Active bass…but never tweak?

[Lit311]

Maybe this would be better for the electronics forum, if so, tell me. But I have an active bass and have played active basses pretty much for the entirety of my bass career. I’m not pro or anti active bass, it just happens to be the ones that I found for a good price that sounded good.

Anyway, here’s my question. Sometimes I tweak with the eq a bit… but I always ALWAYS find myself settled into the notches that indicate a “flat” setting. I know the depending on the onboard preamp it isn’t truly flat. I’m usually always playing with the volume at full unless I’m practicing at home. Is there a point to having a preamp that point? I mean… would the sound be any different if it was passive?

 

[Geri O]

Maybe this would be better for the electronics forum, if so, tell me. But I have an active bass and have played active basses pretty much for the entirety of my bass career. I’m not pro or anti active bass, it just happens to be the ones that I found for a good price that sounded good.

Anyway, here’s my question. Sometimes I tweak with the eq a bit… but I always ALWAYS find myself settled into the notches that indicate a “flat” setting. I know the depending on the onboard preamp it isn’t truly flat. I’m usually always playing with the volume at full unless I’m practicing at home. Is there a point to having a preamp that point? I mean… would the sound be any different if it was passive?

I don’t know the answer to this and I don’t care. I want a friggin’ active preamp in my basses (well, a Jazz-style bass and a Stingray, anyway. Not my P-style bass). The end.

I like the buffering effect on the tone as well as the particular tone of the John East preamp. But, except for the passive tone control to scrub off some edge to the tone when I need a less-aggressive tone for a soft moment.

Otherwise, I never move the tone controls from the flat center-detent position. On either active bass. Volume is always 100%. All EQing is done at the amp’s very capable EQ section. Or, if I’m using IEMs and no amp, all I need is my REDDI tube DI straight into the mixer and no EQ needed. Sounds great on my ears.

Let the naysayers proclaim “what’s the point?” all they like. They will figure out before too long that I’m not listening.

 

[PrairieThunder13]

Yes, actually. The difference is quite significant. A low impedance line out means cable capacitance is a non-issue at realistic lengths. You lose virtually no high end even with long sends, and you can use your volume without it affecting your tone. You get a wider frequency response with an active preamp even when set flat. If you like your sound, keep the preamp.

 

[Killing Floor]

Everything in the circuit affects your tone to some extent.

 

[JRA]

would the sound be any different if it was passive?

passive/active = they're different: working within a palette vs. painting outside the lines. they both have value, but differently.

i like 'em both.....i like 'em all!

 

[Lit311]

Alright. So, I’m not crazy! There is a difference. Forums like this are so awesome. I love learning new things.

Otherwise, I never move the tone controls from the flat center-detent position.

Again, great! So, I’m not completely crazy.

A low impedance line out means cable capacitance is a non-issue at realistic lengths. You lose virtually no high end even with long sends, and you can use your volume without it affecting your tone

You know. I never thought of that. I’ve never really played passives much… so that seems like a big plus for using actives to me. Also, just changing the volume, not the tone. Like… duh! That’s a no brainer. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.

 

[GTHintz]

Sometimes a pickup will sound more open and organic with a passive tone control. Caveat here is that's not always what you want and if you don't care for the sound of that pickup you'll have less control over the tone passive. Sometimes the player will want a certain flavor with the bass that's brought out the best with a certain eq frequency. Case and point I pulled a preamp I thought sounded like garbage in 1 bass and put it in a different bass that was passive. Results were the previously active bass came alive passive and that preamp sounds pretty nice in that other bass! Win win. It just depends on what you need from the specific bass.

 

[chris_b]

For me, a great active bass has to sound good with the controls at 12 o'clock. Then I'm just making minor adjustments based on changes in the room/stage. Very often I make no changes at all. If I have to take massive swings at the tone then it wasn't the right bass for me in the first place. Same for an amp. The best amps I've played require very little EQ adjustment.

 

[brstma]

Some active pres sound very similar to passive when set flat. I've had nordstrand and Delano active / passive bases that are this way. On the nordstrand the level dial on the pre had to be lowered to minimum then there was very little tone or volume difference when switching active to passive.

Most basses I've had are active but I usually leave bass and mids flat and turn treble most of the way down to get the sound I like.

 

[SleepyShark]

Keeping all knobs neutral on my instruments with passive/active switches, there’s 100% a difference between the two tones when I turn the preamp off and on, for reasons better explained by other people in this thread.

Active circuits just behave differently. Totally understandable to lean on the “default” sound - you’re still getting the other characteristics of an active bass.

