Am I Active or Passive???

[rydin4lifebass]

I have an Ibanez SRX300 which says "Active EQ" and has a battery. So is the EQ active and the pickups not? Is there such a thing as active pickups and passive EQ or active EQ and passive pickups or is it only one or the other? I have active and passive inputs on my amp and plug it into the passive because it sounds better...sorry for the stupid questions here.

[Baron Von Vik]

If you had asked "what is a bass?" that would have been a stupid question.

What you have is an Ibanez active EQ/preamp/passive pickup combo if I'm not mistaken. As far as I know, EMG and Seymour Duncan Basslines Blackouts are the only true "active pickups." Of course, I may be wrong...

And plug them in wherever you want, but keep in mind that high-volume clipping has a tendency to tear up speakers.

[lx_night]

all pickups are passive pickup. but few pickups out there are active pickups. what you have is an active preamp that makes your signal or bass an active bass.

It all depends on the preamp really.

[line6man]

90% of the time "Active" means passive pickups with a preamp.

Some basses have active pickups, which can be used with or without preamps.

The only difference between the active and passive inputs on your amp should be that the active input is attenuated for use with very hot basses. Whether your bass is active or passive is actually completely irrelevant.

[line6man]

Originally Posted by lx_night

all pickups are passive pickup. but few pickups out there are active pickups.

That statement contradicts itself.

How can all pickups be passive if some pickups are active?

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by line6man

That statement contradicts itself.

How can all pickups be passive if some pickups are active?

I don't read it like that.
I read it as 'All pickups can/do function passively, however...'

[sikamikanico]

Originally Posted by rydin4lifebass

I have an Ibanez SRX300 which says "Active EQ" and has a battery. So is the EQ active and the pickups not?

Yes (probably, i'm not Ibanez expert... but most pickups are passive)

Originally Posted by rydin4lifebass

Is there such a thing as active pickups and passive EQ or active EQ and passive pickups or is it only one or the other?

Yes, there are active pickups (as mentioned). There is of course passive EQ - the tone knob on passive basses is the most common one (reduces top frequencies). I am not sure about combinations, but probably all combinations have been tried already...

Originally Posted by rydin4lifebass

I have active and passive inputs on my amp and plug it into the passive because it sounds better...sorry for the stupid questions here.

If it sounds better, it's ok... Some active basses have weaker output than some passive basses, so there is no general rule. But, be careful about clipping - if the sound is distorted, reduce gain (unless you WANT the distortion )