Active vs passive

[andrklet]

Altough I'm past 40 I'm a novice bassplayer and looking to buy my first propper el-bass. And the first question comming up is active vs passive. I'm testing a few basses tomorrow, but what are the pros and cons. I'm trying to play things like RHCP and Alice in Chains at the moment. But would like something versatile.

Gratefull for anny help!

 

[Unrepresented]

Both of the acts you've mentioned used active basses.

 

[andrklet]

That does sound like a valid point. Are active basses more suited for certain types of music or is it just down to preference? I expect the compression will hide some of my lacking skill, but on principle I would rather get good than have artificial aid. If you know what I mean? Will I bee loosing lots of dynamics with an active bass?

 

[davidgoldman]

Active - Passive affect the tone. In general there is a wider range with active. I have both. I like the passive tone because I am very old school. I also like no batteries.

 

[Unrepresented]

That does sound like a valid point. Are active basses more suited for certain types of music or is it just down to preference? I expect the compression will hide some of my lacking skill, but on principle I would rather get good than have artificial aid. If you know what I mean? Will I bee loosing lots of dynamics with an active bass?

A passive bass won't necessarily be more or less forgiving. The stereotypical higher frequency presence that is associated with active basses can reveal a lot of inaccuracies.

 

[jtroska]

A passive bass won't necessarily be more or less forgiving. The stereotypical higher frequency presence that is associated with active basses can reveal a lot of inaccuracies.

Yep. Active basses don't compress dynamics. At least not the ones I've played. They just have onboard preamps with simple EQs and output a usually brighter low impedence signal that can withstand longer cable runs.

 

[Combinator]

You run through at least one active preamp either way - on your amp. Possibly more if you use pedals. Passive is only passive up until that point in the signal chain. Active electronics just moves that point further up and give you amp-like flexibility on your bass. Many active basses also include passive modes, so you can choose. Some even have passive tone controls that work in both modes, so you've really got the best of both worlds. I've never had a battery die and the sound just cut out, and they'll last around a year or more in general. Doing anything once a year is pretty low maintenance! I like active, because it gives me more control no matter where my signal goes after that; into a board, software, a DI, my own amp, etc.

 

[zachoff]

active sounds like crap
passive sounds awesome

That's all you'll ever need to know.

 

[bkbirge]

There is absolutely no reason these days not to have both on the same bass.

 

[Hues]

What happens in an active bass without a battery....Does it still function with a reduced output?

 

[bkbirge]

What happens in an active bass without a battery....Does it still function with a reduced output?

Some have failsafes that switch to passive mode when the battery dies. Many others don't which means if the battery dies you have no output.

 

[mokkat]

I like the simplicity of having one or two volume knobs and a tone knob, provided the amp and cab I'm playing with allows me to dial in the sound that I want.
It also works better with pedals. On the topic of slap tone, I find myself preferring passives too - Freddie Washington's tone for example

Active basses do have a presence and clearness to them, but I personally don't like having a preamp EQ to fiddle with, as I'll have to adjust the gain and volume on the amp too to compensate for changes made by boosting or cutting bass or mids. I will usually leave it flat.
Many preamps have a passive function too, but on most of them this means you only have a volume knob and a balance. I prefer vol/vol/tone

I have had no problems with batteries in basses.

 

[Hues]

Some have failsafes that switch to passive mode when the battery dies. Many others don't which means if the battery dies you have no output.

Thanks...I assume the failsafes are generally on the higher-end models.

 

[InsaneBassninja]

I personally like Passive pickups more but the active pickups gives me more the Distortion for my metal. I guess.

 

[Unrepresented]

Thanks...I assume the failsafes are generally on the higher-end models.

You'll notice a decline in tone quality before the battery dies. I have the ability to go passive with a single switch on both my active basses. Usually it just as a quick A/B to discover how much richer the active tone is.

 

[stonewall]

I recently spend about a month messing with Active Basses a Musicman Stingray a Musicman Sterling and a Fender American Deluxe Precision.I was looking for a second bass to relieve some playing pressure on my go to CS Relic 64 Jazz.I could not get the tones i was looking for all 3 basses had the same fretty clicky treblely metal sounds i could not get rid of in the FOH mix.I ended up with a Passive Precision standard.I have no need for active im happy with my P and J basses set flat at my amp and tone control at 3/4,s there simple and easy awesome old school tones.

 

[Hapa]

Get the bass you want and get a preamp with an active passive option. I really like the Nordstrand preamps, Aguilar as well. Just don't forget a passive tone.

 

[PlungerModerno]

Altough I'm past 40 I'm a novice bassplayer and looking to buy my first propper el-bass. And the first question comming up is active vs passive. I'm testing a few basses tomorrow, but what are the pros and cons. I'm trying to play things like RHCP and Alice in Chains at the moment. But would like something versatile.

Gratefull for anny help!

It's never too late

For maximum versatility go with an active bass. But don't compromise on pickups or having passive output as a backup / extra tone. I am falling in love with the tones of my L-2500 tribute. Lots of variety for a humbucker bass - doesn't have a proper EQ (cut only ) but has a good range of tones - especially with the series/parallel switch . Also has a passive/active/active with treble boost switch as standard.

Some G&L users put coil splitting / tapping to get single coil sounds out of their MFD humbuckers. Some users put a different preamp in their basses - and/or convert their active basses to passive.

Try a bunch of basses - see which one you like best

 

[MIMike]

I've always loved the sound of active basses and think they sound great all by themselves. When I get in a band situation, the general scooped mids and hi-fi sound of actives just don't cut through enough for me. Maybe if I took the time to tweak the preamp I could figure it out, but all my basses are passive and sound great live, so why bother.

 

[andrklet]

Good to see my first question in here at least is a valid one Try before u buy! I'm borrowing a couple of basses from a friend tomorrow. He's a pro, with lots of them. He's not an active fan, but he's got one, so I'm getting to try that. Not shure what else he's got. However, I've been looking at Ibanez, as my hands like their slender necks. Especially the srx530 bbt and sr500. But I'm probably not going to to be able to try them, as selection in northern Norway is scarce. But then again, both those are active...