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From active to passive...

Discussion in 'Pickups & Electronics [BG]' started by Buskman, Jun 27, 2008.

  1. Jun 27, 2008 #1
    Buskman

    Buskman

    Apr 13, 2007
    Jersey Shore, USA
    I remember reading (on TB?) that Richard Bona converted his Fodera to completely passive - which I find interesting, due to the fact that the preamp in his bass (a Pope, I'm assuming) would be pretty versatile.

    What does doing something like this involve, and what are the benefits? What kind of modding is involved here?

    I've also heard of people wiring the pickups straight to the input (ex: Anthony Jackson). Is this similar in nature to what Bona did?

    There's gotta be more to it than just not having to worry about changing a battery anymore, right? ;)

    Wow - that's a lot of questions for one posting... I'll stop now.

    Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks! :bassist:
     
  2. Jun 27, 2008 #2
    Mushroo

    Mushroo Guest

    Apr 2, 2007
    Hi Buskman, It is really easy, just take the preamp out and rewire accordingly! The only exception is that some active preamps use strange value pots, such as 25k (EMG etc); you need 250k or 500k pots for passive. Obviously another exception is if the pots are an integral part of the preamp such as Audere :)

    If you want to keep your active wiring intact (in case you want to restore the bass to stock someday), you can take it out in one piece and buy a pre-wired harness from Bayou Cables or HAS Sound.

    Wiring to the jack is exactly as it sounds; the pickup wires attach directly to the jack, there are no pots or other components in the signal path.

    Hope that answers your question!

    M
     
  3. Jun 27, 2008 #3
    Mushroo

    Mushroo Guest

    Apr 2, 2007
    Oh and to answer your question about WHY someone would do this: active and passive sound different. Some people prefer one sound, others prefer the other (and some people like both). It's as simple as that. Not having to change the battery any more is an extra bonus. :)
     
  4. Jun 27, 2008 #4
    Buskman

    Buskman

    Apr 13, 2007
    Jersey Shore, USA
    Gotcha - thanks, Mushroo! :cool:
     
  5. Jun 30, 2008 #5
    cnltb

    cnltb

    May 28, 2005
    Also...noo buttons on your bass makes it all a little less confusing for the sound man who may be losing his will to live if the bassist he is trying to record keeps on playing around with his on board eq etc.
    So...be good to your sound engineer . Get rid of your on-board toys!! :)