Personally,I like active basses FAR and away more than passive basses. The first time I played an active bass,it felt like a blanket had been lifted off of my amp. Hell,I even use a Sadowsky preamp pedal 90% of the time with my vintage basses. Now,in the studio,it's a different story. I use what they want me to,and I try my damnest(?) to sound and play the way they want me to. Which,usually involves a passive Fender Bass.
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Active Basses: Yay or Nay?
- Thread starter Chico16
- Start date
When I used to play basses with active electronics I found that having access to onboard eq tempted me to do a lot of back-and-forth knob twiddling in order to tune into the frequencies I thought I should be hearing onstage, especially with the mid-band. Results mostly weren't what our FOH man expected or wanted, though. So I'm happy with a passive bass where I can only squelch the treble, if needed.
A lot of people say that to me, but I used EMG's almost exclusively from 84-98 and I've got two basses that always had EMG's. I guess because I like Fender and Ampeg people think of me as some kind of purist, but I'm really not. I even own a (gasp) 5-string...I hardly ever use itbut I have one.
Yeah, the musical "rules" would suggest that Fender and EMG don't quite jive together.
I guess I am breaking that rule as well...I have an '80 Jazz bass with KILLER EMG's in it. That thing peels paint off the walls! I get more compliments for its sound than any otehr bass I play
I can go for either active or passive, although mainly these days I play active. I used to play only passives until I bought my Jaguar bass, and liked the flexibility its active setting provides. Even my 73 weirdo fretless P bass is active, and it really brings out a very natural, woody tone.
The batteries in both of these basses last a long, long time and only die slowly, not at once.
The batteries in both of these basses last a long, long time and only die slowly, not at once.
Passive. I never play my active basses and the only one that is toggled with a switch I always keep on passive
I've never been a fan of active basses.
The whole idea of needing a battery to make you pickup sound good, just says to me it an weak pickup to begin with.
To me, nothing sounds as good as a great passive pickup.
If you dig active then enjoy them.
Active VS. Passive
I quote from this link...
"There are three primary reasons to power a circuit: to boost the signal going through it, to lower the ouput impedance of the signal, and to isolate the signal from interference from other components. Lowering the output impedance increases the efficiency of the signal traveling along the cable. Poor efficiency can result in muddy tone, loss of highs, and low signal levels. Isolation can prevent "loading" (a drain of energy) caused by the instrument cable and other components. A classic example of this is with a two-pickup passive Jazz bass: when you set both pickups to equal levels, the overall volume of the bass drops a bit, and this is caused by the pickups loading each other down. Note that many "active" basses use a passive blend pot, so they can have the same problem of a volume drop at the center of the blend knob."
I'm sure your pickups can defy the laws of physics. but for everyone else, this is why we use on board preamps.
^ Yeah - I use one or the other too. Using both PU's blended sounds like mud to me (even just a little), and I'd much rather hear a nice clear sound from one HB through an active 3band circut. I wish my basses had a 2-way toggle instead of a blend.
I do have one passive bass I play once in a while for that raw sound.
I do have one passive bass I play once in a while for that raw sound.
Well, 4 months after I started this thread I've finally came back to give my own $0.02 on the subject. Now obviously, as this whole thread can already prove, our experiences will differ due to our bass, cab, amp, room, strings, etc etc. I'm very simple with my EQ. I just want a deep, clean, mellow bass tone. I always use this tone but when we're playing a song with Ska for example where the bass isn't as deep, I find it a lot more easier on my active bass(Ibanez SR605) to solo the bridge pick up instead of the neck and raise the mid frequencies than on my passive bass(Cort Action V). However with the passive, I can get the fat deep tone with a lot less EQing. What I noticed though, is that the tone on the passive bass will change when you raise or lower the volume (something that doesn't happen on the active.) with this, I've come to conclude that I prefer THIS active bass over THIS passive bass. I enjoy the wide range of tones you can reach with the active bass. You can do the same with the passive (kinda) but the tone isn't as good as the active's. The most popular concern on this thread was the fact that the active basses require batteries. All I can say is that I don't find it a nuisance at all. It's been 4 months already and I haven't changed the battery. Another thing, it seems like most of the people that replied to the thread believe that the battery will just die on you. No it doesn't, just like a flashlight the bass will give you signs that it's low on battery. As long as you know to take care of your bass, you disconnect it when not in use, and given our country's current economic condition you're pro-electricity saving so you turn off your amp when you're not using it... Then you shouldn't have a problem with an active basses. Thanks for your time and experiences my friends!! 
I thought the job of the FOH man is to amplify the sound created by the musicians, not create the sound he thinks the musicians should be making. The bassist, how he/she plays, and the sound choices they make, is as much a part of the band sound as anyone else, and it surely is the FOH people's job to re-create the band's sound, otherwise they have failed. The bass player needs to have control of his sound otherwise it takes away a fundamental element of the performance.
I often wonder what would happen, say to the band Free, whose bass player used an EB3 and was a fundamental part of the band's sound, with a very distinctive playing style, if some of the current crop of FOH people were let loose on them - presumably they'd bring the bass volume down, and try and make the bass sound like a 'generic Fender'........and over amplify the drums - hmmm that's a different band isn't it?
Oh yes....I vote active - I'm always disappointed when I use a passive bass live.
drTSTingray said:
Personally I've never had a problem with the FOH crew but even if I did I wouldn't take them seriously enough to change my sound. Your sound defines you they need to work with what they have not the other way around. Completely agree with you. I also just use the passive bass at practice every now and then, but at shows I HAVE to go active.
