I have Five String Fender Jazz Bass. Nonetheless, it has passive pickups meaning its not as dynamic as an active bass guitar (in which most bass players possess) To gain more volume, I bought the Boss Limiter/Enhancer foot pedal. It's satisfying however i wanted to find out other ways to solve this problem (other than turning up my gain and volume. Any suggestion?
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Fender Jazz Passive
- Thread starter cliffkee
- Start date
As it says in the Metalhead's Dictionary for Musical Vocabulary: Enhanced dynamics = more volume. Unfortunately, that's not entirely correct. Dynamic is more referring to the change in volume, and dynamic range is a vital component of orchestral composing techniques (particularly ones that are less key-oriented like twelve tone.)
And ironically, using a limiter pedal makes your bass less dynamic because its dynamic range is being reduced.
Enjoy the more natural tone of your passive bass 
I guess some people, most people,(?) might like active cause it's "louder" also you have more eq controls usually. But I think it sounds less natural.. Like it's powered by a battery 
so I personally prefer a passive bass. Though music man stingrays and sterlings kick ass..
I guess some people, most people,(?) might like active cause it's "louder" also you have more eq controls usually. But I think it sounds less natural.. Like it's powered by a battery so I personally prefer a passive bass. Though music man stingrays and sterlings kick ass..
Perhaps your issue is more with the frequency response. Try some pickups that will emphasize the low-mids, or maybe a bit of Tech 21 in your signal chain (VT Bass Deluxe in mine, but there are other preamp/dirtbox options, too).
I did it the other way round. I removed the pre-amp from my Ibby GSR200EX. The output remained equally 'loud'. The headroom, however, increased and there is less 'white' noise on the signal. Last but ot least: it doesn't need batteries anymore.
Fender Jazz basses sound nice passive.
Mine does, anyway, and I have aftermarket pickups.
EMG Select. I've heard a lot of bad things about them. Of course, I've never heard anything but good things FROM them...
Mine does, anyway, and I have aftermarket pickups.
EMG Select. I've heard a lot of bad things about them. Of course, I've never heard anything but good things FROM them...
Dimarzio Ultra Jazz. Put them in my Jazz bass along with a new set of DR Hi Beams, makes for a real loud bass, along with incredible tone.
I think passive Jazz Basses sound awesome. I would get rid of that pedal, or use it less (just for a certain effect or whatever), and get a Sansamp. I have the RBI which is killer. The new VT Bass is supposed to be great as well. Pretty much all of the Tech 21 stuff is great. Especially for boosting your signal, and adding some grit to your tone.
I used to like active basses, and have a couple. To me they sound less dynamic. My passive Jazz has more growl, and more distinctive tone.
I used to like active basses, and have a couple. To me they sound less dynamic. My passive Jazz has more growl, and more distinctive tone.
+1 to "why not just turn up?"
You have a maximum ceiling to your volume, which is how hard the driver on your amp can work before something breaks. You get there by turning up, and if you turn up all the way it will get there no matter what preamps you do or don't have in your chain. You can boost the signal going into the amp from the onboard preamp of an active bass, or a booster pedal like the Sansamp, or whatever, but at the end of the day volume is volume. What you're getting by adding those things is not final volume but a choice of points at which you can tweak your volume - on the bass, on the pedal, or on the amp itself.
Sometimes people just like being able to do their EQ right on the bass, so they need the active electronics so they can boost and not just cut like on a passive. Sometimes they want the extra gain in the signal before it hits effects pedals. But if all you're concerned about is volume, your amp can't get any louder with an active bass than it can with a passive one.
You have a maximum ceiling to your volume, which is how hard the driver on your amp can work before something breaks. You get there by turning up, and if you turn up all the way it will get there no matter what preamps you do or don't have in your chain. You can boost the signal going into the amp from the onboard preamp of an active bass, or a booster pedal like the Sansamp, or whatever, but at the end of the day volume is volume. What you're getting by adding those things is not final volume but a choice of points at which you can tweak your volume - on the bass, on the pedal, or on the amp itself.
Sometimes people just like being able to do their EQ right on the bass, so they need the active electronics so they can boost and not just cut like on a passive. Sometimes they want the extra gain in the signal before it hits effects pedals. But if all you're concerned about is volume, your amp can't get any louder with an active bass than it can with a passive one.
