Passive vs active???

[darkstorm]

If you like your current bass and its tone., You can add a preamp of choice, 2 or 3 band to your existing passive bass. The vast majority of active basses are passive pups with active 2-3 band eq. This generally broadens the tone and improves overall sound detail plus low bass articulation.

[Spirit of Ox]

IMO, active basses are better for slapping and tapping (Billy Sheehan wil disagree).
I find that they are more sensitive to touch. I have used them but not anymore. The last active bass I had was a custom built Jazz with Lane Poor pickups and Lane Poor preamp. I gave it to my brother for high school graduation and now it is gone forever.

[Laurent]

If you are going for tone, passive bass is the way to go.
If you play live a lot and need to be heard through a busy mix, active is the way to go.
Passive is old school, active has more modern tones.

I would stay with your passive bass and add a booster pedal if you need to get a bit more punch and decibels. It's cheaper than a new bass.
The Fulltone Fat Boost FB-3 is good for this, you can also look at a Homebrew Electronics Bajo Mos.

[jason1980's]

To me its all about the characteristics of my sound. Simple as that, not getting into any of the technical wiring of pickups and preamps and stuff. I prefer passives but only certain ones, mainly Fender P basses. From what I get out of my Fender P bass that I don't get out of any active bass and a few other passives, sure I got the low end of the P bass be it growling clarity or an old school solid foundation, but what I appreciate is the high notes. On most Fender passive basses I have played, it seems the high end is really smooth, almost like it sings. To me the actives don't do that on the high end, it seems to get more of the sound and twang of the string (talking about 7th-24th frets on the G string) rather than the smooth singing characteristics that I like. I do however like the low end boom and fullness you can get from actives.

Some passives such as some of the Warwicks, ESP's, and modern Ibanez basses I have played doesn't get the passive characteristics I am looking for, they seem to have quite a few characteristics from the actives especially on the high end. I have also tried a few basses which have options of both passive and active, but I still don't get the passive characteristics I am looking for. It may just be only a Fender P bass thing and doesn't apply to all or most of the passives out there, but that is my take on the whole passive and active situation, I do not believe one is more versitle than the other or believe either can't belong in any musical setting. I seem to always play and like the sounds of P basses and Rickenbacker 4001/4003s but I do get the active urges every now and then, I will never be 100% sold on either.

[topcat2069]

Originally Posted by dontay

Play what you like and buy what you like...its that simple. I use to listen to others then I just stopped and did my own thing.

+1

I now buy Basses that play well... as in feel and sound good to me stock and un-EQd. Whether or not the Bass is active or passive only enters into the equation if (active) the battery needs changing.
I rarely use the EQ on any active Bass I've owned.... but I've found that [sometimes] active is less [reactive] to bar signs and the environments that sometimes I play in (as in less hum and buzz).

[Green Lantern]

I prefer active basses for the following reasons.
When the strings go a little dead, you can boost the treble, and its more effective having it on the pre amp then compared to just boosting the bass amp treble knob.

If you slap bass, you don't have to hit the strings as hard as your signal to your amp is stronger. And its not the same as just making your amp louder. The sensitivity is better with the active. I have played both passive and active and just like the active sound better. Maybe a P bass does not need to be active, but the J and soapbar pickups I prefer active.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by Laurent

If you are going for tone, passive bass is the way to go.

Which tone? Depends on the tone you want. There is no single correct tone.

I think Stanley Clarke gets a great tone, and you aren't going to get that from a passive bass. Musicman basses sound great too.

If you want old school Motown, then a passive bass would be an easy way to get that.

[Ric5]

Originally Posted by mixmastermike

Is there a pedal that can essentially do the same thing as an inboard preamp?

[Ric5]

Also for a jazz bass the j-retro and the Audere preamps are excellent choices.

[pasco jacorius]

I had an active bass with a wonderful pair of barts and a aguilar obp 3 many tonal options and very "boutique like" tone..I bought a passive one and decided I'd never play an active bass anymore. Why ? Because passive basses don't help you, you really have to deal with them, and they'll give you what your playing deserve, while an active bass will "help" you or fight against you .. Though the obp 3 sounded very natural for me, but not as natural(organic) as the passive electronic sounds. If you had to upgrade somethin it would probably be the pickups(like a pair of bars or higher ends pu's)..but you don't really need internal preamp, if you ever happen to be needing more than 2 different sounds on stage (like in a jazz fusion band) get an outboard preamp(it will never be as "tricky" as an internal preamp and will conserve the dynamics of your passive bass) and activate it (with the right setting) for that solo part (i.e).Then bypass it and just play that bottom end everybody love to move their head on.

[Jaco Taco]

All the bassist that inspired me to play the bass played through passive pickups. And they all have tones that are my favorite bass tones ever. Hence, passive pickups are right for me.

I guess you have to ask yourself what kind of sound you want out of the bass? If you find that a lot of your favorite bass tones came from active pickups, then go active. If you find all of your favorite bass tones came from old Fender Jazz or Precision pick-ups, or from Rickenbackers, then stay passive.

[ILLINOX]

so then... as builders; which do you more-often load your basses with for the sales floor?

[Dbassmon]

Active bass preamps have become very much in fashion for player seeking the hi-fi shimmering, sparkly snap and extended lows - often described as a scooped sound. This sound is associated with Marcus Miller and many other players.
Active pre amps allow you shape you sound on the fly moving easily between finger style and slap instantly, adjusting for what part of the audio spectrum you want to emphasize. I find active preamps also add a little compression to the signal.

Passive circuits have warmth and a little less clarity but also are punchier as the are not compressed sounding.

