Started with a passive but eventually changed to more passives
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active > passive
- Thread starter KipAshcraft
- Start date
i have all active basses and my main gigging basses run off an external 36vdc power supply and for backup it runs off two internal 9v batteries at 18v. So far i have never had to run them off batteries.
i have never owned enough passive basses to know if i have a preference but as long as the bass sounds the way i like it, passive or active wouldn't matter. It was just coincidence that the first decent bass that i liked the sound of best was active so i have just stuck with what i know.
i have never owned enough passive basses to know if i have a preference but as long as the bass sounds the way i like it, passive or active wouldn't matter. It was just coincidence that the first decent bass that i liked the sound of best was active so i have just stuck with what i know.
4 string bass = Passive
5 string bass = Active (Onboard preamp able make Low B sound a bit better definition)
5 string bass = Active (Onboard preamp able make Low B sound a bit better definition)
While I like the versatility of an onboard preamp and how the tone stays the same whatever you do with the volume control, I do like a good old passive treble roll off control. My favourite configuration would be a passive tone (ideally with multiple cap options, like a Tonestyler) plus an active semiparametric mids control.
Generally I don't really make a distinction. If a bass sounds good, it sounds good, I don't care whether it's passive or not. The whole "no batteries, less to worry about" is a bit silly to me (sorry!) because it's such a non-issue, in my opinion. But I accept that different people have different quirks, I am sure I have plenty myself, just not this particular one.
My latest 'bass love' is a Sandberg VM4 (P/MM with 2-band EQ). I very much prefer the passive sound, even with its limited passive tone control (the active treble knob becomes a passive tone knob when in passive mode, but with a very limited range). So much so that I'm about to remove the preamp entirely and turn it fully passive with a Tonestyler plus a depth control for it (so I'll use all control plate holes). But with a different preamp I might have loved it, who knows.
I prefer my motorbike to my bicycle, until I forget to refuel it...
Replace battery once a year, and stop gambling
I'm very much a preamp man, but only the one which is connected directly to the power amp.... by the way, has anyone attempted to "pacify" an active Ibanez SR bass? How was the sound affected? I have an SRC6 which I am considering modifying....
Oh, so you're my guitarist! What are you doing here?
I carry spare batteries, cables, strap, strings, and even guitar strings... I have 'saved' one of my guitarists several times. It's less stressful for me to carry all sorts of spares, because he would just forget things too frequently.
Replace battery once a year, and stop gambling
Once a year? Maybe if I had lots of basses or didn't play very often but that's over 1500 hours for me on one bass. I've played only active basses for the last 20 years and none of them would last anywhere near that long.
Even though I have a stingray I enjoy,I dont see the need for an active eq on a bass unless you play all the time directly in to a DI.
The battery is not really a problem but mixing preamps is not always a good idea.Adjusting in the middle of a set can turn in to a fight with the sound man that you will loose.
The battery is not really a problem but mixing preamps is not always a good idea.Adjusting in the middle of a set can turn in to a fight with the sound man that you will loose.
1500 hours a year is probably 2-3 times what I do.
It will depend on the actual preamp and usage (my Stingray seems to be pretty frugal), but the point was not about the actual period for replacement, you figure that out for your own circumstances. The point was: replace batteries regularly. They're cheap so why wait for failure?
There's nothing wrong or unusual with changing sounds during a set. How many of us use a variety of pedals to get different sounds? Of course, we've set up our pedals so that the levels are even etc. Same deal with an onboard preamp: you can (and should, if the music calls for it) adjust your controls. If what you play calls for a thin sound at times, alternating with more bass heavy sounds, your sound person should be aware of it, so that when you sound thin he doesn't try to compensate leading to trouble when you go back to a fuller sound (we don't always have a dedicated sound person who knows our material, so if your stuff has some unusual sounds, it's on you to warn them).
Like with most things here, common sense is crucial.
Folks assume Active means high-output, but it's just not true.
G&L's MFD pickups are higher output than most & they are completely passive.
Heck, my cheapo GSR100EX has a 100% passive, higher-output signal than some of the active basses I've owned:
This.
The whole active/passive inputs on amplifiers do not help either, as most tend just to be a normal input and a padded one for higher output basses (whether active or passive). Yet another misconception...
Personally I just like a bass or I don't, whether it's active or passive does not really matter. But I like passive tone controls.
