Do we really need high-end basses with intricate active electronics?

[Deleted member 269102]

There are as many "perfect" basses as there are bass players. As a community, we seem to fight just as much about active vs passive as foodies do about mayo vs Miracle Whip.

Why does there have to be one right answer? Play what ya like, what works for you, and what you feel the music calls for.

My two current basses are a stock P with flats, and a Jazz tricked out with an Audere. Love them both, and they both have their place.

 

[Winfred]

Man...there must be some nasty radiation coming from the fingerboard. Wonder if u would have an extra finger after playing the bass for a long time

Oh brother, you have no idea! lol!

 

[cchorney]

In my opinion the way the bass fits you and feels to you is really important. I bought and returned a Gibson SG bass because although I loved the tone, I hated the neck dive, and I bought and returned an Ibanez SR1800 because although I loved the neck, I hated the way the body felt while playing - too thin I think.

But comfort and fit don't matter if it doesn't sound like you need it to sound. I'm not sure how important "active" is. As others have said, "active" usually just means the bass has an on board 3 or 4 band EQ. That's not much control. Make it a 32 band EQ - now you've got some control. And frankly, if you're going to do active, you should do it completely - give me a modeling bass that has a patch for "early 60's P bass with broken in flats", a patch for "Gibson SG bass", and other patches for other basses. And make it programmable, so I could add and remove basses as needed.

 

[Deleted member 269102]

Man...there must be some nasty radiation coming from the fingerboard. Wonder if u would have an extra finger after playing the bass for a long time

Just like a five string, that extra finger takes getting used to, but man, can you play like a demon once you get the hang of it.

 

[cchorney]

Just like a five string, that extra finger takes getting used to, but man, can you play like a demon once you get the hang of it.

That extra finger? Are you this guy?

 

[Real Soon]

Why distill and age a barrel of single-malt scotch whiskey when the cheapest blend you can get your hands on will still get the job done?

Why drive a sport coupe when a mid-size sedan will get you there and let you haul more stuff?

Why fly first-class when you can fly in the baggage compartment?


There's more to life than the strictly practical and functional and sensible, my dude.

 

[sl0pch0p]

Hey all I know is Jaco had one bass that he dragged through the sand on the beach and left in clubs on the floor when he got drunk and used no pedals and he's basically the best electric bass player ever so there's that.

The most famous and deadly samurai of all time, Musashi, was known for defeating opponents with wooden boat oars he would whittle to have a sharp edge/point the night before his duels. He didnt even need an actual sword to kill famous samurai.

I think as long as your bass doesn't suck, you're fine and you probably don't need a new one or another one. The rest is up to you as the bass player to be great. No matter how nice your bass is, if you suck, you will sound bad. As long as your bass doesnt suck, and you're a great player, you will sound great.

 

[Fender05]

I started, like most of us probably, playing a passive bass. I quickly realized that, while it sounded good, it didn't sound like what I was looking for. So I switched to actives, and haven't looked back since.

I believe my opinion is what works FOR ME. Who cares if you agree or not? If it doesn't work for you, try something else

 

[FretNoMore]

Hey all I know is Jaco had one bass that he dragged through the sand on the beach and got drunk and left in clubs on the floor and used no pedals and he's basically the best electric bass player ever so

Yeah, that works for great players. Really poor ones like me need more help from the equipment to get a useable sound.

 

[Bassfreakz]

Hey all I know is Jaco had one bass that he dragged through the sand on the beach and got drunk and left in clubs on the floor and used no pedals and he's basically the best electric bass player ever so

Maybe you should do the same and be the next best electric bass player ever

 

[Bassfreakz]

I love trolling on troll threads

 

[two fingers]

They all have their place. One kind of tone is fine if you play one kind of music. I have played in lots of variety bands. I would rather have lots of "tools in my box" if you know what I mean. Lots of songs sound amazing with a P bass tone. Some just don't. (And I mainly play a 5 string P these days, so don't start.)

I would never want to limit my options if I could help it.

Also, I don't even need to list the amazing players who play basses with "intricate electronics" on board. And you can't exactly argue that they use electronics as some sort of playing "crutch".

OP, you are harboring an extremely narrow-minded view there. As much as it does well, and it does a LOT well, a passive P bass can't cover everything for every player. And it shouldn't. There should be a gagillion choices for us out there. And there are. Woohoo!

 

[Phalex]

I find that unusual. What are you using to provide signal to the mixer?

Usually whatever DI box the sound guy gives me.

