Do you prefer simple or complex controls on your bass(es)?

[whero]

All I've done is say that I prefer "simple passive" circuitry. I don't need a "complex active" bass, and I don't particularly like them. But I only speak for myself.

I usually play 60s, 70s, 80s "classic rock" in bars. This can be handled just fine with my passive bass. I also have a regular stand-in gig backing a well known local female cabaret singer. My passive bass does that well too. But hey, if anyone else wants an active bass, or a more complex set up, that's fine.

But you seem to have made a number of assumptions:

• That I'm wrong to prefer passive basses, that I don't use them because they're too complicated for me, and that I'm narrow minded.
• People who use a passive bass do so because they're too lazy to work out how an active bass works.

I'm sorry but as you seems really straigh forward, I'm gonna do the same here
I think you're wrong.
For the reasons I said before but not only.
With my Sadowsky inboard preamp, I can do anything you do with your passive jazz.
The opposite is not true...
Not exploiting the possibilities of the active sound just because "it's complicated" (which is not true) seems a little narrow minded.

Maybe you'll stick with your passive old tone. But you'll do it because you decided, not cause you were to lazy to figure out how it works!

I don't find active basses "complicated". I own one. I've had it for more than 25 years, and played over a dozen more in that time. I've played with the controls and settings on active basses. I know how they work. And I don't shy way from things because they're complicated. An active bass is a lot less complicated than my day job. But none of this has anything to do with my preference for passive instruments.

And far from being lazy, I always spend a lot of time playing with settings on any new instrument, and I've taken hours learning to understand what the controls my preamp/amp do. I've also spent quite a bit of time with my multi-effects pedal making some patches for tone tweaks for a limited number of songs in my set list. I've just come to the conclusion, after all this work, that I like passive basses best. Why is this wrong?

 

[Basta-bass]

All I've done is say that I prefer "simple passive" circuitry. I don't need a "complex active" bass, and I don't particularly like them. But I only speak for myself.

I usually play 60s, 70s, 80s "classic rock" in bars. This can be handled just fine with my passive bass. I also have a regular stand-in gig backing a well known local female cabaret singer. My passive bass does that well too. But hey, if anyone else wants an active bass, or a more complex set up, that's fine.

But you seem to have made a number of assumptions:

• That I'm wrong to prefer passive basses, that I don't use them because they're too complicated for me, and that I'm narrow minded.
• People who use a passive bass do so because they're too lazy to work out how an active bass works.

I don't find active basses "complicated". I own one. I've had it for more than 25 years, and played over a dozen more in that time. I've played with the controls and settings on active basses. I know how they work. And I don't shy way from things because they're complicated. An active bass is a lot less complicated than my day job. But none of this has anything to do with my preference for passive instruments.

And far from being lazy, I always spend a lot of time playing with settings on any new instrument, and I've taken hours learning to understand what the controls my preamp/amp do. I've also spent quite a bit of time with my multi-effects pedal making some patches for tone tweaks for a limited number of songs in my set list. I've just come to the conclusion, after all this work, that I like passive basses best. Why is this wrong?

Ok...
Listen! I didn't mean by anyway be disrespectful.
Maybe it's because English isn't my native language, but I felt that you were making assumptions about us "wasting " time and energy for electronics that doesn't matter.
I tried with good spirit (but firmly thought) to explain why I think it's not.
What you say in this last post, is much more finely-shaded, and says you did exactly what I suggested to do.
That's fine with me!
As I said: we're ok!
No offence!

 

[dan.ablett]

Simple controls on the bass and a tone hammer in the chain.

Ive acrtually been thinking about the plausibility of replacing the tone knob with some sort of 3 or 5 way switch, from wide open to completely off. That would be super ideal for me on a p bass, rather than trying to find the sweet spot with the knob... just know what all the positions do and you can just flick to it quickly.

 

[fermata]

Simple controls on the bass and a tone hammer in the chain.

Ive acrtually been thinking about the plausibility of replacing the tone knob with some sort of 3 or 5 way switch, from wide open to completely off. That would be super ideal for me on a p bass, rather than trying to find the sweet spot with the knob... just know what all the positions do and you can just flick to it quickly.

Two ways to do it: One capacitor with several different resistor values to mimic different pot positions, or multiple capacitors values (the varitone/decade switch concept, like a Stellartone or homebrew version). With the decade switch, the resonant peak of some cap values can be a bit overbearing; for a smoother sound, just put a 6.8K Ohm resistor in series with the cap(s) to tame the peak.

