Are onboard preamps mandatory for 5-string basses?

[Just Wrong]

I've often heard that five-string basses greatly benefit from having onboard preamps, because they give you more headroom and control to shape the B string.

Of course they are not mandatory, and plenty of respected brands make passive five-string basses. But I wouldn't be surprised to learn that active five-string basses outnumber passive ones, although I suppose this isn't necessarily indicative of five-string basses benefiting from having onboard preamps. It could be that music that requires those five extra low notes calls for the cleaner, more-modern tone of active basses.

But that aside, do five-string basses really benefit more from having onboard preamps than four-string basses?

 

[Jugghaid]

I don't think so. I have both and they have their own things going on.

 

[Geri O]

My Fender Precision 5-string is passive and sound fine with no preamp. Sounds great, in fact.

I do like my Stingray Special 5-string having a preamp as that's how they were intended.

And if I were to have a 5-string Jazz bass, it would most very likely have a preamp of some kind.

But absolutely no plans whatsoever for a preamp in my Fender P5.

 

[Jugghaid]

My Fender Precision 5-string is passive and sound fine with no preamp. Sounds great, in fact.

I do like my Stingray Special 5-string having a preamp as that's how they were intended.

And if I were to have a 5-string Jazz bass, it would most very likely have a preamp of some kind.

But absolutely no plans whatsoever for a preamp in my Fender P5.

Same here. I did throw a Nordstrand pickup and tone drop in it though.

 

[Jeff Scott]

None of my 5-string basses have/had a preamp, except for my first Zon that I ripped the Bartolini preamp out to make it sound better.

 

[Geri O]

Same here. I did throw a Nordstrand pickup and tone drop in it though.

Oh, yeah, I did put a Lindy Fralin regular wind pickup in my P5. Nice and grindy and more open than the V Mod II that came with it (AM Pro II Precision)

Ahem. What was the question again?.....

 

[tb-player]

Personally, I prefer a passive 5-string over active ones. The sound is more organic. In fact, I made the conscious move to passive 5s, simply because active 5s sound too processed.

Keep in mind, the value of a 5-string is not just the extra low notes. Sure, an open B can shake the room. But the real value of a 5-string is economy of movement and the ability to play the money notes around the 5th fret. With that in mind, active or passive electronics become a personal tone preference.

For me, I only own passive 5s. If I want the ability to boost frequencies, I can add a preamp pedal. But I rarely do.

 

[JonathanPDX]

The on-board preamp gives you a higher output (typically) and the ability to boost specific frequencies instead of only cutting them. If you don't like to use on-board controls, or don't know how to adjust EQ to dial in your sound, then all it's doing is boosting your instrument output level, which isn't required for any bass, B-string or otherwise.

That being said, the B-string can give you some issues that you don't find on E and above, so if you DO know how to shape your tone, that active control can be a nice tool to help you balance the instrument out so all your strings come through evenly. I've heard so many 5-string players who hit that low B and it sounds like a totally different instrument, personally, I hate that sound.

 

[Ggaa]

Mine are all passive now after 3 out of 4 preamps went noisy and I didn't replace them. Passive is fine and I have plenty of amp eq.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

no its a signal chain, 65432 or 1 string.

I play my L2500 in passive mode all the time... it's about the sound you want to achieve and what you have next in the gain stage that matters.

 

[Paul New]

Yes, I think a five string generally benefits more from an onboard preamp than a four string. Clearly I’m in the minority and my own five string, that I like very much, is passive.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Yes. If you are not careful a passive 5 string p bass can sound muddy on the 5th string. Plus with an active eq you can add a little high in the mix to help ithe sound punch thru. If not you may have a low muddy sound.

 

[retslock]

None of the four 5 string basses I regularly play and gig with have active preamps. One has an active/passive switch but no battery. I removed the preamp from one and the other two never had preamps in them. I prefer passive.

 

[funkinbottom]

I vote no, however, I do like active basses more. I own five 5 string basses. Four active, one passive. And two 4 string, one active one passive. All my actives have act/pass switch. Nice to have options.

 

[Wasnex]

In general I have preferred active basses. That doesn't mean active is mandatory. Lot's of people think active basses suck.

Play a bunch of basses and choose what you like without consideration of active VS passive. Maybe you will be surprised. AFAIK the Fender Roscoe Beck 5 is passive. IMHO .

 

[sethlow3]

I have been mainly sticking to passive 5’s these days and loving it a lot more after decades on straight active only 5’s.

Plus, the preamp can be whatever you want for all of your basses outboard. It gives you some nice consistency. I have always liked something about having a tone knob too.

 

[ctmullins]

Hogwash.

 

[Passinwind]

All basses benefit from an onboard preamp put to my purposes, AFAIC. But I’ve gone back to only fretless fours, so maybe it’s moot!

 

[Basta-bass]

I voted yes.
I always liked the clean precise tone of active basses and the massive output level I get to enter the stomp.
My Sadowsky jazz is always on active mode and the B string shake the room walls like I like it!
I've long been looking for a PJ 5 that would be nice enough to compete with the Sadowsky but in my price range it was difficult to find. Atelier Z seems to do only jazz style at the moment. I finally found an awesome Blacksmocker that could do, but it is passive (2vols - 2 tones) so I put an outboard Sadowsky preamp first in line in the pedalboard and now, I got the best combo I've ever had!

 

[pbass2]

All depends on the bass. I've got three fivers: Sadowsky PJ5--sounds killer both passive and active(though I favor active 'cause "the Sadowsky Sound" but passive I get a great classic P sound with the Nordies I have in it). G&L JB5--passive, sounds great (I often use an external pre for it but it's not because it lacks anything on its own--just a great passive Jazz with a solid B string). G&L Kiloton 5, passive--this one IME needs some help to boost some lows due to the single bridge-ward pickup, so it always gets an outboard pre--would not suck to have a built-in pre in it but I may find that the case even with the four string so probably not fiver specific. Some people get a totally great sound with them au natural though.
I previously had a very early Dingwall AB1, passive, and that bass did not need anything...