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

[SoVeryTired]

To answer the original question:

They don't necessarily and they aren't necessarily.

(i.e. active basses don't necessarily sound better and they aren't necessarily louder - it varies from bass to bass.)

[zazz]

I'm pretty impressed by the wal active preamp.....it really is shaping the tone violently in a good way ...and it's way more effective than anything my ebs preamp circuitry could hope to achieve. To think of it as just an amp to make the signal louder is so way off the mark in this case.

[VanillaThundah]

I like hot pickups in a passive bass....i call them "passive aggressive" basses

[Duke21]

Originally Posted by SoVeryTired

To answer the original question:

They don't necessarily and they aren't necessarily.

(i.e. active basses don't necessarily sound better and they aren't necessarily louder - it varies from bass to bass.)

Indeed, and some active basses sound sterile and non organic, like a 9V batteries some say...

[Duke21]

While other active basses sound great, Bergers, Ibanez... But then some passive basses sound great and aggressive.

[NWB]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

So, why do you prefer one over the other?

My preference may depend on the time of day and/or mood of the moment. Each one offers something different and one may work better than the other for a particular musical situation.

All that said, if I were forced to use just one bass, then that would be a passive jazz.

[Fuzzbass]

Sometimes. It depends.

That's the answer many questions here on TalkBass along with "personal preference".

I tend to prefer active for the broader frequency range, but my active basses (Sadowskys) also include a passive tone control and preamp bypass, so they function as active or passive. I think my Sadowskys sound better when active because of the broader frequency range, not just because of volume.

The OP is correct that "louder sounds better", it's why most people don't like the parallel setting of the typical series/parallel switch, but many of us try our best to even the volume when A/Bing.

[IronLung1986]

Originally Posted by VanillaThundah

I like hot pickups in a passive bass....i call them "passive aggressive" basses

Hahaha awesome.

[simenandreas]

I prefer passive electronics on my basses mainly because I feel I get more of the woody tone. And like the shape the tone with fingers with dynamic and fingering position

[chadds]

Originally Posted by SoVeryTired

To answer the original question:

They don't necessarily and they aren't necessarily.

(i.e. active basses don't necessarily sound better and they aren't necessarily louder - it varies from bass to bass.)

.....and some people get their tone at their bass and keep their amp relatively flat while others do the opposite. Some folks also choose very colored amps because their bass doesn't have much and vice versa.

[hibachiduck]

Originally Posted by capnsandwich

IMO and throwing out the obvious fingers and strings elements, a P bass is limited in tone by the tone knob and amp's EQ. The passive J bass is limited in tone by the tone knob, pickup pan knob and amp's EQ. Depending on the preamp, the active bass is limited in tone by a tone knob (if applicable), the bass-mid-treble knobs, pickup pan knobs and the amp's EQ along with any coil tapping switches. All basses are limited in tone to some extent. However, with the bass, mid and treble knobs added into the equation, you can get a much more versatile bass at your fingertips on the fly as opposed to going back to the amp and tweaking the EQ. It makes adjusting on the fly much easier and quicker than the limits of a passive tone knob, pickup panning knob and amp's EQ adjustments.

Also, headroom is a big factor, especially in live situations. If you've ever played in a crowded bar with horrible acoustics and a loud drummer, you'll realize how quick your tone will get muddy in a band setting. Yeah sure, you could just turn up but that would just muddy up your tone even more if your amp lacks the headroom to make it sound clean in a situation like that. A good preamp can push the extra decibels to give your tone a better chance to be cleaner and clearer at louder volumes and in less than ideal acoustic situations. This is also important at outdoor gigs when you also have to deal with outside noises. IMO, IME, YMMV.

If you lack headroom, throwing extra power at it will make it distort more, or am I missing something? Plus, since it's at the front end (before the head's preamp) and preamps distort more easily, it seems more likely that you will have distortion than just turning the master up. If you give your amp too little signal I can understand there being problems, but that's what the gain knob is for. I highly doubt you're diming the gain knob if you're worried about being muddy or distorted.

