Me too - tried one or two actives but have also felt more comfortable with passives. Never owned an active to really judge the difference...so tell me guys: what am I missing out on?
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Anyone going back to passive basses?
- Thread starter kirkm24
- Start date
Me too - tried one or two actives but have also felt more comfortable with passives. Never owned an active to really judge the difference...so tell me guys: what am I missing out on?
I remember the first active I played was a friends in the eighties. I thought that by flipping the selector on my G-3 I can get similar variations and no battery to die. I know actives are a lot better now but I don't care. A jazz with a blend pot is easy to get extremely different tones out of; that mixed with judicious use of the middle knob in the ole v4b gives you everything you need and more.
I'll second this. I've played around with actives, but I've never liked one so much that I'd own it. What am I missing?
I owned a few early on and never could fit in the mix and my tone was often washed out. I went to passive ..never looked back.
Missing? Trying to find your sound, batteries, and the fear of more pieces parts to go bad.
OK someone make me smart about this, PLEASE. And type very slow.
Any active circuit involves buffering, which removes the interactivity of the pickup with the cable and front end tube. T/F?
Putting an active device like a SansAmp or fdeck LPF between a passive bass and a tube amp does the same thing. T/F?
Now what I want to know is whether all tonal penalties of active devices (yes, I know some call them blessings) are avoided by throwing everything active into the effects loop?
Any active circuit involves buffering, which removes the interactivity of the pickup with the cable and front end tube. T/F?
Putting an active device like a SansAmp or fdeck LPF between a passive bass and a tube amp does the same thing. T/F?
Now what I want to know is whether all tonal penalties of active devices (yes, I know some call them blessings) are avoided by throwing everything active into the effects loop?
I've actually never used active electronics for bass or guitar. I've always been perfectly happy with what I can get out of the passive models. Given the chance, I'd try one to see, but passive's always treated me well.
i just converted back to passive two weeks ago! i will use the active bass once in awhile.
why the recent change? the active has 17mm string spacing at the bridge. the passive is way more comfy @19mm. i thought i would miss the active EQ, but the passive sounds amazing!
what are you missing?!! not much, IMHO!
maybe the ability to adjust the EQ on the bass instead of the amp.
if your amp has a parametric or graphic EQ, then an active bass may be sort of redundant. true or false?
why the recent change? the active has 17mm string spacing at the bridge. the passive is way more comfy @19mm. i thought i would miss the active EQ, but the passive sounds amazing!
what are you missing?!! not much, IMHO!
maybe the ability to adjust the EQ on the bass instead of the amp.
if your amp has a parametric or graphic EQ, then an active bass may be sort of redundant. true or false?
<and cue the music>
i'm goin back to passive basses,
passive basses here i come.
i'm goin back to passive basses,
cause that's where i started from!
i'm goin back to passive basses,
passive basses here i come.
i'm goin back to passive basses,
cause that's where i started from!
Is this a topic that years from now will be compared to the CD versus vinyl argument?
Is this the bass world going back to "vinyl" because we all think it sounds better?
And should I look for a pedal that gives me that old record scratch and pop sound?
Is this the bass world going back to "vinyl" because we all think it sounds better?
And should I look for a pedal that gives me that old record scratch and pop sound?
Yep. P or J, 4 or more string, active or passive, flats or rounds, tube or SS, 10's. 12's, 15's, etc., etc. It goes on and on.
Most of my basses are passive. The one active I have I really like which is the Ibanez SR1205E that you see in my avatar. Great bass with great tone and excellent playability. However my go to bass is my American Jazz...I love that bass. Each bass gets judged on its own merits. I have played an equal number of dogs between active and passive basses.
Well, it's not a bad analogy...but at the risk of sounding like an analogue* to the die-hard vinyl junky, I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what I'm missing by not getting into active basses!
*No pun intended. Honest.
Why stop there? Play an Acoustic Bass Guitar or Upright.
We all have reasons for doing what we do and what sounds best for our touch.
Don't generalize about how active pres sound though. There are so many available. Some are so neutral it's like they aren't there. Personally I prefer very little coloration yet available boost and cut when and where I want it.
Without generalizing much:
In my travels I've found that if you like passive basses you compensate with the inherent tone of your head and utilize tone controls more aggressively. Many who use Active basses prefer more neutral heads and cabs.
(So it's more where you want your action. Hotel or car seat.)
I have both. They each have their sounds. I don't have to choose.
We all have reasons for doing what we do and what sounds best for our touch.
Don't generalize about how active pres sound though. There are so many available. Some are so neutral it's like they aren't there. Personally I prefer very little coloration yet available boost and cut when and where I want it.
Without generalizing much:
In my travels I've found that if you like passive basses you compensate with the inherent tone of your head and utilize tone controls more aggressively. Many who use Active basses prefer more neutral heads and cabs.
(So it's more where you want your action. Hotel or car seat.)
I have both. They each have their sounds. I don't have to choose.