 

[seanm]

Since a lot of people here seem to like simple, here is the preamp pedal I used for years at one practice space. It went straight into a power amp and a 1x12/1x6. It originally had a volume, and I removed it.

The amp/cab where at the other end of the room from me. The preamp pedal was in the middle (since the power supply only reached that far) and I stood at the far end. I really don't remember why I added the mute, which is in the hole the volume pot was in.

It was more a regular open jam than a practice. Everybody else was acoustic, so volume was not a problem and the room was pretty neutral... no weird eq required.

 

[Imtiaz Ahmad]

5 knobs: vol, blend, low, mid (non-sweep), high

 

[ElectricBass72]

Complex Active. I love the options on my EBMM Stingray 5 HH and Ibanez SR506 with Barts.

 

[GreyEagle]

disclaimer: This thread is a great excuse to post a pic of my favorite basses.

I believe that the majority of the folks on this forum will likely say simple, ala Precision bass with a volume and tone, or simply a volume, or perhaps straight to the jack. I have one p-type bass, and I do love to play it on occasion due to it's simplicity and versatility within that simplicity. But although I own and enjoy playing several passive basses, I still default to basses that are primarily active, with the ability to go passive.

My favorite setup in the 70's was a two p/u, three position toggle & two knobs (Tone, Volume). I was using SIX fx pedals with a guitar amp (I used the reverb & for one or two songs the tremelo). The toggle allowed me to make quick tone changes during songs. I was wowed by complex layouts with tons of switches & knobs, but upon playing them (like the BC Rich basses) I found that I really could only use a couple of tone settings & it was impossible (for me)to make the changes on the fly! My Jag Deluxe has a bunch of geegaws, but they're easy to set so I only need to hit one switch or dial the tone control to cover my needs these days. For recording, I shut the preamp off & use my old Zoom 506 to cover the preamp quietly. Not much use of any fx pedals these days for me!

 

[woodyng2]

I prefer 2- pickups,2 volumes,and 1 tone. ( classic passive J configuration)

 

[bound'n'blocked]

Im a simple active guy. I really like the controls on my Carvin B5. Vol-Blend-High/Mid/Bass. I dont care a whole ton for all of that "low mid/high mid boost and cut" stuff. I prefer active, just not two knobs for everything.

BnB

 

[groove pump]

disclaimer: This thread is a great excuse to post a pic of my favorite basses.

I believe that the majority of the folks on this forum will likely say simple, ala Precision bass with a volume and tone, or simply a volume, or perhaps straight to the jack. I have one p-type bass, and I do love to play it on occasion due to it's simplicity and versatility within that simplicity. But although I own and enjoy playing several passive basses, I still default to basses that are primarily active, with the ability to go passive.

I think that I now have my primary 4 basses. They are all 4 active with passive options. I would group them into "boutique" -style 4 and 5 string, and more "traditional" (non-coffee table) -style 4 and 5 string.

View attachment 3801052

Between these 4 basses, there are....

• 10 pickups
• 23 knobs
• 14 switches
• 8 batteries
• 38 pickup combinations

All can go from active to passive. 3 out of the 4 have a passive tone control, which has proven to be a very useful thing. One of them, the passive tone control works in active or passive mode.

It has taken quite a bit of exploration and tweaking to learn each up to this point, and how I can utilize their potential. I certainly have more learning to do. I primarily play at church and at home. Playing at church is comparable to playing in a cover band (but with less booze) so you never know what bass or amp might show up on a recording. Versatility has been good for my mental state, as I like to sound as close to the recording as possible, although I'm sure most people don't know or care.

So what do most of you prefer?

Simple Active - no switches, simple 2 band EQ or similar
Simple Passive - no switches, tone control
Complex Active - Lot's of knobs and switches
Complex Passive - Lot's of knobs and switches

SEX-eeeee lineup!!!

I'll read through the thread, but for now I can only say that I'm trending toward more flexible, but that doesn't require an on-board preamp. I've been lusting after the newer Schecter CV-4; passive double humbuckers - each with 3-modes - but they're generally heavier than what I'm preferring now.

A newer acquisition that I got last Sept. needs some work at the luthier to give me a more comfortable layout in the form of better string spacing. It's active/passive with a pair of JJ pickups that can also switch to single coil, yaddah-yaddah. This one would check the box for "Complex Active/Passive".

No single bass can do it all, but I like a flexible instrument that can do a bit of a J-bass tone, wooly neck pickup rumble, and even an occasional snappy-slappy thing. One flexible bass for me is a little bit of a GAS suppressant - a nice alternative to chasing one bass for this sound and another for that. I've enjoyed terrific passive basses in the past, so I don't think I'm ultra picky about a having an on-board preamp in the recipe.

