Active vs passive

[F-Clef-Jef]

An "active" bass can be two different things:

a bass with active pick-ups (like EMG's) where the pickups themselves are powered.

OR:

Active EQ'ing. Most of the "active" basses you will see have "active EQ", not active pick-ups.

Active pick-ups do not require active EQ (my personal preference), and most, but not all "active EQ" basses will have passive pick-ups.

Both set-up's have their plus's and minus's.

I love active pick-ups but dislike active EQ. I also like a nice vintage passive pickup, but those can be susceptible to electronic interference, especially neon and fluorescent lighting.

 

[jtroska]

Aren't active pickups just like passive pickups but with the preamp built into the pickup housing instead of wired elsewhere in the electronics cavity? Forgive my ignorance. I don't know.

 

[line6man]

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

Actually, there are reasons.
In some cases, it is desirable to place the volume pot after the preamp, so that the pickup(s) see a constant input impedance, and the volume is controlled post-buffering. An active/passive switch forces you to use a high-value pot before the preamp, because the impedance of the signal changes, depending on whether or not the preamp is in the circuit, while the pot's value remains constant.

In practice, it tends not to matter for most players, but if you look at the way certain instruments are wired, sometimes the manufacturer chooses a 25k or 50k pot after the preamp, to get the best results.

 

[PipeRain]

My input would be to forget the whole active/passive thing and get a bass you like the feel of. Also, if it matters to you, get one you like the look of as well. Electronics can be changed pretty easily with an inexpensive soldering iron and some patience.

That being said, all of my basses started out with passive pickups and now have actives in them. I have only ever owned on bass with passive pickups that stayed passive all it's life. I prefer the tone of very specific active pickups and they suit my preferences well. Most everyone else would probably cringe and shudder at "My tone".

 

[Radek]

Aren't active pickups just like passive pickups but with the preamp built into the pickup housing instead of wired elsewhere in the electronics cavity? Forgive my ignorance. I don't know.

At least active EMG pickups have a preamp per every (low impedance for more treble) coil in pickup. Then signals are trimmed, summed and boosted using internal electronics; so basically yes - it's the preamp(s) being build into the pickup housing.

 

[andrklet]

If canging electronics is a breeze, I might as well just go for looks and feel. I said I like the Ibanes necks, whithout to much else to compare with. I love the styling of this one:

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Not available in the US aparently, but I can get one at a decent price here i Norway.

Its got passive mic´s, and an active EQ. If I want to make it passive and otherwise like the mic´s, can I then easily just bypass the preamp. Or change the EQ to a suitable passive one?

 

[Major Softie]

Aren't active pickups just like passive pickups but with the preamp built into the pickup housing instead of wired elsewhere in the electronics cavity? Forgive my ignorance. I don't know.

No. If I recall correctly, it's much more like the difference between a dynamic and a condenser mic. Passive pickups create signal current when the string vibrates in their magnetic field. Active pickups have an already supplied current flowing through them which is affected and thus turned into signal by the string vibrating in their magnetic field. That's why actives have such a stronger signal, and why they don't need near as big heavy magnets.

 

[andrklet]

Ok. Had a good rehearsal session last night. A Squier P.bass with upgraded mic´s and a Yamaha active thing. I did not like the active! Sound was great, but I could hear a constant clicking every time a string touched a fret. Is that to be expected of every active bass? The Squier was sweet. China or Mexico? If I´m probably changing mic´s after a while anyway? USA is probably off budget...

 

[chris_b]

String and fret noise isn't the fault of the bass. The extra level of definition (and noise) from your active electrics means you need to look at your technique.

My Lull is a passive Pbass and sounds huge, the Lakland is an active 55-94 and sounds great; clean, full and punchy. They would probably sound good the other way around, so don't worry about active or passive, just decide which bass sounds like you want to sound.

 

[sotua]

String and fret noise isn't the fault of the bass. The extra level of definition (and noise) from your active electrics means you need to look at your technique.

Yep, this. I remember when I upgraded from a really crappy Washburn bass to a German Warwick. Suddenly there was ringing and noise everywhere! Had to relearn muting and fretting.

 

[fnordlyone]

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!

Welcome to the ancient rookie club. I have learned with a passive. I plug into Sansamp BDDI and then into a bass head which has pre amp functions. I hate noise. I worry about attaching anything with electrons going through it that might make "hsssbzzz" sounds. I take down the Blend on my BDDI for that reason and because I want to hear my bass' natural tones-- they sound good to me. I play heavy metal and I still want to hear my notes clearly from my passive before any electrical manipulations down the line.
Caveat: I've played nice quiet Music Man active basses.

f n o r d !

 

[irbass]

Active preamp with passive pup's.
80% of the active preamp has a switch for passive mode.
If you can get two in one, why get just one??

