Plugging a passive guitar into an active plug

[darkhorse9]

Here's my dumb question of the week. I play two basses, both are passive. My amp has two inputs, one for active and one for passive.

Is there are reason I can't plug my passive guitar into the active plug and therefore make changing guitars quicker?

[M0ses]

Nope. One will be quieter, though.

[Rockingbird]

I think its a 12 to 15dB volume difference. Beyond that, I can't recall much.

[canadian*eh]

None what soo ever. The active plug on most amp is ether -10db's but can be as high as - 15db's due to the fact the active electronics are quit hot and give you a bit more head room on you pre amp. The only thing with putting a passive bass through it is you will just have to turn up you master a lil bit to make up for the db loss...other wise will work fine. Alot of people also use active basses through the passive plug...it gives them a hotter signal. Hope that helps a lil bit!! Cheers Mate!!~Elliot

[bongomania]

Another thing to note: the labels "active" and "passive" on amp inputs are utterly bogus. It's one of those things that some big brand did thirty years ago, and everyone started putting the same labels on their amp inputs, just for those customers who said "I play an active bass, so I need an amp with an active input." The truth is the different inputs are for basses with different output levels, high or low, and nothing whatsoever to do with active versus passive.