Active vs. Inactive

[ThinCrappyTone]

My active bass's sound is not noticeably less consistent than my passive bass's sound.

Would it change if the battery ran down? Yes, of course. Do I let the battery get that run down? No I don't. But changing it twice a year is more than sufficient so it's not much of a burden.

Does it add weight though? To put a preamp in you have to take some of the wood out, maybe the weight evens out by the time you allow extra space for wiring.

You have just given me another reason to prefer basses without pickguards though, the weight saving.

glad to be of service

 

[chris_b]

Active or passive, doesn't matter. Just chose the best sounding bass.

If you play down tuned a lot, check out 5 string basses.

 

[mcnach]

Black basses are louder.

(silly, isn't it)

 

[BasEd]

I used to play active basses then realised I preferred the tone with the active bass in passive mode (more growly, open and less compressed). Also less to fiddle with. So I started using passive basses. Then I got a passive bass with active EMG JVX pickups. It’s definitely my favourite. Nice and growly with more punch. The best bass I have for slap and as good as the passives for finger style. All the goodness of single coils but with zero hum.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

G&L MFD pickups. The loudest passive pickups I’ve used.

I can attest, they're sorta too hot. You have to tame them down a LOT if the MFD-equipped bass isn't the only bass you play through a given signal chain. They do sound mighty nice, though, once they're dialed.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

1. Welcome to TalkBass!
2. Please don’t go back to that “tech” any more. Find a competent one, or better yet, spend some time reading old TalkBass threads and learn for yourself how all this stuff works.

Seconded. I assure you, major amp manufacturers aren't wiring their combo amps to self-destruct from the factory.

 

[jd56hawk]

The two basses I own have active EMG pickups. I love my sound from them. When my band plays songs that require a tune-down, I play my guitar player's Squier. This is a one pickup, passive bass. I know I am not playing the best instrument in the world there, but the sound is much quieter. I have to turn my amp up just to get it back to where my active basses were.

I am considering getting another bass to replace that Squier and am inclined to go active again. Is there any reason why I should consider an inactive bass? Or more to the point, is there a reason I shouldn't rule inactive basses out?

This one's passive and very versatile.

As for passive and potent...