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Are Active basses reliable?
- Thread starter magic8161
- Start date
Quick survey. Of the 6 basses I own or maintain I'm aware of issues with one of them. And it is active. The issue is the battery box is not ideal and the battery makes intermittent contact. It was fine a few yrs ago but now it is not working.
With the other 5, three are passive and two active. No other issues.
With the other 5, three are passive and two active. No other issues.
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I've never had a bass or guitar fail in any form during play or rehearsal including actives since '84. Not so complacent to say it couldn't happen. But I replace batteries, usually a few days before any recording. Never had an issue. I guess you could drop an active/passive switch in front of the preamp, wouldn't be too complex if you are really concerned. I agree with the consensus that anything can happen. But I'd be comfortable counting on 1 bass even if it is active.
The shortcut to ease your mind would be to take a passive. But I'd be way more concerned about a cable failing than a bass.
The shortcut to ease your mind would be to take a passive. But I'd be way more concerned about a cable failing than a bass.
The more complicated any system is, the higher the odds there are single points of failure, so your odds of having a bass fail is proportional to the complexity of it's signal chain.
That said, modern electronics are super reliable. I've never had a bass of any kind fail on a job. Keep your battery fresh and carry spare cables, which are much more likely to fail. If you're really paranoid, play a bass that works in passive mode and/or carry a spare bass.
That said, modern electronics are super reliable. I've never had a bass of any kind fail on a job. Keep your battery fresh and carry spare cables, which are much more likely to fail. If you're really paranoid, play a bass that works in passive mode and/or carry a spare bass.
Reading through this thread, I only have one thing to add:
If you leave a cord, or wireless device, plugged into the bass when you're not playing it, the battery will drain, and sometimes quickly.
Always unplug an active bass when not in use. This includes during breaks on gigs.
Hope this is helpful.
Koog
If you leave a cord, or wireless device, plugged into the bass when you're not playing it, the battery will drain, and sometimes quickly.
Always unplug an active bass when not in use. This includes during breaks on gigs.
Hope this is helpful.
Koog
I've had many of both over the years and see no real trouble with active over passive, though I have no experience in particular with EBMM Subs.
I did have a moment or two (ahem!) till I remembered to always write a date on my 9v's with a Sharpie when I installed them and learned to change them every 6 months, and always had a spare on hand. My EMG basses would go South RIGHT NOW, Yamahas too, and the Alembics would ever so slightly lose output over time, until they'd begin to distort as they were starving for current. Automatically changing them on schedule relieved me of those doofuss moments, luckily before I acquired the Fear of 9v Syndrome, whereby grown men are flummoxed and endure sleepless nights worrying about them.
I did have a moment or two (ahem!) till I remembered to always write a date on my 9v's with a Sharpie when I installed them and learned to change them every 6 months, and always had a spare on hand. My EMG basses would go South RIGHT NOW, Yamahas too, and the Alembics would ever so slightly lose output over time, until they'd begin to distort as they were starving for current. Automatically changing them on schedule relieved me of those doofuss moments, luckily before I acquired the Fear of 9v Syndrome, whereby grown men are flummoxed and endure sleepless nights worrying about them.
My two main basses are active. Gigged forever with them AND never had problem one with them. BUT I do check the batteries regularly, change when I think they need changed and I idiot proof my control cavity ( wrap my batteries in electrical tape and make sure they are secured ).
I've never had an active bass fail on me. I change the batteries in all my active basses every New Year's Day. I'll also put a fresh battery in before an important gig. I always unplug the cord from my basses when not using them (even my passive ones, just out of habit). I've never had a battery go dead at a gig, although I always take spares. I can't say the same for the guitar players in my band, who never seem to carry their own spare batteries. For the cost of a battery, it's not really worth waiting until they go dead (IMO). I'll measure the voltage of the ones I take out and use them for other things if they're still good enough.
I've had an output jack fail on one of my passive basses at a practice, but this can happen to any bass. Usually the output jack gives some warning before failing completely by being scratchy or intermittent. I would replace the jack if it gets this way (and not wait for it to fail completely). Same for mechanical bits - if something is wearing out, I'll replace it before it fails (if possible), or you just know it will fail at the worst possible time.
I've had an output jack fail on one of my passive basses at a practice, but this can happen to any bass. Usually the output jack gives some warning before failing completely by being scratchy or intermittent. I would replace the jack if it gets this way (and not wait for it to fail completely). Same for mechanical bits - if something is wearing out, I'll replace it before it fails (if possible), or you just know it will fail at the worst possible time.
You bought a specific bass and then asked if active Basses were reliable. How else should it be interpreted? But, I’ll answer the question this way, I wouldn’t rely on a $200 bass.
My active Icon5 has been rock solid for years. So much so that I only bring a backup when gigging far from home (which I'd do regardless of whether my primary was active or passive).
I agree that you should always have a few spare 9v batteries in your gig bag. Most of the time, these are used by my guitarists, not by me! D'oh!
I agree that you should always have a few spare 9v batteries in your gig bag. Most of the time, these are used by my guitarists, not by me! D'oh!
Are cars reliable?
Depends on which car.
I've owned 7 cars and had a few break down on me. I've owned 5 active basses, even the cheapest one never broke down on me.
For a single active bass with no backup, the best option is one that will work in passive mode with no battery in the bass.
I've had one active bass that I bought in 1990. It was totally reliable, i just never got comfortable with the sound because to me, there were a lot of variables between the bass and my amp head. Volume, Volume, Tone is about as complicated as I like things.
I added a switch that bypasses the preamp in my bass. Only downside is I lose about 10dB of gain in passive mode.
Yeah, that’s kind of an unavoidable problem, but to make it a little less of an issue, I tend to use pretty hot passive pickups in basses with a preamp and a bypass switch.
I had a “house system” kill 2 batteries a row within 45 min with an active bass. I don’t even know how that’s possible Lesson learned for me was to always use my own DI as a buffer. Never had another problem with that bass.
I made my Kramer P active since 87. Bartolini . I also have a Pedulla Buzz. Also Bartolini its a 90. I only did batteries and occasionally like 5 times for the P and 2 times with the Buzz, cleaned the pots. 33 and 30 years. Is that reliable enough for you?