 

[scuzzy]

SEX-eeeee lineup!!!

I'll read through the thread, but for now I can only say that I'm trending toward more flexible, but that doesn't require an on-board preamp. I've been lusting after the newer Schecter CV-4; passive double humbuckers - each with 3-modes - but they're generally heavier than what I'm preferring now.

A newer acquisition that I got last Sept. needs some work at the luthier to give me a more comfortable layout in the form of better string spacing. It's active/passive with a pair of JJ pickups that can also switch to single coil, yaddah-yaddah. This one would check the box for "Complex Active/Passive".

No single bass can do it all, but I like a flexible instrument that can do a bit of a J-bass tone, wooly neck pickup rumble, and even an occasional snappy-slappy thing. One flexible bass for me is a little bit of a GAS suppressant - a nice alternative to chasing one bass for this sound and another for that. I've enjoyed terrific passive basses in the past, so I don't think I'm ultra picky about a having an on-board preamp in the recipe.

I really like that schecter electronics setup. I've played passive bass like that and they are remarkably usable and versatile. Plus they look great.

 

[Boomhowertx]

I have a Warwick Thumb, and a B15E Martin, which are both active, but seldom get played.
My usual gouging bass is a '94 Peavey Fury, passive 4 string into my pedalboard, then active di to a behringer x air 18 digital board.
Only adjust to resonant room acoustics.

I'm using in ear monitors, so I seldom hear the bass in hifi thru tjem, anyway. My wife runs sound, so I dont have to worry.

 

[scuzzy]

I have a Warwick Thumb, and a B15E Martin, which are both active, but seldom get played.
My usual gouging bass is a '94 Peavey Fury, passive 4 string into my pedalboard, then active di to a behringer x air 18 digital board.
Only adjust to resonant room acoustics.

I'm using in ear monitors, so I seldom hear the bass in hifi thru tjem, anyway. My wife runs sound, so I dont have to worry.

nice! i have a 94-95 era fury, i love it. better than any fender i've owned. not as cool as the original 59 precision i played though.

 

[Gaolee]

Simple. I am kinda dumb.

 

[Brent's Groove]

I'm definitely a simple passive guy. But I've learned to appreciate simple active too.

I'd like to add a simple one pickup, one volume bass to the stable

 

[Boomhowertx]

nice! i have a 94-95 era fury, i love it. better than any fender i've owned. not as cool as the original 59 precision i played though.

I have a '98 MIM sunburnt Ridgewood P Bass, that I added red tourtise pickguard, thumb rest, and ashtray covers to, to make it look like a '62, but hardly play it.
The Fury has a jazz type neck, on a P body.
Mine has a medium darkened maple board, a Seymour Duncan quarter pounder, Bad Ass ii bridge, and upgraded pots for volume and more tonal range.
I basically just collect the better ones, and I know that sounds terrible, but I saw this bass in a pawnshop in nowhere Georgia, just as they were closing, and begged to get in for it. Then, I took it to Wal-Mart, went in to buy a philips screwdriver, tape measure, and return to the rent car in the lot. I measured the length of neck/body, then went back in for a cheap suitcase of suitable size. After wrapping it in dirty clothes, we had an extra bag on the flight home.
That was around 17 years ago. I already had the other basses, even a few more, which I let go of. But that Peavey has been my standard live rig since then.
We did a six song CD last year, and I was asked to use the Martin on three songs, and my '83 Rickenbacker jetglo on three.
I like seeing that someone feels something special about a working old Peavey.

I let go of a KB 300 years ago, and might be getting that back, to set up and just leave in the living room. It has three separate channels, with Mic input on one.

nice! i have a 94-95 era fury, i love it. better than any fender i've owned. not as cool as the original 59 precision i played though.

 

[Boomhowertx]

I'm definitely a simple passive guy. But I've learned to appreciate simple active too.

I'd like to add a simple one pickup, one volume bass to the stable

I don't know about most, but I feel the active stuff is just too powerful, at certain frequencies. I hear exstrainious tones and resonance that is unwanted and in some venues, uncontrollable. You know, those places where the stage faces opposite walls, between buildings, or something.
Not worrying about batteries is always a plus.

 

[pappabass]

Over 25 yrs of playing I have made the circle of basses. I set aside my 3 band active eq bass for a Fender P. BUT i could not get the clean active eq bass sound. So I now play a Sterling Ray 4. 3 knobs, clean powerful sound

 

[RumbleBot]

Just finished this wiring last night! So, complex in this case...