 

[andrklet]

Thanks for all input. I think I´m getting wiser

Just back from the shop where I tried out a few other active basses. None were as "bad" as the Yamaha I tried yesterday, with regards to unwanted string/fret/finger noises. May bee a setup problem??But I found big differences from one instrument to another. The best one in that regard was an Ibanez. Cant remember the name, but a really cool bass, with an extra set of fretless D and G string. And there it was again. That slender Ibanez neck. Despite its 6 sting width it fell so niecly into my hand. Hmm... However, sounds wise, I liked two Fender´s the most. One standard US Jazz. Brilliant sound, but well out of budget. And a sweet little Modern Player Jazz. I may be swearing now, but I perhaps liked the latter even more. Despite it being about a third of the price.

Here´s the modern: Invalid Link Removed

The neck of the Fender is not bad, but if I could get the Ibanez neck and the Fender sound I think I would be ready to buy

 

[djaxup]

If you like long-chained and intricate pedal boards, active basses have a serious advantage over passive basses. Passive basses tend to lose brightness and detail with every cable and pedal that is between your bass and your amp. Active basses ignore that mostly.

 

[Unrepresented]

If you like long-chained and intricate pedal boards, active basses have a serious advantage over passive basses. Passive basses tend to lose brightness and detail with every cable and pedal that is between your bass and your amp. Active basses ignore that mostly.

On the flip side, however, active basses do interact differently (won't say better or worse) with different pedals.

 

[poit57]

For me the biggest drawback of active is that it relies on a battery. Like someone else mentioned, they usually last about a year, and for the basses I've played, a dying battery usually results in a staticky output.

For the last 13 years, I've mostly played active, primarily a Music Man Stingray, so that is my preference because it is what I am more used to. I recently purchased a Gibson EB Bass, which I have been using as my main bass for a couple months. With two humbucking pickups that can each be switched to single coil mode, I have found myself tweaking my sound almost on a song to song basis whereas with active electronics, I would leave the same EQ settings for an entire set.

These tweaks are primarily for my benefit. I doubt that anyone who listens to me play cares or can even tell the difference whether I am using active or passive electronics. For me, I can find a desirable tone with either type of electronics - the biggest difference is in how the controls are used to dial in a certain sound.

 

[Ty_Boogie]

all 3 basses had the same fretty clicky treblely metal sounds i could not get rid of in the FOH mix.

Yep, this. I remember when I upgraded from a really crappy Washburn bass to a German Warwick. Suddenly there was ringing and noise everywhere! Had to relearn muting and fretting.

I too have my first active bass, Warwick Corvette std, same metal clicky clacky, its been a month now and i get it less now, must have naturally started to adapt.

At first I thought it was the bass as it was used, I like passive but not giving up on this Warwick, not yet. It does have push/pull active/passive switch.

Go with an active with a passive switch, Andrket

Lots of good info in this thread thanx everyone

 

[MethodsofDance]

I've used active for the past 2 basses I've owned. The way I'm set up at home is by playing into a little mixer that lets me practice by playing along to things. My passive Aria always sounded kindof crap that way. When I got my first active (SR505) I was amazed at how good it sounded DIed. Having said that it does open up the potential for more electrical problems though in theory that just shouldn't happen. Then again I'm probably one of the few people on this site that doesn't actually have an amp right now haha

 

[JTE]

Bottom line is that neither is inherently better or worse than the other. It's simply different options and trade-offs. I've never bought or not bought an instrument because it's active or passive. My Precision is every bit as good and useful an instrument as my Lakland 4-94. They do different things very very well and they both "speak" to me in ways other instruments never have. One has a knob that makes it not as loud and one that cuts the highs. The other has different options. But they're not better than each other.

Just find a bass that sounds good to you when YOU play it. But don't blame the electronics for your not understanding how they work. For example, if the volume control changes the tone and that's a problem for you, then you probably don't want a passive bass. If you crank all the knobs all the way and find the bass too "aggressive" it's not that the bass is active, it's that you're boosting two or three specific frequencies indiscriminately. Learn how things work and then work with them.

John

 

[sharkbait130]

I'm not going to get at all technical here but since you mentioned an Ibanez , I thought I'd chime in with this. I hava a P bass and my son has a rather low end Ibanez 5 string active. (A 305 I think but he's away at school so I can't be positive about that.)We have played both basses through a variety of amps form old Peaveys with 2 10's , 2 15's and 4 10's to an SVT classic rig with 8 10's. His Ibanez sounds every bit as good as my P bass through any amp combo we have used them through and he can get a larger variety of sounds on his Ibanez. However , on the Ibanez , when the battery dies , so does the sound. This has never been a problem as the sound degrades slowly and is noticable and the battery life on it was well over a year so it is not high maintainence in any way. Try a couple of each type and just be sure it suits YOUR own ears.