A mystery wrapped in an enigma

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I prefer my mysteries wrapped in a pita.

There’s a never-ending influx of people that don’t understand the difference between active pickups and active electronics, and even after that there are lots of them that will have presumptions about the tone of all active electronics, even when many of them can be switched into a passive mode where the active onboard preamp doesn’t affect the tone at all. All you can do is try to politely correct them when you see they’re misinformed.

 

[whero]

While I do have a personal preference for passive basses, I can't say I've noticed that's a TB-wide trend.

 

[El_Charro]

Since I’ve joined TB I’ve noticed a strong disdain for active electronics whether or not the pups are active or passive. This especially seems true with the traditional P bass and J bass crowd. However, I have noticed that these same two groups are big fans of mm/ebmm and G & L basses which are mostly active.

Obviously these two makes have the Leo Fender connection, so I get that. So my query is why are these active basses ‘okay’ while others are not? Is it simply the connection to Leo Fender or is there something more to it? Is it because of a ‘too modern’ sound rather than a more traditional sound?

I like passive and active and both have their place/use.

This topic is not meant to be divisive nor start a riot. Let’s keep this friendly. I simply want to understand the dichotomy of this subject matter.

—————————————————-
Lol-Assuming this is true I think I’d definitely be in the minority when it comes to disdain for active electronics.

I’m probably super biased based on the type of music I like, but active electronics just sound “meaner”/more aggressive than passive pickups. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t consider owning a passive bass bc I almost ended up with one, but active just seems to fit more of what I want out of an instrument.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion so I’m not trying to call anyone out when I say this, but I’m guessing that if you play a lot of jazz or other genres of music you probably naturally gravitate towards more “natural” sounds (for lack of a better description).

I personally don’t necessarily agree with this assessment, but after hearing both active and passive basses I understand the idea of why some people say that active electronics sound more “hollow” ‘lifeless” or “made in a lab”, etc.

Distortion is such a big part of Metal that I’m the opposite-I think passive basses sound a bit “weaker” or not “edgy’ enough unless you are doing some serious EQ on your amp or your signal chain to compensate ...

I’m still not sure I’m using the best adjectives here, but my point is that you should gravitate towards the sound you like for the music you want to play and whether or not others feel the same is irrelevant if you like one over the other.

“You Do You” is kind of a hokey and over used euphemism, but I think there’s a lot of truth to it when you really think about it.

Thanks! \m/

 

[Thumpin6string]

Honesty I don't care what others think. My bass has active soapbars and a 3 band preamp. I love it and that is all that counts.

 

[blastoff]

i don’t think i’ve ever voiced it on TB, but i have a disdain for active electronics. the tone changes as the battery drains and i see that as a silly and avoidable drawback especially as passive pickups sound great to me. i have one active bass, its a blue sparkly G&L l2000 and honestly i think it sounds like dog doo but it looks soo cool and plays great so the tone can be whatever. its a novelty instrument that comes out for halloween.

 

[comatosedragon]

I also very much enjoy both Kellogg's cornflakes, and the activity they were invented to suppress.

"I was massaging my colon ..."

 

[Mili]

I love passive basses and generally I can't see any point for an active bass because If I want to Eq or boost the signal I prefer to use a very good solid outboard preamp (I have a Mesa subway now) which I like and know how to get the sound I want.
But I love Stingray and Warwick Thumb because of their unique and special tone.
So if there is a special tone I'm ok with active pickups or electronics.

 

[yodedude2]

False premise methinks...but then I realized that for years I had owned Fender, EBMM, & G&L basses...and they were all sans batteries. My USA S.U.B. is gone now, but I still have the 1st-gen SB-1 to keep my Fenders company.

 

[Polkatronixx]

Have you noticed an a disdain for active electronics amongst people with active basses? Because that would be the only mystery wrapped in an enigma for me (if it turned out to be the case).

 

[fhm555]

Since I’ve joined TB I’ve noticed a strong disdain for active electronics whether or not the pups are active or passive. This especially seems true with the traditional P bass and J bass crowd. However, I have noticed that these same two groups are big fans of mm/ebmm and G & L basses which are mostly active.

Obviously these two makes have the Leo Fender connection, so I get that. So my query is why are these active basses ‘okay’ while others are not? Is it simply the connection to Leo Fender or is there something more to it? Is it because of a ‘too modern’ sound rather than a more traditional sound?

I like passive and active and both have their place/use.

This topic is not meant to be divisive nor start a riot. Let’s keep this friendly. I simply want to understand the dichotomy of this subject matter.

My favorite bass is a Jazz Plus. It came with a preamp and Fender lace sensors. My second favorite bass is an MIM standard Jazz with Dimarzio humbuckers and a Babicz bridge.

