Right now I'm playing with Active p-ups. I switched from passive like 3 months ago. I love the Active in comparison. Gives off a great clear punch but you can also tweak the preamp and get a lot of distortion.
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Active or passive what's you preference?
- Thread starter xxfaux_punkxx
- Start date
they do sound good and make me use my sex face on occasion 
I have four actives and one passive, which might get a preamp put in it if I think it needs it after I upgrade the pickups.
All passive (x5) with 1 active/passive fretless. Can't say I understand why, but I tend to sell-off actives in favor of passives. I've even removed preamps to make them passive. I'm more a pocket guy who doesn't slap. I also don't have any tubes in my signal chain either., just a VT Bass. 
Hmm. Passive, no tubes and no slapping. Hope I don't get thrown off TB!
Hmm. Passive, no tubes and no slapping. Hope I don't get thrown off TB!
Passive all the way for me as well. I just do not like the way active basses sound when I play them...maybe I'm just an idiot but I always find the sound either tinny or sterile in my hands.
I like both. Just not both at the same gig (too much knob twiddling at the amp to compensate for the variation in output). If I could only play one, though, I'd go with active for the versatility.
i like both but passive means no battery. i hate batteries. one reason i try avoid using pedals. i don't like the flimsy wall wart chords that most pedals run off of and i like dead batteries even less. a dead battery in an active bass means a dead bass right?
I run 2 basses with John East pres so I mostly favour active. This takes away the knob twiddling on the amp by and large so you EQ for the room and that is it and then adjust accordingly on the bass..if you need to, but I mostly don't.
I can run these passive and the basses sound good this way but passive is mainly a backup if the batteries go down.
I do have a bass that is 100% active so attention to the battery is required. Hasn't been a problem though.
I can run these passive and the basses sound good this way but passive is mainly a backup if the batteries go down.
I do have a bass that is 100% active so attention to the battery is required. Hasn't been a problem though.
Andy Brown
Commercial User
- Jul 23, 2004
- 5,675
- 312
- Disclosures
- Founder/Owner: Wing Instruments
i prefer passive. that said, i have rapidly come to realise that the only bass i really bond with is a p-bass.
that said - again - i will be recording an album next week with an active bass.
that said - again - i will be recording an album next week with an active bass.
Passive for me. I prefer simplicity. Two knobs on the bass is good. Besides, my amp has a preamp.
I was struck by something Anthony Jackson said in BP a couple of years back about his decision to ditch active electronics in his basses. He says he discovered that even high-quality active circuits produce distortion, and that it would take a good-size transformer -- not a 9-volt battery -- to properly power an onboard preamp.
I was struck by something Anthony Jackson said in BP a couple of years back about his decision to ditch active electronics in his basses. He says he discovered that even high-quality active circuits produce distortion, and that it would take a good-size transformer -- not a 9-volt battery -- to properly power an onboard preamp.
I love me some active basses. I like having to volume control, and being able to adjust my sound for different songs, and different genres.
2 actives and 1 passive (about to be 1 active, 2 passives soon lol) for me...I like and respect both, but for me I like the passive tone and output more. Plus I have an easier time with effects when I use a passive bass.
I've mostly used active basses for the bulk of my career (35 yrs), but my main bass as of today is a '08 MIA Fender Jazz V passive. I love the sound that it makes, full, growly, well balanced, you name it - it's there.
My preference depends on what I'm playing. Passive when I'm playing blues and oldies, active when I'm playing metal or slap. However, I'm indifferent when it comes to jazz...both basses can do that quite well. Currently, I'm more of a passive guy because I got a sweet deal on an early 90's fretless Peavey Foundation (strung with Fender Nylon Tapewounds) and I've been playing that a lot, along with my T-40 (strung with Chromes). I'm really digging the warm tone from these basses and I've been playing licks that just don't sound right on an active. However, when I want to pop/slap, do tapping or play jazz, I immediately go to my Spector. To me, it's a matter of what you're playing and what kind of tone the music calls for.
Have both. I generally prefer passive basses, though... I'm stuck in the 60s/70s with my sound anyway, Ps with Flats and all.
