Curiosity

[Gizmot]

I voted active - I like the flexibility.

But - it all depends on the bass. I play my Ric a lot and it sounds just fine the way it is. All my other basses are active and I like the fact that they give me the chance to tweak and get the precise sound I want.

 

[Sam Dingle]

passive. Less knobs to deal with.

 

[gregmon79]

Almost all my basses are active. I much prefer active over passive. Lots more tonal options to be had (with my litter of basses anyway) and they sound more clear and crisp. More hifi if you will. Noting at all wrong with passive. I just like the way active sounds and responds to me and my playing.

I'll also add that in almost 20 years of playing, I've only had one show where the battery gave me issues. That's a lot of practices and shows that I never worried about a battery or had issues because of it. But I always stay mindful of it. It's just one of the common comments I hear some say in them explaining why they don't use or like active electronics.

In the end though, it all depends on what the music calls for IMO. I would take my passive PJ to a blues gig over my active Ibbey ATK 300.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

A jack plugged into a carrot is my favorite.... No but I like both but I prefer passive.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Not having ever played an active bass I am asking for advice.

PASSIVE

1: plays without batteries

2: sound is not masked/flavored by electronics

3: always sounds good, no constant fiddling with pre amp settings

4: higher output (truth) (unless you really crank all your EQ settings)

5: everything has charcter; pickups, strings, wood, etc.

6: let's my amp define my sound

7: lighter

8: sits in the mix better (opinion, yes, but still true)

9: Less Expensive (usually)

10: that's all, I just had so many points that I had to get to 10.

 

[Pilgrim]

I don't hear any difference that I need between active and passive. Therefore passive; one less battery to mind and replace.

 

[The Expendable Clay]

I like both, but the question says which is your favorite. I prefer passive, because when I used to use active basses, I just left the EQ flat anyways and the active circuit was of no benefit to me.

 

[countrybass5]

I like my PB5 quite a bit. Ive been playing it the most since i got it in March this year. I have a fretless one
Its fairly light weight for a 5 string. The action is fantastic. The P pickup kiesel makes is killer, the soapbar in the bridge is ok. It really helps define notes in the lower register. As i mention, i like the 2 band eq without a mid control.

I think it would be pretty hard to beat the PB5 for the $$ as long as you dont go wild with options. Especially if youre looking for just a few more options than Fender has on the Precision V.

Thanks for the reply.I like what I'e read of the PB5. It sounds like a good choice. I'm really having a hard time choosing between the three. I think I'll get active/passive though.

 

[clickclack]

Basses which are not equipped with active pickups should NOT be called active. They should be called "Bass with a builtin preamp" It's like calling a donkey with horse shoes a horse. NO! There's a huge difference. Duh...

Not insulting classy passive basses but a lot of people think they've tried an active one when it was a passive bass with a preamp in reality.

Real active basses offer much better response and clarity and a lot more to play with at the end of the cable so you can shape it any way you want.

 

[Runnerman]

I went through a phase playing mainly active, then I started collecting USA Peaveys and the tone and sound of the passives blew my mind. I've since sold all actives except my Bongo which I feel comes extremely close to nailing passive sounds anyways. Maybe because it's a pre and not active pickups.

 

[catcauphonic]

I was curious about this title. A little more info about the subject might get you more weigh-ins on it

 

[BassGeekJack]

Definitely gotta add a "Both" option! I have always had passive and active basses and now I find that my favorite basses tend to be ones that can toggle between both active and passive. Get that sweet boost and tonal variety with the pre-amp, and also the beautiful simplicity of a magnet reacting to the strings. Also, run out of battery? Don't matter, switch to passive mode! Nothing worse than an active-only bass farting out on you during a gig and you have no spare batteries

 

[tedious1]

Thanks for the comments...sounds like a bass that has both is a good way to go.

IMHO, it probably is, and as far as Kiesel goes, the Icon series are already active/passive, the LB have active as an option, IIRC, and I think the PB/JB are passive, but it's been awhile since I was looking for a bass.

Edit, and my original point: You can always get in touch with them and ask, I suspect they would be willing to accommodate wiring/pre-amp requests...

Personally, I voted passive, I've gone back and forth. I currently own passive fours and active fives. But I'm only playing passive at the moment, and for the foreseeable future, I recently went wireless, and one set of batteries is enough thank you...

 

[Wasnex]

Not having ever played an active bass I am asking for advice.

I own and have used both extensively. I voted active. IMHO the primary benefit EMF rejection. Active basses tend to be more resistant to hum and on average I find they are more articulate and capable of producing a wider frequency response. Onboard preamps do tend to generate a small amount of hiss, but I prefer this to the hum I typically get from passive basses. I have played a few exceptional vintage basses that were incredibly resonant and full of life. A joy to play and great for recording, but too noisy in many performance venues.

