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Five string basses - Is active better?

walknbluez

walknbluez

Oct 3, 2007
1,017
8
Sacramento, CA
#1
I've never played any active basses, only passive. I'm looking for a five string and a fellow TB'er/friend and friend's opinion was that 5 string basses sound better with active and that passive seems to lose some of the low B. I respect his opinion because he's pretty knowledgeable and has played on lots of different gear but wanted to get a wide range of opinions. I saw a Fender Jazz passive 5'er in the TB classifieds but have been holding off because of concern about the low B.

Do you think 5'ers sound better active and have a better low B?
 
#3
i think for a low B general construction quality is really all there is to it. they'll sound punchier and cleaner on a longer scale, but thats not necessarily better. a well made bass will always have a nice B. active / passive in relation to a low B is fairly irrelevant..

that being said, something to keep an eye out for is budget 6 strings and their pickups- very often they have 5 string (or even 4) pickups in there, and the magnets "sort of" pick up the outer strings, and IMO thats what happens on a lot of the basses that people say have bad B strings, where in reality it has bad pickups (i had 2 basses like this, both actually had 4 string pickups, one cheapie and one was a 90's carvin.)
 
#5
If a passive bass B doesn't sound good through a good external preamp, then why would you expect it to sound good through an onboard preamp?

Active or passive, the signal IS going to go through a preamp somewhere before it gets to the actual amplifier (even if the preamp is built into the amplifier).

In other words, what CapnSev said.
 
#6
+1, active/passive should have nothing to do with the B.
5's commonly have active electronics, - I'm not sure why there's so few passive 5s. I've had a bunch of 5s, and I don't think I've ever had a passive 5, but most of my 4s are passive.
I usually run my eq's flat on the bass, but I suppose a lot of guys tweak the eq on their 5s. If you're more of a flat eq at the bass kind of player, you would likely be very happy with passive (or active) so long as you liked the bass.
 
#9
I had a similar opinion several years ago but not anymore.

Generally poor (flappy / flabby) B strings are an issue with the physical make up of the instrument rather than the electronics IME.

IMO there is something about the bottom four notes on a B that does make them sound a bit different to the rest of the instrument but that didn't put me off ordering a new 5er last week. Personally the feel of that bottom B is the most important thing, as long as it's nice and taught then you should be fine.

An active circuit can only cut or boost frequencies that are already in the signal already and that is defined by the strings, wood and pickups.
 
#10
I had a Dingwall Afterburner I 5er once upon a time, which is a passive bass, and the low B on that pretty much destroyed almost every active 5-string bass I've ever played. So, no, I would not say that active is automatically better for a 5-string.

Good pickups in a well-built bass will always produce better tone, regardless of how many strings a bass has, or whether it is passive or active.
 
#11
The seller of this MIM Fender Jazz says that the B string is pretty good, doesn't seem real floppy or such. But it's not super tight.

Kinda hard not being able to play the bass but I feel more comfortable buying a used bass from a tb'er not to mention I'm not seeing any on craigslist locally.
 
#13
walknbluez said:
The seller of this MIM Fender Jazz says that the B string is pretty good, doesn't seem real floppy or such. But it's not super tight.
Click to expand...

First, I am not a fan of the MIM Jazz 5ers. But, I have only played neglected GC examples, so YMMV.

Second, the correct string choice and a proper setup can do a lot to improve the B string on a number of basses. And, of course, B-string feel is a very subjective thing. I tend to raise the action on my B-strings higher than the E string. I have found that it gives the B more punch and gives the string more room to vibrate. I also typically use hex-core strings on my 5ers because they tend to have a tighter feel than round-core, which improves the B even more.

Bottom line, it may not be the best low B out there. But, with a few tweaks, it is highly likely that you can get, at the very least, a "usable" tone/feel out of that bass. You should to have to do this to any 5-string in that price range IMO.
 
#14
Double Agent said:
First, I am not a fan of the MIM Jazz 5ers. But, I have only played neglected GC examples, so YMMV.

