Active PJ's or Passive PJ's

[Danni Moe]

So i recently put off my ATK quest and now I'm looking at new pickups. I currently have an Ibanez GSR200EX with an active PJ set. I like a lot of fuzz and distortion and rumor has it that fuzz(especially my swollen pickle) tends to sound better on passive pickups. I'm currently looking at EMG's.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

So i recently put off my ATK quest and now I'm looking at new pickups. I currently have an Ibanez GSR200EX with an active PJ set. I like a lot of fuzz and distortion and rumor has it that fuzz (especially my swollen pickle) tends to sound better on passive pickups. I'm currently looking at EMG's.

Do you like the fuzz sound with your active pickups?

Active pickups sound fine with distortion. Just roll some of the top end off the bass with your tone control first, or turn down the gain on the distortion.

 

[Danni Moe]

Do you like the fuzz sound with your active pickups?

Active pickups sound fine with distortion. Just roll some of the top end off the bass with your tone control first, or turn down the gain on the distortion.

Well, I have a swollen pickle and a multi effect. The fuzz on the multi effect is great with my pickups but the swollen pickle is a little demon but I prefer the swollen pickle because its an actual fuzz pedal.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Well, I have a swollen pickle and a multi effect. The fuzz on the multi effect is great with my pickups but the swollen pickle is a little demon but I prefer the swollen pickle because its an actual fuzz pedal.

Do you like the tone you get with the swollen pickle?

Also, anything that makes fuzz is a real fuzz pedal, even if it's part of a multi effect.

Check out the bass tone on this track:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

That's an amp modeler in my Roland mixer. That was also EMG active pickups.

 

[walterw]

"real" fuzz pedals use the pickup coil itself as part of the circuit, and don't work the same with a buffer in between.

a multi-effect with a setting that sounds like a fuzz would likely not be affected.

 

[pgolliher]

I have a set of DiMarzio passive PJs in one of my basses and they are very "hot" sounding for passive and have really good tone with some fuzz. Definitely worth checking out. My other bass has EMG PJs (from the 80's). I would say the EMGs sound a bit more smooth, round, and full and the DiMarzios sound a more growly and aggresive, but not as much bottom. I also like the passive because my battery is under my pickguard on my main bass, which eventhough I don't need to change it often, is a pain.

 

[Danni Moe]

Do you like the tone you get with the swollen pickle?

Also, anything that makes fuzz is a real fuzz pedal, even if it's part of a multi effect.

Check out the bass tone on this track:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

That's an amp modeler in my Roland mixer. That was also EMG active pickups.

The thing about the sound is that its very very loud. So when I play through the swollen pickle, I have to turn the amp down. It's not one of those pedals you bring past 3. Another thing is the pre amp. Thats the one thing that I'm clueless about.