Think about it this way: outputting more signal from your bass is like turning up the gain on your head's preamp. There is a legitimate argument that having low impedance can help if you have a long cable length, but that's a different subject. Your bass isn't going to make your power tubes & output tranny or solid state circuitry go from 500w to 800w by having active pickups. It _definitely_ won't make your 12AX7's not act like 12AX7's or solid state pre somehow have a higher ceiling.

[JimmyM]

I find the topic of output in different basses to be a moot point except when you have to switch off. Some basses are loud, some are quiet, but I've played quite a few low output basses with total balls and some hot active basses that had zero balls. So the only dilemma for me is matching levels when switching off, but I hardly ever switch off anymore. I tend to stick to one bass all night these days.

[SGD Lutherie]

I like actives because the high end is clearer, and I can change tones on the fly. Which I do. I don't find them to be all that much louder. I also like passive basses for what they do. They are different, not better or worse.

[hibachiduck]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I find the topic of output in different basses to be a moot point except when you have to switch off. Some basses are loud, some are quiet, but I've played quite a few low output basses with total balls and some hot active basses that had zero balls. So the only dilemma for me is matching levels when switching off, but I hardly ever switch off anymore. I tend to stick to one bass all night these days.

I feel the exact same way. All a high output bass means to me is that I have to turn the gain down lower on my amp, and low output means I have to turn the gain up. I don't think of my Sterling as being louder than my passives, just that it's lower impedance and that my tone is being colored by its on-board preamp before touching my head.

[sethlow3]

I owned an Fbass BN5, MMSR5, Modulus Genesis, Zon Sonus 5, Rob Allen Electroline 5, which all had active electronics. I had been steady playing a Modulus the last 6 years, but now am energized by my new Fender MIA P5. The passive electronics just sit in the mix better and sound warmer. It is more of a warm blanketed thick feeling on stage. One in which I can just play and not think about tone. Very straight forward and sounds great with a pick or fingers.

Vol and tone knob. Simple and sweet sounding. There are other great passive 5's like Yamaha BB series.

[adk teleman]

I prefer passives. I have played actives and just don't care for their sound with my style of play. Just give me a nice passive Fender Jazz and I am a happy man!

[CBNJ]

Give me a passive P and I'll be happy!

[petrus61]

Actives certainly have their place. It's fun to think of what certain bassists would sound like playing something different than the tone they are known for. Would Jaco be playing a Fodera now or a passive J? Would Jamerson be playing an MTD or a P? Same with guitarists. It's fun to watch the transitions of tone, a good example for me being Pete Townsend on a dual P-90 SG or an active, hot pickup'd Strat. Another cool metamorphosis being the Ox go from every passive bass under the sun, to Alembics, 'Wicks and Status. Same players, same styles, completely different tones. I personally loved the Ox's P tone through Sunn stacks VS his super Hi-fi, chorus and Flange drenched,modular rack units.

[SolarMan]

Originally Posted by VanillaThundah

I like hot pickups in a passive bass....i call them "passive aggressive" basses

That is just beautiful.

So, in psychiatric terms, an active bass is:

Pollyannaish?

[hibachiduck]

Originally Posted by petrus61

Actives certainly have their place. It's fun to think of what certain bassists would sound like playing something different than the tone they are known for. Would Jaco be playing a Fodera now or a passive J? Would Jamerson be playing an MTD or a P? Same with guitarists. It's fun to watch the transitions of tone, a good example for me being Pete Townsend on a dual P-90 SG or an active, hot pickup'd Strat. Another cool metamorphosis being the Ox go from every passive bass under the sun, to Alembics, 'Wicks and Status. Same players, same styles, completely different tones. I personally loved the Ox's P tone through Sunn stacks VS his super Hi-fi, chorus and Flange drenched,modular rack units.

I heard an interview with Paul McCartney once where he said he thought the tone on the Beatles' albums was boring and would love to hear what they'd sound like if they had modern amps to record them (he said this a decade or two ago). That would be interesting. I wonder if Mozart would've formed a prog band, Vivaldi a guitar instrumental album, or Bach a yet-another-hipster-band-with-banjos-and-a-weird-instrument-and-timpani-mallets-on-drumkit-band