Do active basses sound better than passive basses to many because it is louder? - Page 2

3NotesAbar · #21 01-25-2013, 08:13 PM

All electric guitars and basses started out as passive instruments. Maybe the existing electronics were designed in their time to fit each other in terms of sound? Enter active circuitry and it gave us an opportunity to either enhance our sound (in the mix) or to completely render it unuseable.

mcm · #22 01-25-2013, 08:15 PM

Passive is best IMO

hibachiduck · #23 01-25-2013, 08:16 PM

As for whether active or passive is better: carrots.

I think one of the advantages to active basses is that they are low impedence. That really matters more to me than volume (if I want more input volume I'll just turn the gain up on my amp). The EQ is just a plus. How many layers of EQ do we really need on our bass signal anyway? Some people have 5 or more EQ's in their signal chain (and a large percentage of those people don't know how to properly set up any one of those stages). It's nice to be able to adjust your EQ in a live setting mid-song if you notice something is wonky (getting proper sound in the practice room and on stage are two different things). Everything else I can pretty much do on my amp or pedals.

I prefer passive basses, but I also like a more vintagey / lo-fi sound. I do have an EBMM Sterling that I love though. Doesn't quite sound right for my sound though (if I start playing gigs as a floating bassist though it'll come in handy having that option available to me).

darkstorm · #24 01-25-2013, 08:21 PM

I also notice better low bass articulation and a little bit of upper trebl;e extension with preamp added even with bass/mids/treb;e set flat. Active switching sugnal to lowZ is the reason I think for this improved sound fidelity and detail.

**jbybj** · #25 01-26-2013, 12:24 AM

Just like a good compressor can be set so that you retain your playing dynamics, but the subtle compression just makes the signal "pop", I think the same thing happens with some preamps. I have no technical basis for this, just my ears and opinion, but I think some preamps induce a mild compression, which helps give the impression of a "better" tone. EMG's feel like they do this, and Alembic too. These are the only active systems I'm really familiar with.

petrus61 · #26 01-26-2013, 01:05 AM

To me, passive pickups with high quality compression and gain are far superior to just about any active setup. The exception to this being 2 band Musicman Stingrays. The early ones seemed to just about nail it in one simple package, with that classic "sizzle" and chest pounding bottom. Tonal options and choices don't necessarily equate to good tone. As has been said, there are so many factors like strings, active/passive pickups, pickup placement....and the oft overlooked AMPLIFIER. Some play well with passive, some better with active, etc. A large factor ( but hardly the only one) contributing to such widespread use of solid state amps occurred back in the 70's, when the founders of such amps as GK, Acoustic and SWR to name a few, we're conceiving ways to keep tube amps from blowing up from all the slapping and popping of the day. Onboard preamps became to basses what solid state became to tube amps. More control over all sorts of dynamic range. Things change, old becomes new, folks rediscover proven formulas and wonder why they strayed...

It's a long twisted tale, that because of the streamlined technology we are blessed with today, comes down to one thing: personal preferance.

sven kalmar · #27 01-26-2013, 04:02 AM

interesting reading. i too love the tone up on P board. I connect better to the passive P bass.feels like the bass is a part of me. It it a bit more dynamic? i had a yamaha 6 stringsome years ago, loved it immediately but after a while found out the pbass feels better. to me.

Bassist Jay · #28 01-26-2013, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baird6869

Just curious as to why bassists prefer active or passive basses when comparing both properly ABed/EQed.

Personally, if I play one of my 1970's Fenders thru my current rig, they sound great....

If I then plug in an active bass with the same EQ and volume levels... Wow! Louder (obviously) but much more full and in your face than the passives. To many, it would sound "better".

BUT... When I record with a passive bass, it can sound as good or even better than an active bass. Same on a gig with a good soundman or at last a proper FOH mix.

So, why do you prefer one over the other?

Louder isn't always better but here is why I prefer active basses over passive basses. Let's take a Fender that is passive and a Music Man that is active. Yes, both sound great to many people. Yes the Music Man will be louder. But here is where the real difference is. With the Fender, you will get one real good sound out of it and that is it. There is very little room for versatility. With the Music Man or most other active basses, you have tons of versatility. It's not active to be louder per say but it gives you the ability to boost or decrease certain frequencies so as a result, you can get multiple sounds of almost any kind.

I started out with passive basses and they were one trick ponies. I then switched to active basses in 1994 and have used them since but did like you suggested. I simply maxed out everything and though it was cool because it was louder. I then got involved with Music Man and started learning. I bought my first of four Bongo's and counting and did was I did in the past. Maxed everything out and couldn't believe the volume level. Sterling Ball then responded to one of my posts over at their forum and educated me on how to properly use an active bass. Holy cow, I am so glad he did because 3 years later, I am still discovering new tones and sounds out of all of my active basses now.

dabbler · #29 01-26-2013, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassist Jay

Louder isn't always better but here is why I prefer active basses over passive basses. Let's take a Fender that is passive and a Music Man that is active. Yes, both sound great to many people. Yes the Music Man will be louder. But here is where the real difference is. With the Fender, you will get one real good sound out of it and that is it. There is very little room for versatility. With the Music Man or most other active basses, you have tons of versatility. It's not active to be louder per say but it gives you the ability to boost or decrease certain frequencies so as a result, you can get multiple sounds of almost any kind.

