AB box to switch between active & passive

[J3113]

Hey folks!

Quick question.
I have a GK combo wich has active & passive input.
I play 2 basses, 1 active & 1 passive.
To make switching easier on stage I thought of putting an AB box at the end of my chain.
A going to the active input and B to the passive 1.
That way I can switch basses quickly.
Genius solution? Or am I doing something stupid and will everything blow up?

Thanks,
Jelle

 

[rratajski]

It'll work just fine. There is a slight chance if using a passive A/B that you will have a hum, but it's not definite.

 

[lz4005]

Do you want to use both inputs because you think you're supposed to or because your active bass is clipping the preamp?

The better solution is to use an a/b with an attenuator on one channel at the beginning of your signal chain so you can dial in the levels of both basses to be the same.

Boss, Radial and a bunch of others make them.

It makes for a faster changeover. One button mutes bass #1 and unmutes bass #2. Your plan requires combining the signal at the front of the chain and then splitting it back to two at the end.

An attenuated a/b also means you could use it with other amps that don't have two inputs in the future. Either as you upgrade or if you're ever in a backline provided gig situation.

Being able to equalize the signal levels of the two instruments at the front end will make any effects you're running work better as well.

Or you could just turn the volume down on the active bass until it's the same as the passive one and use the same amp input.

 

[J3113]

Do you want to use both inputs because you think you're supposed to or because your active bass is clipping the preamp?

The better solution is to use an a/b with an attenuator on one channel at the beginning of your signal chain so you can dial in the levels of both basses to be the same.

Boss, Radial and a bunch of others make them.

It makes for a faster changeover. One button mutes bass #1 and unmutes bass #2. Your plan requires combining the signal at the front of the chain and then splitting it back to two at the end.

An attenuated a/b also means you could use it with other amps that don't have two inputs in the future. Either as you upgrade or if you're ever in a backline provided gig situation.

Being able to equalize the signal levels of the two instruments at the front end will make any effects you're running work better as well.

Or you could just turn the volume down on the active bass until it's the same as the passive one and use the same amp input.

Damn, rolling back the volume..
How in the hell has that never occurred to me?

Anyway, thanks for kickstarting my fried brain!

 

[Jazz Ad]

Always use passive input for everything unless you experience unwanted clipping.