Do you think the scale will ever tip back towards hi-fi/active basses?

[5StringBlues]

Sean also plays a fretless StingRay so there’s clearly more to the story ie: he uses all the Pino instruments, and therefore is actually Pino in disguise.

with diamonds?

 

[pepj]

I'm not sure I get the hi fi assumption of active basses.
I think too many pre amps are capable of sounding very clunky and use extreme permutations that are pretty useless.
And hi fi it ain't.
If the bass sounds good and you've got your thing down, start with a passive sound and use the active option for a slight enhancement.
If a bass doesn't work passively, its either you or the bass or both. That my take.

 

[JimmyM]

I'm not sure I get the hi fi assumption of active basses.
I think too many pre amps are capable of sounding very clunky and use extreme permutations that are pretty useless.
And hi fi it ain't.
If the bass sounds good and you've got your thing down, start with a passive sound and use the active option for a slight enhancement.
If a bass doesn't work passively, its either you or the bass or both. That my take.

What if you use EMG active pickups?

 

[brianrost]

Phish, Dead and Panic. AKA improvisational hippie jam band music.

A good friend is in such a band and their bass player is using a Yamaha

 

[Stranger Danger]

A good friend is in such a band and their bass player is using a Yamaha

I’d bet you he’d rather have a Modulus

 

[brianrost]

I think too many pre amps are capable of sounding very clunky and use extreme permutations that are pretty useless.

The same could be said of the preamps on bass amps. Too many knobs is the devil’s plaything. Boost 800 Hz about 15dB and it’s instant clunk

Luckily most of today’s class D amps have fewer controls because there’s no room for more

There’s also many active basses using EMG pickups and a bog standard passive tone control (LPF).

 

[pepj]

Yep, I avoid amps like that...not a fan of graphics on amps either

 

[jnuts1]

Or ARU or Jazz is dead

Mirrors of Embarrassment is my all time favorite album. its borderline obsessive actually. every other year i put the disc on and then in stays in rotation for at least 6 months before i change it.

 

[soundog]

I kept running down the 9V on my active bass, so I sold it.

 

[Jeff Scott]

The same could be said of the preamps on bass amps. Too many knobs is the devil’s plaything. Boost 800 Hz about 15dB and it’s instant clunk

View attachment 5265516

Luckily most of today’s class D amps have fewer controls because there’s no room for more

There’s also many active basses using EMG pickups and a bog standard passive tone control (LPF).

My favorite is this amp.

 

[Kael]

I don't care what others use. I used to like active basses until I realized the are a royal PITA and the passive just works/sounds better (all IMHO obviously). I'm done with active electronics unless absolutely needed (like for impedance matching with a piezo or some such). Zero benefit to an onboard preamp vs a stomp box one for me.

 

[JIO]

My favorite is this amp.
View attachment 5265858

I hear you! This is an old pic so my settings are different now - it's my rehearsal-space amp powering a Carvin 18" ported cab. I usually prefer simpler controls but once set to the room - I don't touch it. It never strikes me as being 'modern' sounding (I use the MIX setting combining/blending both sides), but I'm not going for a modern sound/tone.

 

[pbass2]

[QUOTE "There's that story of Sean Hurley moving to L.A. with a five-string active Lakland to become a session player just to realize it's a P-bass world out there."]

Part of the reason that the P-bass was preferred by studio engineers is that, at least in the old days (late '60's/early '70's), EVERY engineer in L.A. knew what settings to use on the board to properly place the bass tone of a P-bass in the mix...some of them not only pled ignorance about how to handle active basses but even had problems setting levels on non-Fender passive basses (they frequently had trouble controlling the tendency of Gibson EB-0's and EB-3's to sound like mud or duck farts at even modest gain levels !).

I wouldn't say it was ignorance or any lack of ability or imagination on producers/engineers parts. I mean, think about it---when a P or J is pretty much a plug-n-play path to a solid bass sound in almost any genre, why wrestle with duck farts when the clock is ticking?

 

[MegaSwing]

My favorite is this amp.
View attachment 5265858

That’s a rocket of an amp! When I had one, I never used even half of its features and still never stopped being impressed by it.

 

[MegaSwing]

I hear you! This is an old pic so my settings are different now - it's my rehearsal-space amp powering a Carvin 18" ported cab. I usually prefer simpler controls but once set to the room - I don't touch it. It never strikes me as being 'modern' sounding (I use the MIX setting combining/blending both sides), but I'm not going for a modern sound/tone.

View attachment 5265897

Schweet outfit!!!

 

[mongo2]

I previously posteded...

I usually play my Hofner Ignition Club bass with nylon tapes I modified to have VVT controls straight to my amp. But, if absolutely necessary, I can add either my Boss GEB-7 or GE-7B Bass EQ, my SABDDI, or my Bartolini NTMB preamp I mounted in a box to the signal chain if I want more eq than available at my amp.

I sat down to practice today and decided to try my "Bart In A Box" with my modded Hofner Club bass. I installed fresh batteries and while doing so I noticed that it's not a NTMB, it's a NSTMB-18. Anyway, I was astonished by how good it sounds through that preamp, especially with a bit of bass bosst, mids set to 250 and boosted a bit and the treble flat. I then compared it with the bass into to my SABDDI, GEB-7 and the GE-7B. The Bart was far and away the better tone so I'm planning on using for rehearsal this week and at Friday's gig.

 

[mikeswals]

I wouldn't say it was ignorance or any lack of ability or imagination on producers/engineers parts. I mean, think about it---when a P or J is pretty much a plug-n-play path to a solid bass sound in almost any genre, why wrestle with duck farts when the clock is ticking?

Nathan East has probably been the most recorded of late, obviously he does all genres, and he uses his Yamahas for well over 35 years now.

But as some pointed out, why does it have to be plug and play for the bassist, when they'll spend hours getting a drum kit sound? Really, we're not that difficult.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I’m so behind the times! I never knew active basses went out of style!

I own a couple of basses with passive electronics, a couple with passive pickups and onboard preamps, and my Spectors with active EMGs. Two of my Spectors have EMG BTS EQs, and one has a 9 volt US Hazlabs preamp.

IMHO and IME a bass with active EMGs can easily be dialed in to produce a very warm sound.

I started using active EMGs in the mid 80’s. I regularly gigged a Precision and a Jazz, both with active EMGs that were wired to passive controls. I used those two basses for better than 10 years.

I’ve played countless Country gigs with my active Spectors, my U.S. MusicMan Sterling, and my Alembic Europa. A little bit of an EQ adjustment to my amp, and I was good to go.

 

[pbass2]

Nathan East has probably been the most recorded of late, obviously he does all genres, and he uses his Yamahas for well over 35 years now.

But as some pointed out, why does it have to be plug and play for the bassist, when they'll spend hours getting a drum kit sound? Really, we're not that difficult.

I was talking specifically about the era Canejo Bajo was referencing, and the difference between recording a P or J of the day, vs something like an EB or similar as he discusses.
I expect Nathan never showed up with a bass that sounded like duck farts or was difficult to work with in the mix - after all he used a P early on too.

 

[MrLenny1]

Nothing but Active 5's since 1991.
Still gigging.