or back (consider Strat style plate, like in Ritters have), you could have 4 pots in the front. Or if the T has switch and works as a tone, too, that would do. I think John East had one option, where all adjustments were divided to separate pots, but I couldn't find it now. His preamps are highest end, and are designed in a very interesting way. John used to design mixing consoles, and it can be seen in his creations. Quote
AJC08 Posted Monday at 07:27 Author Posted Monday at 07:27 Thanks for the suggestions guys. So I literally just need vol/vol or vol/blend (not fussed) b/t, and a passive switch ideally. I'm more than happy for stacked controls. Just no idea where to turn. In regards to liking the sound, I love it, but I want flexibility on board. If I'm playing live, I dont want to have to fiddle with pedals mid gig to get a slightly different tone. Plenty do that I knkw, just not for me. Thanks for the suggestions. Quote
Terry M. Posted Monday at 09:29 Posted Monday at 09:29 (edited) On 07/07/2025 at 08:27, AJC08 said: Thanks for the suggestions guys. So I literally just need vol/vol or vol/blend (not fussed) b/t, and a passive switch ideally. I'm more than happy for stacked controls. Just no idea where to turn. In regards to liking the sound, I love it, but I want flexibility on board. If I'm playing live, I dont want to have to fiddle with pedals mid gig to get a slightly different tone. Plenty do that I knkw, just not for me. Thanks for the suggestions. What are your thoughts with regards to the Sadowsky outboard preamp pedal? It keeps things real simple. Edit: you said you don't want to fiddle with pedals so ignore. Edited Friday at 08:12 by Terry M. Quote
NancyJohnson Posted Friday at 07:51 Posted Friday at 07:51 "I love this bass so much. It's the best ever, but I want to change it." If you love the sound, anything you install will have a profound effect on that, even in a flat position. Quote
Terry M. Posted Friday at 08:13 Posted Friday at 08:13 21 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said: "I love this bass so much. It's the best ever, but I want to change it." If you love the sound, anything you install will have a profound effect on that, even in a flat position. Which he may love even more? Only one way to find out. Quote
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