I like the being able to chose the tone I want, sometimes it's active, sometimes its passive.

I don't know if "upgrading" is correct way of describing adding an active component to your sound, altering it is more accurate. A pre-amp with a bypass and vintage tone control lets you do it all....

[mcnach]

Originally Posted by Bongolation

Yes, by all means, "upgrade" by running your signal through 42¢ worth of 9V battery operated electronics selected for lowest cost and current draw.

Does that make sense to you?

Actives are a convenience for live use -- if you must twiddle with stuff to fairly surreal tonal extremes, don't care about adding noise and are too busy to go to to your amp -- but otherwise I just can't see it. If you are recording, any processing will be better done by the hugely higher quality studio electronics and VSTs and by the producer and engineer who are responsible for the sound of the track and mix (not you).

If you're not playing out nor recording, do whatever you want because it doesn't matter.

I regret every active bass I own, and I own a bunch of them.

Yeah, I guess a Stingray (for example, as it's my favourite bass) is very noisy and records badly etc.
Not for one minute!!!

[subdude67]

i think it is all down to your preference. like others said, don't change a thing as long as YOU are happy with it.

active circuitry usually gives you much more tonal options. i have just converted an active bass to passive because i don't need all the sound possibilities and i am very happy with the passive, more old school sound.

i won't go back to active in a hurry.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by Bongolation

Yes, by all means, "upgrade" by running your signal through 42¢ worth of 9V battery operated electronics selected for lowest cost and current draw.

Does that make sense to you?

Actives are a convenience for live use -- if you must twiddle with stuff to fairly surreal tonal extremes, don't care about adding noise and are too busy to go to to your amp -- but otherwise I just can't see it. If you are recording, any processing will be better done by the hugely higher quality studio electronics and VSTs and by the producer and engineer who are responsible for the sound of the track and mix (not you).

If you're not playing out nor recording, do whatever you want because it doesn't matter.

I regret every active bass I own, and I own a bunch of them.

There are no preamps with 42 cents worth of parts. A typical Musicman preamp has about $12 worth of parts.

No one uses on board preamp to do extreme "surreal" tonal changes, unless they don't have a clue about what they are doing. And if you are going to you amp to make tonal changes between songs, you aren't doing it right either.

Also VST plugins have nothing to do with active basses.

The idea behind an active bass is to get a wider frequency response from the pickup, and to allow shaping of the tone, right from the bass.

Marcus Miller put a preamp in his Jazz bass precisely to have control over the tone of the bass while recording. And this was from his experience being in the studio. Judging from the number of high profile sessions he has played on, I'd say the whole idea that the preamp in the bass was inferior to that what was in the studio is wrong.

If you use one tone all night long on a gig, then a passive bass is just fine.

[grendle]

I run all active basses with active preamps . I have since the 80's . I prefer the attack, clarity and tone available with actives. More specifically emg's . Barts are great too in the right bass. I don't change tones a lot but am happy with the tone from the onboard pre's in my basses. The flexability is there if I need it. I also don't believe in eqing for the room, I run from my bass to a di to foh so the sound man can do that. But its basically the same tone from my rig.

If your hearing something you like from the active setup, go for it. It's not complicated. In my experience I have never had a noisy preamp, batteries don't just die ( change them once a year and don't leave your bass plugged in) they get scratchy and you'll lose some output when they start to go. Electronics these days are generally good, don't believe the majority of horror stories. Those are usually from people who don't take care of their gear, incompetent electronics / tech work, or people who just don't know any better.

If you think its your thing, give it a shot. There are tons of passive /active and active / active basses out there (more than passive basses). The one thing most will not do however is get a totally passive tone. Generally though that's not a problem, or you use your passive bass as a back up.

[JimmyM]

Here's my take on the subject...whatever.

I've got passive basses that will never see an active pickup system, and I've got active basses that will never see a passive pickup system. My main squeeze is a 95 Precision Lyte that I recently installed EMG PJ's and a BQC preamp, and it totally brought that bass to life. Plus I change my sound fairly often through the course of the night, and I do it on the bass itself so I don't need an outboard preamp before my DI. I find it to be pretty good quality, maybe not to the level of the preamp in my 69 SVT but at least as good as your basic preamp pedal being powered by a 9v battery.

Having said that, I totally get the attraction to passive pickups, and my current #2, a 76 Precision with passive PJ's (Fender 62 CS P and DiMarzio Ultrajazz) absolutely smokes with the pickups that are on it. It's certainly not an inferior sounding bass by any means.

My advice is if you're happy with the pickups on it, ignore your teacher. If not, maybe you could look into new pickups.

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I find it to be pretty good quality, maybe not to the level of the preamp in my 69 SVT but at least as good as your basic preamp pedal being powered by a 9v battery.

Technically it's a "better" preamp than the SVT because it has less distortion and is flatter when the tone controls are set flat. Not that inducing its own color is a bad thing, as many people like SVTs, but you cannot set the EQ flat. It was designed that way. Most people want an on board preamp to be transparent.

So it's apple and oranges. As long as someone likes the tone, that's the one that's best.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

Technically it's a "better" preamp than the SVT because it has less distortion and is flatter when the tone controls are set flat. Not that inducing its own color is a bad thing, as many people like SVTs, but you cannot set the EQ flat. It was designed that way. Most people want an on board preamp to be transparent.

So it's apple and oranges. As long as someone likes the tone, that's the one that's best.

I don't know how it measures on a scope, but I can set an SVT to sound quite flat to my ears when I need it.

Then again, we had this conversation before, and you didn't believe me then, and you probably still don't