I don't think about that at all. Seems superfluous
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Do you think the scale will ever tip back towards hi-fi/active basses?
- Thread starter Just Wrong
- Start date
Me too, pretty much. I had a turning point doing a gig with an active neck thru that wasn’t working with this band I was subbing for, and I had a parts P as backup that was absolutely perfect. After that, I noticed that every other bass I had worked for some things and not others except that one. I wasn’t entirely happy about it, but I couldn’t deny what I was hearing. I still have both of those basses, though the parts P has undergone some changes and is now a PJ.
Trends only influenced me to a certain degree, and these days I couldn’t care less about them. I just trust my ears.
I've all manner of active and passive basses round here. Tell you wut tho, all the fretted ones have straight frets and don't come out of an MC Escher drawing.
TB =/= the world. In some genres you might see mostly actives used.
But this thread is less about gear than it is about people.
Also because of this. It's much easier to vintage-ify a modern sounding bass, than the other way around.
But this thread is less about gear than it is about people.
I don’t think you can judge the state of the music industry by watching what recording artists do. Also, I don’t think what popular commercial live musicians do is a great indicator. Both of these segments are a very small percentage of musicians. Most musicians aren’t professional recording artists and aren’t on tour with a famous act. Most musicians are local guys either only playing at home or playing local clubs and bars. The number of these types of players far outweigh the pros. A better judge of what equipment is used by musicians is to see what the local small time guys are using. In my area, P Basses are popular. I play one at times. I also see every other kind of bass. Some Alembics. Some G&L. Very many Ibanez. I wouldn’t worry about what a few professionals do. Just play what you like and have fun.
I suspect it will go back and forth for those people who try to keep up with playing trends (not a slam - session musicians, for example, or composers trying new things...). My five string is active. My four strings are passive. I use what is best required for the gig/song. (I do sessions on occasion.) I've used my 5 string on sessions, but the four strings tend to be preferred. I don't know why...
I think the rage is always going to center around a P bass, that said, I personally play a modified 5 J bass plus and always will, it’s my sound and suits my style.
From my perspective, the balance has not so much shifted as literally disappeared. There is no balance these days.
Why?
Because, the Top 40 radio has pretty much disappeared, and given way to a highly fragmented internet based structure. People listen or play with active interest in much smaller niche audience circles, courtesy of the internet.
So, there is literally no status quo any more. As a result, players are using all manner of different instrumentation. Claiming any single kind of instrumentation as dominant may apply to a specific niche; but, the bigger picture is far more chaotic.
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I did a bit of recording with a friend last night. All I can add is that my active Warwick Streamer sounded really good dead flat in the cans and on playback. The onboard eq let me make little tweaks as necessary on some takes to tame the high end and round out the mids without having to tinker with either my preamp or the recording interface. Nothing overhyped, just musical.
AI has to figure out how to give bass players real fingers first.Maybe some producers will explain to AI not to have an attitude and play that Pbass in the corner?
tip the scales back? i was never aware they had ever taken over from passive. on the flip side of that statement, i see them everywhere. nothing wrong with passive, nothing wrong with active. there will always be the question of does whatever sound you are making with the instrument fit the music. the only thing i have that maybe less popular is the look many boutique/active instruments have/had. these days though you simply cannot judge whats in the bass, based on what the controls/pickups look like.
I’m thinking some version of active but maybe onboard modeling rather than frequency boost/cut. Who wouldn’t want 20~30 basses available at the push of a button?
Line 6 Variax??
I mean, if it's trying to ape my style, I basically play like I'm slapping amorphous flesh blobs against my strings and frets anyway, so AI doesn't have too far to go I guess. Sad state of affairs over here.
I never worried about what other people want. I have my sound and if they want something else they should find another bass player.
I don’t know what is going on in the studio scene these days, but I play a lot of shows in R&B circles, including large festivals all over the country, and the last passive P bass I have seen was the one I used 4 years ago for one show. I love a good passive Fender Jazz, but what I see on the road are 99% active basses with more than one pickup.
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I purchase all my basses based on advertisements showing someone relatively famous playing that brand. Oh, wait. No, I don't. Never have, never will. I don't care what is popular, who is popular, etc. I purchase a bass depending on my needs, and I don't need a bass simply because another person is playing one.
I vote "carrots."
I vote "carrots."
But from the bass, not a stompbox. If that’s what the Variax is. Sorry, I’m too simple to venture into the outboard FX universe. Nothing wrong with it, and TBH, if I was on the rising side of my life rather than within sight of my end, I’d be more interested in the cutting edge of bass tech. As it stands I’m grateful I’m still able to be relearning the neck with three fingers instead of four.