 

[Fuzmaster]

I play a passive/active, Jazz/Precision, with a maple/plywood/plutonium board, gold/polyester strings (flat on one side, round on the other), and transgendered bi-sexual tuning pegs.

Man...there must be some nasty radiation coming from the fingerboard. Wonder if u would have an extra finger after playing the bass for a long time

To play it safe, I'd use a depleted uranium fingerboard instead of plutonium. Just as bad for neck dive, though.

An extra finger could be handy.

 

[TripleDouble]

This thread has reignited the beatnik existential crisis of my youth.

 

[two fingers]

Hey all I know is Jaco had one bass that he dragged through the sand on the beach and got drunk and left in clubs on the floor and used no pedals and he's basically the best electric bass player ever so there's that

Poor guy also dragged HIMSELF through the sand. And if you'll do a little more digging, you will find out that he used several basses. Often, he used a different bass because his was in the pawn shop. So his "one bass" probably stemmed more from not being able to AFFORD another one.

Also, he pretty much had one sound. Now, he changed the bass world with that one sound. But it was what it was. His sound would not have worked in almost any other setting. Using his talent, he FORCED that tone to work where he used it.

Can you imagine Victor Wooten, Stanley Clark, Steve Bailey, Jamerson, Glaub, Duck, or any of the other greats being forced to work with Jaco's tone? Ridiculous notion.

 

[Phalex]

That extra finger? Are you this guy?

Nigel Tufnel? That would explain why he's so awesome??

 

[Geri O]

Your last sentence answered the question I was going to ask. There is no requirement to respond to questions people have. I think most of us enjoy the banter and that's why we participate.

As if you had to ask otherwise. Or remind me of the requirements, or the lack thereof....

Al I could add would be that if I like what a bass sounds like, I won't care if it's active or passive. The only notation I would make is to check the battery every once in a while.

 

[Neveragain55]

I want to thank all of you that have replied, I think it’s really cool how varied the responses have been, and how varied the mindsets are on this topic.

To all of you that somehow got offended (which really puzzles me) I wasn’t looking to start fights, I merely wanted to see where people are regarding their gear and how they feel about older instruments with less gadgetry compared to the latest bass guitars complete with blinged out neon lights on the fretboard.

The reason why I used the word “we” in my post is because (if I’m not mistaken) “we” are all bass players’ right………????

The meaning of the post wasn’t written for me to wax poetically on what I think is right or wrong, it was written in the form of a question to see what other people thought about regarding the merits or differences between the various types of basses.

I am absolutely "not" a proponent of anybody changing or giving up what they’re currently playing, I also believe as many of you do that you should buy & play what suits you……..I thought I said that in my post??

Many of you pointed out that some of those “older cats” ran their “simple” basses through exotic studio equipment, and it’s a fair point.

Honestly I hadn’t given that a lot of thought because I wasn’t looking at it from the context of studio work as much as I was looking at this through stage work where you wouldn’t have all of that state of the art equipment in a small venue.

To all of you that pointed out how the gig or type of music you’re playing basically rules what type of instrument would be best, great points.

To all of you that sort of marginalized the topic to a Luthiers profits……….I think you missed the meaning of what I was trying to ask.

For whatever its worth, my latest bass to join the family is an ESP LTD B-4E neckthrough, 4 string which is so damn gorgeous it hurts to look at. She has all the bells & whistles of some of the exotic boutique basses – so obviously I’m not against these types of basses.

I just prefer to hone my chops playing my passive style basses more, others prefer to fully exploit the tools given to them that only modern-day electronics can, some love both equally………..no harm, no foul.

 

[nostatic]

Honestly I hadn’t given that a lot of thought because I wasn’t looking at it from the context of studio work as much as I was looking at this through stage work where you wouldn’t have all of that state of the art equipment in a small venue.

Like this?

In these situations (I'm not running into FOH), I want as much control over my sound as possible. That said I don't think I touched my eq on either bass (Smith and Fodera which is hiding) for the 90 min set. I have searched for a long time to get gear that I will typically run flat and get a sound that I like - that way I'm only using eq either as an effect or to deal with a crappy room. Both of those are much harder to achieve with a passive instrument. Or I should say, they require the amp to do more of the heavy lifting. But I prefer my amp to have less drastic tone options, so it ends up being a compromise. Like any situation. Playing bass requires a system and all of the parts (player to strings to pickups to wood to amp to cab) have a role and influence things to some degree. You pick what parts of that equation you want to be able to easily change on the fly, and which are set in stone...or wood. Active eq is just another tool in the bag. And like any tool, you can use it well, use it poorly, or not use it at all.