Second, the correct string choice and a proper setup can do a lot to improve the B string on a number of basses. And, of course, B-string feel is a very subjective thing. I tend to raise the action on my B-strings higher than the E string. I have found that it gives the B more punch and gives the string more room to vibrate. I also typically use hex-core strings on my 5ers because they tend to have a tighter feel than round-core, which improves the B even more.

Bottom line, it may not be the best low B out there. But, with a few tweaks, it is highly likely that you can get, at the very least, a "usable" tone/feel out of that bass. You should to have to do this to any 5-string in that price range IMO.
Click to expand...

Did you mean to say "You should NOT have to do this to any 5-string in that price range IMO" or "You should have to do this to any 5-string in that price IMO". ? The extra "to" in your sentence leads me to believe that you meant to type NOT.
 
#16
walknbluez said:
Did you mean to say "You should NOT have to do this to any 5-string in that price range IMO" or "You should have to do this to any 5-string in that price IMO". ? The extra "to" in your sentence leads me to believe that you meant to type NOT.
Click to expand...

You should expect to have to do this to any bass in that price range. Sorry about that.

walknbluez said:
What other brands do you like in the same price range?
Click to expand...

I would expect that it's about $400-500, but it obviously depends on how much the seller is asking since used prices can vary so much. Here is a brief list:
- G&L Tribute L2500
- Sterling by Musicman Ray35
- Ibanez SR505
- Ibanez ATK305
- Cort - the Elrick copy, JP5 or RB5.

I have not played a Brubaker Brute yet. They look like excellent basses for the money, but they might be hard to find on the used market. There are others which I'm sure that I'm forgetting. But, any of those that I listed are great "bargain" 5-strings IMO/IME.
 
#17
For me, the scale of a 5-string makes the biggest difference. Sure, there are great 34" scale 5ers out there, but in my experience, 35" scale 5ers just seem to be better all the way around as far as the B string goes (as long as you don't have small meathhooks!). That Fender you're looking at is 34". If I were you, I'd go to GC or Skip's and play every 5er in there, 34" or 35". That will give you a better feel for B strings and the difference between 34" and 35". The B string on my MTD Heir 5 (35") brings down the house, even with the stock electronics which a lot of people swap out).

Also, I'm in Sacramento and I look at Craigslist almost every day. It's crazy how fast basses sell off of Craigslist around Sac. If you don't end up getting the Jazz, you're sure to find something local soon. :)
 
#18
LaklandMike said:
For me, the scale of a 5-string makes the biggest difference. Sure, there are great 34" scale 5ers out there, but in my experience, 35" scale 5ers just seem to be better all the way around as far as the B string goes (as long as you don't have small meathhooks!). That Fender you're looking at is 34". If I were you, I'd go to GC or Skip's and play every 5er in there, 34" or 35". That will give you a better feel for B strings and the difference between 34" and 35". The B string on my MTD Heir 5 (35") brings down the house, even with the stock electronics which a lot of people swap out).

Also, I'm in Sacramento and I look at Craigslist almost every day. It's crazy how fast basses sell off of Craigslist around Sac. If you don't end up getting the Jazz, you're sure to find something local soon. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, I had no idea of the difference between 34" and 35". And you're right, they go quick on CL here in Sac.
 
#19
I have a guy making me a custom 5-string, passive bass. It is the first passive bass he has built, and first lefty, too.

Passive or active should make no difference.

I also have a 35" scale, 5-string, active Kingston (now called "Artist" IIRC). Scale is nice, and the B is very nice.
 
#20
I can actually see some validity to the OPs friends opinion, although I am just guessing. To me, some 35" scale 5ers sound a little to thin on the G string, while some 34" basses sound a little too flabby or indistinct on the B. This could probably be remedied with strings or setup, but having a 3 band EQ on board could provide some extra sonic tools to cover up the inherit shortcomings of the bass. Of course, the other alternative is buy a bass that does not exhibit these qualities, as I have come across a few in both scale lengths that sounded really even on all 5 strings.

OK to summarize, if your bass is not the best or has a crummy setup and string combo, you could use active exing to cover it up a little better.
 

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