I started out with passive basses and they were one trick ponies. I then switched to active basses in 1994 and have used them since but did like you suggested. I simply maxed out everything and though it was cool because it was louder. I then got involved with Music Man and started learning. I bought my first of four Bongo's and counting and did was I did in the past. Maxed everything out and couldn't believe the volume level. Sterling Ball then responded to one of my posts over at their forum and educated me on how to properly use an active bass. Holy cow, I am so glad he did because 3 years later, I am still discovering new tones and sounds out of all of my active basses now.

One real good sound??? This is a joke, right? You could maybe assume that a P is a one trick, but you said Fender, and a J gives many tones by just adjusting the volume knobs relative to each other... then you have the tone knob.

One of us is missing something.

petrus61 · #30 01-26-2013, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassist Jay

With the Fender, you will get one real good sound out of it and that is it. There is very little room for versatility.

Musicman basses aren't exactly shining examples of versatility, with their all or nothing bottom and ever present sizzle. You have a somewhat naive view on tone if this is what you truly think. What Fender are you talking about? A jazz? A precision? A mustang? Early 50's era precision? Versatility isn't how much you can adjust your bass to fit a song, but how many songs a bass fits in without adjusting it. There's a reason Precisions are the most recorded electric bass in history and it isn't because it's a one trick pony..

Jools4001 · #31 01-26-2013, 04:58 PM

I have 7 basses. 3 are passive, 3 have some sort of standard active circuit. The active basses are no louder than the passives because the first thing I do for whichever bass I'm using is to set the gain on the amp. If one bass is hotter than another, it gets levelled out anyway so no difference there.

As far as active vs passive goes I've never been overwhelmed by conventional active controls; after all, the controls on a conventional active bass really only replicate the controls you would find on the amp, so they don't really give any more flexibility except for the fact that they put the tone controls closer to hand and enable tweaks to be made on the fly, so although I've had active basses for quite a while I've never seen a compelling advantage over passive.

My final bass however, has an ACG EQ-02 filter pre-amp in it and that is a conmpletely different prospect. With this preamp you can completely change the voicing of the bass, so if you want it to sound like a P, J, MM or Ric it's just a tweak of the filters away. For me, this changes the game completely.

Wallace320 · #32 01-26-2013, 05:05 PM

Do passive basses cut thru better? Yes

Cheers,
Wallace

Bassist4Eris · #33 01-26-2013, 05:15 PM

I like having powerful tone-shaping circuits right at my fingertips. Sometimes what works at soundcheck just isn't *quite* right when the gig actually starts. Being able to reach down between phrases and tweak is nice. Probably drives the FOH guy nuts though! My main axe can switch from active to passive, and the engineer that I most often record with prefers me to use it in passive mode. Because I believe in hiring people who know what they're doing, and then actually trusting them to do it, I always oblige.

scubaduba · #34 01-26-2013, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TolerancEJ

If you let the battery go dead, you'll have no sound. lol

That depends on the electronic schematics of the bass. Not necessarily true.

tekdiver500ft · #35 01-26-2013, 05:23 PM

Active basses don't sound "better," and they aren't necessarily louder. However, you are correct in that for a first impression, louder nearly always sounds better. My passive P Bass is 3-6 dB hotter than most active basses, so that theory won't wash. Tone? That is so subjective that you can't say one sounds "better" than the other. I prefer an active Stingray over most passive basses, but I prefer a passive P over everything. See? Totally subjective and personal.

Lackey · #36 01-26-2013, 05:30 PM

Its just a signal boost and some onboard eq... nothing more. Personally I like simplicity, so passive has always been my thing. If I need to cut some treble to take the edge off new strings I just use the passive tone knob or turn the treble down on the amp a bit.

I remember a guy telling me that "passive pickups" and preamps weren't able to deal with B strings... What a nut. My own TRB 6 and BB 5 strings are both passive and they have no problems displaying the B string in full glory. He should tell his little theory to Anthony Jackson while he's at it.

eban3 · #37 01-26-2013, 05:30 PM

Alot depends on the type of music yr playing , for example you would,nt want a hifi sound in a blues and and visa versa , nor would you prbably want a passive sound in a funk band ....all what the music calls for

M. Owen Santy · #38 01-26-2013, 05:37 PM

Something I noticed a few years back is I really love the sound of passive pickups with an active tone shaping EQ (IE: Some MTD & Spector Tone Pro Jr.). Something about the ability to round out things without having to be "modern" sounding.

millsbass5 · #39 01-26-2013, 05:37 PM

My '75 J-Bass sincerely sounds like an active bass. It's gotta be the ash/maple combo. Such hard woods. The tone has such "spring" to it. IMHO, a bass built with any other woods, needs to be active.

capnsandwich · #40 01-26-2013, 05:39 PM

I like my active basses simply because they sound more modern than any passive bass I've played. I also like stainless steel strings or bright nickels. To me, it's the hotness of the tone I like, especially when slapping. A passive Fender bass is nice but when compared to an active Sadowsky or even an active Fender Jazz, the active basses just do it for me. Yeah, active basses usually are louder simply because there's more output because of the 9v or 18v power that's pushing it, but I like the tone more so. I also like the ability to dial in my tone at my bass rather than going to the amp every time. In a band where I play a wide range of music, I need a versatile bass that can give me what I need for whatever song I'm playing without having to go to the amp every time.