Certain basses, such as the P bass, get their tone perfectly well without an onboard preamp. Other basses, such as the Alembic or Sadowsky are designed with an onboard preamp as part of the instrument. Posting a preference of active or passive is kind of the tail wagging the dog. I suspect in most cases the preference is for the kind of bass. P’s are particularly popular right now. If you play a P bass, no need to install an onboard preamp.
Which does not mean that onboard preamps are inherently bad. Other basses, such as the Jazz Bass, benefit from certain onboard preamps. I have a passive Jazz; but, the first thing that happens when I plug it in is that there is an outboard preamp before the signal goes anywhere else. Even when I was gigging the Acoustic 360, I would at least put an ART Tube MP between the bass and the amp. Sure, the bass is passive; but the tone structure depends on a preamp somewhere upstream of the amplifier. Whether that gain structure happens in the bass or in an external box seems a somewhat irrelevant distinction.
And, then there are pedals, many of which are some kind of preamp.
I will agree that I’d rather have a passive bass than an active bass with a lousy onboard preamp. For example, I am no fan of many of Fender’s rats nest preamps. A bad preamp is just a bad preamp. Doesn’t mean that all preamps are bad.
Electric bass guitars are amplified through some kind of signal chain. There are examples of both good and bad signal chains; and onboard preamps are only a small part of the whole.
Finally, making an amplified instrument choice based on the environmental impact of an annually discarded 9V battery seems a bit trees vs forest. But, you could always take up the upright.
Which does not mean that onboard preamps are inherently bad. Other basses, such as the Jazz Bass, benefit from certain onboard preamps. I have a passive Jazz; but, the first thing that happens when I plug it in is that there is an outboard preamp before the signal goes anywhere else. Even when I was gigging the Acoustic 360, I would at least put an ART Tube MP between the bass and the amp. Sure, the bass is passive; but the tone structure depends on a preamp somewhere upstream of the amplifier. Whether that gain structure happens in the bass or in an external box seems a somewhat irrelevant distinction.
And, then there are pedals, many of which are some kind of preamp.
I will agree that I’d rather have a passive bass than an active bass with a lousy onboard preamp. For example, I am no fan of many of Fender’s rats nest preamps. A bad preamp is just a bad preamp. Doesn’t mean that all preamps are bad.
Electric bass guitars are amplified through some kind of signal chain. There are examples of both good and bad signal chains; and onboard preamps are only a small part of the whole.
Finally, making an amplified instrument choice based on the environmental impact of an annually discarded 9V battery seems a bit trees vs forest. But, you could always take up the upright.
I think unplugging is always a good habit. I don't get the 'time saving' reason to keep them plugged in... if the time it takes you to plug in detracts from your playing time... I don't know. I see a cable plugged into a bass left on a stand or whatever as a trip hazard. To me that's a more serious risk: dropping the bass, maybe damaging the socket/jack...
But I'm with you about the barrel jacks. They're not the most long lasting ones. Still, they last a good while, and they're trivial to replace when the time comes.
I agree,thats why I said it CAN be a problem and not that it is a problem.
Now if you are have your own soundman you can do anything.
I dont and I had problems few times when my adjustments lead to counter adjustments by the soundman and it got messy(I found out only after the fact).
I prefer to have a pedal for a preamp and use(or not) according to my needs,depending on the gear on hand for the night.IMO its much more flexible than having a pre build in the bass.
I have both. If the bass has the sound I need, I couldn't care less if it's active or passive, and never even stop to think about it except once a year or so, when a battery change is due.
If I may add my 2 cents on the subject matter, I’d like to briefly talk about the use of active pickups without the addition of bass, mids and treble controls.
On one of my P-basses I installed AlNiCo V active pickups from EMG, with only the standard volume and tone controls.
The result is a nicely amplified sound, not hifi but rather growly and vintage-sounding, without complications in managing a lot of knobs in order to achieve the right tone.
In general, I prefer totally passive assemblies, but the use of active pickups in a P-bass setup, without added controls, has surprised me in a positive way!
On one of my P-basses I installed AlNiCo V active pickups from EMG, with only the standard volume and tone controls.
The result is a nicely amplified sound, not hifi but rather growly and vintage-sounding, without complications in managing a lot of knobs in order to achieve the right tone.
In general, I prefer totally passive assemblies, but the use of active pickups in a P-bass setup, without added controls, has surprised me in a positive way!