 

[Jefenator]

I have one active bass that sounds great with everything at center detent and I love it.
Maybe it's a fluke - most active systems seem to need a bit of tweaking to sound their best IME. Whether by blind luck or brilliant design, I think of it as a major success when the setting that pleases my ears the most requires no guessing or hunting.

 

[MCS4]

I rarely use the active preamp to modify the tone of the bass itself standing alone, with the specific exception that I sometimes slightly bump up the bass knob up on my main Carvin four-string. I do, however, sometimes use the active EQ or the internal gain trim on the active circuit to adjust one or more basses that I am using on the same gig so that I can swap them in and out without changing any settings on the amp or pedals. I do also seem to slightly prefer the sound of an active bass "set flat" versus a similar passive bass, on average, although it is not a huge issue.

 

[two fingers]

Maybe this would be better for the electronics forum, if so, tell me. But I have an active bass and have played active basses pretty much for the entirety of my bass career. I’m not pro or anti active bass, it just happens to be the ones that I found for a good price that sounded good.

Anyway, here’s my question. Sometimes I tweak with the eq a bit… but I always ALWAYS find myself settled into the notches that indicate a “flat” setting. I know the depending on the onboard preamp it isn’t truly flat. I’m usually always playing with the volume at full unless I’m practicing at home. Is there a point to having a preamp that point? I mean… would the sound be any different if it was passive?

Most preamps have their own baked-in tone. (The only exception I've experienced was the Sadowsky. That thing is totally transparent.)

You seem to like their baked in tones with no adjustments. That's not a problem at all. I play mostly passive basses. I keep both volume and tone knobs dimed. In my view, I could easily get by with just switches easily. But it's nice to know they are there.

 

[LBS-bass]

Yes, there's a difference. I have several basses that have active/passive switches. The difference is real.

Preamps are probably voiced to give you a nicely balanced tone at the notched position. What you want from there is a matter of your personal taste, but I find that the notched position is always a good starting point, even though it's not really "flat" in any true sense of the term.

 

[groooooove]

would the sound be any different if it was passive?

pretty much always the answer is yes.

I'm pretty similar. just about ever bass i own has been active.

i like preamps that add to the sound when set "flat." typically it'll boost the lows a little. usually i prefer it.

if you have an active/passive toggle find out for yourself. usually the active signal being a little hotter, and the lows being a bit stronger, is nice.

 

[MrLenny1]

Sometimes you need no EQ and sometimes you do.

 

[Lava]

Even at flat, you still get a cooked in tone from the active preamp.

 

[Razman]

Many great answers here. On my custom bass, I keep the highs boosted a lot and the mids boosted slightly, with the bass set flat. This livens up the Bart jazz pups in it and give me the sound I need. For my others, I generally keep them set "flat" but plan on experimenting with playing with the passive setting on and then engaging the pre along with some EQ adjustments for specific parts in songs, or entire songs where I may need something boosted or cut. It's a tool so I want to see how I can leverage it to my advantage.

 

[Fynn]

Maybe this would be better for the electronics forum, if so, tell me. But I have an active bass and have played active basses pretty much for the entirety of my bass career. I’m not pro or anti active bass, it just happens to be the ones that I found for a good price that sounded good.

Anyway, here’s my question. Sometimes I tweak with the eq a bit… but I always ALWAYS find myself settled into the notches that indicate a “flat” setting. I know the depending on the onboard preamp it isn’t truly flat. I’m usually always playing with the volume at full unless I’m practicing at home. Is there a point to having a preamp that point? I mean… would the sound be any different if it was passive?

I only have active basses. And I have a sire V7 bass. That thing has a switch with which I can turn on and off the preamp. If I set all controls flat and then turn the switch on or off I hear NO difference at all.
Clearly however active pickups sound different compared to passive. But my bet would be that it's nothing you couldn't even out with some EQ'ing. Aslong as the pickups are the same type and are at the same position obviously.
Regarding how I set my active EQ, I do it pretty much the way you do and just set it flat. I have a Warwick with MEC jazz pickups and those are incredibly hot pickups. Not just that but turning up the treble all the way makes me fear for my tweeter... However I do sometimes use the controls to cut all of the treble because that gives me a nice bassy tone that I really enjoy and the bass frequency it adds is really usable.
And then there's the EMGs. Many EMG pickups are active and require a battery even if you don't have a preamp in there. I have them in my P bass (profile pic) with just a simple passive tone and volume. Sounds nice and vintage esque but with more clarity and sort of a modern punch.

 

[bigjames]

For me, a great active bass has to sound good with the controls at 12 o'clock. Then I'm just making minor adjustments based on changes in the room/stage. Very often I make no changes at all. If I have to take massive swings at the tone then it wasn't the right bass for me in the first place. Same for an amp. The best amps I've played require very little EQ adjustment.

This. Same.