I normally run the tone control on passive basses wide open and active basses flat. When I need to make adjustments at the bass, obviously active provides more control.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Not having ever played an active bass I am asking for advice.

I have both. The only advantage I can ascertain is that the active electronic on mine is basically an onboard preamp to modify your sound tonally. Basically you should with a quality bass amp have the same or better controls for shaping your sound. I rarely change my EQ, my PJ bass the pick ups and tone are up all the way, active Warwick is run flat. If I need any tone shaping I do it with my fingers.

That said, some guys like having the ability to adjust tone on the fly on the bass as opposed to going to their amp. So the deal is, if you like to fiddle with your tone, spend the extra buck on an active bass.

One other thing to consider, if you play with FOH support, sound guys are not real crazy about with fiddlers as it makes more work for them trying to counter act your adjustments to make the overall sound suitable. Drop a bunch of low end on them out of the blue and their going to get p*ssed! Do it often enough, and your Bass is going to sound like rubber bands on a cigar box in the house.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Not having ever played an active bass I am asking for advice.

I have both. The only advantage I can ascertain is that the active electronic on mine is basically an onboard preamp to modify your sound tonally. Basically you should with a quality bass amp have the same or better controls for shaping your sound. I rarely change my EQ, my PJ bass the pick ups and tone are up all the way, active Warwick is run flat. If I need any tone shaping I do it with my fingers.

That said, some guys like having the ability to adjust tone on the fly on the bass as opposed to going to their amp. So the deal is, if you like to fiddle with your tone, spend the extra buck on an active bass.

One other thing to consider, if you play with FOH support, sound guys are not real crazy about with fiddlers as it makes more work for them trying to counter act your adjustments to make the overall sound suitable. Drop a bunch of low end on them out of the blue and their going to get p*ssed! Do it often enough, and your Bass is going to sound like rubber bands on a cigar box in the house.

 

[Element Zero]

This thread trips me out.

“Battery issues”?
“Fiddling with knobs”?

Been playing active basses since ‘98 and have never had a battery die on me. When I’m done playing, I simply unplug the cable.

I need a slightly boomier tone for this song. Bump the Bass a bit, take out a bit of mids and highs. Slightly aggressive tone? Bass flat, boost some mids and treble. Killer slap tone? Slight boost on Bass and highs and slight scoop at mids. What’s so difficult about that?

 

[Turnaround]

The P Bass is one instrument where I would not tend to use an onboard preamp; because the signal coming out of that axe is already pretty much right.

I used to think that way too. But years ago I dropped a Raven Labs retro-fit pre into my Precision and that changed my mind. That preamp was a marvel - it still sounded like a Precision mostly because it left the wide midrange band untouched. No matter which way I turned the knobs it still sounded like a Precision.

I sold that Precision because a producer loved it so much he had to have it. Since then I have done another Active/Passive Precision and I like the one even more. I chose a preamp that would also leave the characteristic midrange alone and wired it with a true Preamp bypass with passive tone control. Absolutely the best of both worlds.

 

[bucephylus]

I used to think that way too. But years ago I dropped a Raven Labs retro-fit pre into my Precision and that changed my mind. That preamp was a marvel - it still sounded like a Precision mostly because it left the wide midrange band untouched. No matter which way I turned the knobs it still sounded like a Precision.

I sold that Precision because a producer loved it so much he had to have it. Since then I have done another Active/Passive Precision and I like the one even more. I chose a preamp that would also leave the characteristic midrange alone and wired it with a true Preamp bypass with passive tone control. Absolutely the best of both worlds.

Well, there you go. See, the thing is that an onboard preamp is simply a gain stage in the signal chain. No more, no less. Managing the gain stages in the signal chain such that the instrument sounds good is the general idea. There is no fundamental law of the universe stating that a gain stage in the instrument is bad. Might be good, might be bad. Just depends how the rest of the signal chain is set up.

 

[countrybass5]

I was curious about this title. A little more info about the subject might get you more weigh-ins on it

You're right,and I should have added both to the poll. It seems that a lot of players like both.

 

[countrybass5]

I have both. The only advantage I can ascertain is that the active electronic on mine is basically an onboard preamp to modify your sound tonally. Basically you should with a quality bass amp have the same or better controls for shaping your sound. I rarely change my EQ, my PJ bass the pick ups and tone are up all the way, active Warwick is run flat. If I need any tone shaping I do it with my fingers.

That said, some guys like having the ability to adjust tone on the fly on the bass as opposed to going to their amp. So the deal is, if you like to fiddle with your tone, spend the extra buck on an active bass.

One other thing to consider, if you play with FOH support, sound guys are not real crazy about with fiddlers as it makes more work for them trying to counter act your adjustments to make the overall sound suitable. Drop a bunch of low end on them out of the blue and their going to get p*ssed! Do it often enough, and your Bass is going to sound like rubber bands on a cigar box in the house.

How do you tone shape with your fingers? I've never heard of that before.