Noob active/passive question!

[Sublab]

So here it goes!

I understand that a preamp makes a bass guitar active, while having no preamp makes it passive. But are there also active and passive pickups? I'm putting together my own bass and this question popped up.

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by Sublab

So here it goes!

I understand that a preamp makes a bass guitar active, while having no preamp makes it passive. But are there also active and passive pickups? I'm putting together my own bass and this question popped up.

Yes there are. A passive pickup will just be a coil of wire etc. requiring no power to operate, while an active pickups will have part of a preamp circuit built into the pickup and the pickup itself will require 9 volt power. (some EMGs for example). However, the majority of active basses seem to use passive pickups. This is good in my opinion because I like the backup of an active bass that has a switch that lets you go passive in an emergency (dead battery...or maybe just because you want some passive tone).

[line6man]

Yes.

Active pickups are fairly uncommon, however.

[Sublab]

Thanks a bunch guys!

I'm looking at Delano humbuckers pared with an ACG filter based preamp.

thx!

[darkstorm]

Originally Posted by Sublab

Thanks a bunch guys!

I'm looking at Delano humbuckers pared with an ACG filter based preamp.

thx!

That would be a nice combination imo.