Electronics/Impedance question (Fuzz pedal/ active bass issues)

[Jateca]

This is a re-post from a different forum:

I got to try out my friend's Zvex wooly mammoth fuzz today.

With my passive bass: DAMN! That's exactly the sound I'm after. Synthy, gated, aggressive. Ticks all the boxes. I really want this sound.

With my actives: Nope. Low of low-end, amplifies noises, rattles etc. This is a problem because my main bass is an active 5 string Stingray.

I understand that this is due to the differing output impedances of my basses, so I need help considering solutions.

Obviously, one would be to put a bypass of the active circuitry of my bass, but then I would still have to put the pedal as the first in my chain so that other pedals don't do the same thing.

Would putting an extra resistor in the pedal's signal path work to raise the impedance without adversly affecting tone?

I've looked through a few threads on the forum, but not found any satisfactory answers for the resistor idea.

Appreciate any help, guys.

cheers

[TheMutt]

Originally Posted by Barge Concepts

As a passive signal emulator: The GLZ’s variable impedance control alters the resistive output of the buffering stage, to make the output signal appear more like a passive signal. This is particularly useful for bassists and guitarists with active pickups that want to send a 'passive-looking' signal to vintage effects that may not respond well to buffers.

http://www.bargeconcepts.com/glzbv.html

/thread

[rockstarbassist]

Search for "Impedence buffer" and you'll see Toasted's model's thread.

[B.C.]

Originally Posted by Jateca

This is a re-post from a different forum:

I got to try out my friend's Zvex wooly mammoth fuzz today.

With my passive bass: DAMN! That's exactly the sound I'm after. Synthy, gated, aggressive. Ticks all the boxes. I really want this sound.

With my actives: Nope. Low of low-end, amplifies noises, rattles etc. This is a problem because my main bass is an active 5 string Stingray.

I understand that this is due to the differing output impedances of my basses, so I need help considering solutions.

Obviously, one would be to put a bypass of the active circuitry of my bass, but then I would still have to put the pedal as the first in my chain so that other pedals don't do the same thing.

Would putting an extra resistor in the pedal's signal path work to raise the impedance without adversly affecting tone?

I've looked through a few threads on the forum, but not found any satisfactory answers for the resistor idea.

Appreciate any help, guys.

cheers

There are a few ways you can do this.
A linear pot in series with you input is an easy way to do it. You can send Zack Vex an e-mail for more info.

I personally like a more complicated version using an inductor. Here is the link. http://www.muzique.com/lab/pickups.htm

Feel free to PM me, I've done several mods to my Mammoth.