I'm speaking of BARREL JACKS, which do wear out sooner than a Switchcraft #11.
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active > passive
- Thread starter KipAshcraft
- Start date
I'm speaking of BARREL JACKS, which do wear out sooner than a Switchcraft #11.
I don't especially care either way, as long as the bass sounds right-to-me.
Perhaps someone should invent an active bass that uses "phantom power" like some microphones. At least that would eliminate the dead-battery concerns, as long as you aren't using a wireless rig with a low-capacity battery pack.
Perhaps someone should invent an active bass that uses "phantom power" like some microphones. At least that would eliminate the dead-battery concerns, as long as you aren't using a wireless rig with a low-capacity battery pack.
No lack of definition on my low A#.
G&L L2500, Passive mode
Cort GB75JH, all passive
AS defined as the lows on my Warwick Dolphin, active.
Can I use an onboard pre to add extra low frequency being sent from the bass ? Yes.
Will that translate into how the signal interact with downstream devices ? Yes. Is this good or bad? Neither just different
The # of strings or tunings is immaterial to the active vs passive debate
String choice , pickups,construction have a far more profound effect on the clarity and impact of the overall Tone than the choice of onboard active EQ. Or not.
My take, ime, imho etc
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It's been done , and easy to do.
The stereo output Jack that enables/disables the power to the electronics , the power source can live at the other end of the cable as long as it is a stereo cable and there is a split for the power to be injected at the equipment end.
I'll agree with post #142. In my limited experience with metering my batteries, 8.5 volts is about where I swap it out for a new one.
I was noodling at home one night some years back when I could hear that the battery in my bass was about to quit. It was making that funky not-so-hi-fi sound that's kind of cool for a couple minutes and then it started to peter out. I don't think that particular battery had run down below 8.0 volts, but it might have been at about 8.2 volts.
...now I want to experiment with some dead batteries...
Just changed out the battery in my main bass. Battery has been in there since May of 2017, and the bass gets regular use - lives in my gig bag. Voltage had dropped to 8.3 V, with no audible change in the Sadowsky preamp performance.
I don’t consider that level of maintenance to be an issue.
I don’t consider that level of maintenance to be an issue.
I'll only echo the sentiment from another current thread and say that it honestly depends on that particular bass. Some passive instruments sound big and clear or simply "right" for a particular player.
My most recent addition is a bass like you're describing - it plays active or passive. I only got this instrument in September and I'm still enjoying the extended honeymoon. But I can say that for my wants and needs, this bass is surpassing my hopes and expectations by a huge leap. I was looking for an active Jazz bass, but what I've found is giving me useful sound options both in active and passive modes.
I can also add that I have a custom P/J bass that had active EMG pickups and a bass/treble preamp on-board when I got it. Now it has passive pickups (JBE) and a passive tone control, but its output and tone is at least as loud and clear as when it was active. Big surprise after that conversion.
The reason I switched that bass to a passive layout was that the dynamic response of the active pickups was odd for me - rumor has it that they can be inherently compressed. So that conversion was more about the active pickups than the preamp in that bass. The passive layout it has now is working better - better for me because the response seems more predictable and familiar I think.
I guess this is sort of me, too. My "Jazz" is and active/passive Bacchus (with rounds) and my passive P/J probably needs some flats to cool it down. Its tone is a little angry, even with the tone backed off and some high mids cut at the eq on my amp.
Passive P covers the chunky, wooly neighborhood and the active Jazz is ready to do that burpy, zingy, spanky deal... at least for now. GAS never sleeps
I only play Alembic basses on stage* and they only make active instruments therefore I'm 100% active. Replace the batteries in them every year at the same time I change strings. Never had one fail on me since I went active in 95.
* Bass guitars that is. I do play a strunal 5 string upright and a 5 string NS eub too.
* Bass guitars that is. I do play a strunal 5 string upright and a 5 string NS eub too.
As I understand it, over a long cable, passive signals lose some high frequencies. Actives don't.
Actives DO, they just have the ability to compensate for the additional capacitence , and may supply a stronger signal.
Well, I have both active and passive basses, and I like them all for what they do and how they sound. My active basses don't have a passive switch, so when the battery goes, they are dead in the water. My passive basses have fewer components in the signal path, and I think they have a sound that my active basses can't duplicate.
To each their own, but I don't really think actives are better than passives. Just different.
To each their own, but I don't really think actives are better than passives. Just different.
Ok - Bumperbass, guess I didn't know that a " Barrel Jack " was ever used in a bass guitar, but have seen plenty of Switchcraft #11's . Thanks for the information- guess lm lucky all my instruments have the #11's . Can a Barrel Jack be replaced by the better #11 Jack?
Barrel jacks can usually be switched out for a #11 type open jack. This needs a larger hole (around 3/4-7/8") drilled into the side of the bass and a jack plate installed. I usually use football plates if a square jack plate is too wide. I switch them out all the time if there is room for it.
Yup this exactly. I would love to switch them out but sometimes it would require some woodworking to make it possible. I have two basses that use barrel jacks, on one, the distance from the cavity to the hole absolutely requires a barrel jack and have no way of switching it to the preferred jack unless I enlarge the cavity route, which would then necessitate a new cavity plate. The barrel jacks tend to go so fast that what I do is just to twist the wires on the jack rather than soldering them on, much easier to replace them that way.
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I like both. Passives are very easy to get a natural sound out of, while for actives, you often need to find the sweet spots. However the added flexibility of actives is also nice. For me it kinda depends on the bass. I don’t miss active electronics on my Warwick Corvette, but I very much like the preamp on my Kiesel Vanquish. Also more active basses should have a tone control for passive mode.
IMUO It's a bit simplistic statement as in the active bass you don't have the impedance of the cable inbetween, witch can make a difference. Plus I wonder if most of actives basses circuitry are implemented without anykind of RC filter (as the tone ctrl circuit on passive ones) before the buffering. Therefore you wouldn't have the ringing cut-off frequency behavior the passives one have and wich is part of their sound.
Maybe the G&L L is an exception. Wich I think is a great idea.
What I mean is, from a signal point of view, active bass (or most of them) are quite different animal than passive ones.
And all of this leave aside the ergonomics differences...
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I have both. Passive basses work fine. Active basses work fine. I have both because a bass you like might be either. One of the active basses I have sounds better to me in active mode. On the other hand, the passive Jazz Bass I have is my favorite. Batteries leak, so that's a drawback. In fact, I wrap plastic wrap around them in case a bass lays fallow and that happens. Choices. Marketing. Trends. Not unique to basses.
Been playing active for years, recently I got my first custom bass on all passive and I couldn't be happier. So I sold all my active basses and ordered another custom bass all passive. Now I have custom 4 string and a 5 string all passive. It's basically a set and forget sort of thing. Less things to adjust on stage when playing.
Sometimes I like the simplicity of just having 2 knobs. Just turn those two to get a nice sound and go go go!
