active/passive preamp volume

thombo · #1 10-30-2007, 02:44 PM

is there any way to have a bass that has both an active and passive mode, and does not drop in volume when switching between the two?
specific preamp?

thombo · #2 10-30-2007, 08:16 PM

what about the john east pres? is see that they are already set up w/ both active and passive... does the volume drop in passive?

fuNKmaster83 · #3 10-31-2007, 09:08 AM

my srange experience is the opposite...

i regulary service basses and guitars at least one guitar a day... compared to my cheap P bass Stagg **** with no controls only the OUT jack... all active basses had lower out (with east preamps, marcus miller signatures, ibanezes, yamahas, MM...), the exseption are alembic and status witch are the same out as my passive monster

i use to think that passive basses are lower in output... but real world experience tells me other vise

fullrangebass · #4 10-31-2007, 09:46 AM

The output depends on the pickups first of all (talking about active and passive basses output), and the output is the highest when no pots (meaning resistance) are in the circuit. As far as active/passive switches, if the preamp is not adjusted to provide the same output when run flat, it is slightly annoying.

thombo · #5 10-31-2007, 07:55 PM

let me get this straight, i plan on building this... hypothetically...
i have a bass w/ nord dual coils (passive pups)...
an active pre (aguilar obp-3 or john east) and a bypass switch that puts the bass in passive mode (w/ a tone knob)...
based on what was said, i could adjust the output volume of the active pre (when flat) to match the output volume of the bass in passive mode.
do i have that right?

mikezimmerman · #6 10-31-2007, 08:27 PM

Unlike many pres, the Aguilar doesn't have a gain control--it's set to be unity gain (no boost) when the controls are set flat. The OBP-3 isn't my favorite pre, but in my experience the output level matches the passive output pretty closely.

The East has a gain control that could be adjusted so that the active level is pretty close to the passive/bypass level.

Mike

thombo · #7 10-31-2007, 08:46 PM

other preamp suggestions w/ nord dualis?

mikezimmerman · #8 10-31-2007, 08:49 PM

I'm a big fan of the Audere myself, and many people (including the folks at Nordstrand and Roscoe) seem to like it with the Nordie pickups.

Mike

fullrangebass · #9 11-01-2007, 01:36 AM

Nords DC have been great with John East Retro Deluxe