Never owned an MM or G&L with any intention of keeping them. i’ve tried both over the years and even borrowed a single pickup Ray for a while, but i never found enough love for either brand to want to buy one with intention of keeping it to play, i’ve had both brands when killer deals too good to pass up came my way, but those were sold as quickly as I could get them spruced up, listed and gone.

 

[Thundertips]

Since I’ve joined TB I’ve noticed a strong disdain for active electronics whether or not the pups are active or passive. This especially seems true with the traditional P bass and J bass crowd. However, I have noticed that these same two groups are big fans of mm/ebmm and G & L basses which are mostly active.

Obviously these two makes have the Leo Fender connection, so I get that. So my query is why are these active basses ‘okay’ while others are not? Is it simply the connection to Leo Fender or is there something more to it? Is it because of a ‘too modern’ sound rather than a more traditional sound?

I like passive and active and both have their place/use.

This topic is not meant to be divisive nor start a riot. Let’s keep this friendly. I simply want to understand the dichotomy of this subject matter.

I'm an Old School Rocker. Never had or wanted active electronics and never had or tried a 5 string. I plug a Fender Bass straight into an amp with the tone controls on the amp set in the middle and the volume and tone on the Bass full on and I'm good to go.

 

[A9X]

Never had or wanted active electronics and never had or tried a 5 string.

So, you know vanilla ice cream is the best even though you've never tried another flavour.

 

[Thundertips]

So, you know vanilla ice cream is the best even though you've never tried another flavour.

Yes, I do. Haha. I think Duff McKagan's never used a 5 string or active electronics and it served him well. Haha.
I'm not trying to cause controversy, just saying what I like.

 

[3bc]

I’m

I don't like changing batteries. And more to the point, I have never heard an onboard preamp that doesn't add some uber-annoying HISS when you crank the treble. I once used a rack of Neve V-series EQ that didn't add hiss - but it seems that there are no practical low-noise circuits for onboard bass guitar preamps. My guess is that the ULTRA-low-noise op-amps require much more current drain than most people would like, or maybe that running 20 low-noise discrete J-FETS in parallel requires something like 48V?? I dunno! But I hate noisy preamps

That said, I am happy to resort to running EMG active pickups in situations where "no string ground wire" is a priority (like when using nylon tapewound strings!). I generally do not add their EQ sections, though ( also not immune to hiss...)

biased but I have found the treble control in the standard lakland preamp to be incredibly musical and transparent. You can hear and feel the change without ever getting crispy, and the noise is very low.

 

[A9X]

I think Duff McKagan's never used a 5 string or active electronics and it served him well.

So all you play is a clone of what he does?

I'm not trying to cause controversy, just saying what I like.

I know, either am I, I just found it amusing.
I play mainly 6s these days and my wife bought me a T shirt decades ago that said "I don't need no damn 6 strings" meaning guitar. But now I love them.
Truly, enjoy what you're playing, and if we were in the same room, you'd see I'm laughing, but not at you. Cheers

 

[rmayer]

I haven't really noticed the distain for active basses, own a few myself along with a few passives. Love them both. I have noticed a bit of distain for anything that isn't a Squier.

 

[songwriter21]

I didn't before, but ever since I owned a Yamaha BBP35 (don't now), I like the simplicity of passive (assuming the sound doesn't need much tweaking). I have bass and treble adjusted along with a cab emulator, all via a pedal, and sometimes a dedicated pedal for mids. If that's not an option, it's nice a bass that can do most of that via active mode (a/p switch), in case of needing that as your sole eq/tone section. I forgot my pedalboard for a couple of gigs, and then utilized my bass' active setups to get me by just fine.

 

[satjhmo]

Have you noticed an a disdain for active electronics amongst people with active basses? Because that would be the only mystery wrapped in an enigma for me (if it turned out to be the case).

I have both, and the active gear is fun but I find myself fiddling with my knobs too much. (It says here) I like the additional sound palette but I don't get more joy from it than when I play a passive bass. I do remember having a long-running debate with a friend about the origin of the StingRay tone; he reckoned it was the electronics, I reckoned it was from fitting a fat humbucker down near the bridge. His Stingray won't work without batteries in it so he can't tell for sure, but I'd put money on it sounding exactly the same as active, with the tone controls left at 0.

 

[Queue]

I'm in the "don't like dealing with batteries" camp, but stuck with one on my ABG. Also get a bit overwhelmed with all the EQ settings here and there, often setting everything at 12.

 

[A9X]

His Stingray won't work without batteries in it so he can't tell for sure, but I'd put money on it sounding exactly the same as active, with the tone controls left at 0.

I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that SRs had a curve baked into the preamp so that even with the controls flat, the frequency response wasn't. Happy to be corrected.