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Getting the most from an Active Bass

K

Kaji

Guest
Apr 10, 2011
8
2
#1
I just picked up my first active bass (a Squier Jaguar Bass), and I'm trying to figure out how to get the best sound from it. So far I've noticed that it's a far brighter sound than my main bass (JV P-Bass with D'Addario Chromes; extremely mellow sound), but I'm having a little bit of trouble figuring out how to control the sound a bit I guess. Truth be told, I still haven't quite figured out what all the knobs are (Think it's neck volume, bridge volume, balance?, and bass boost?).

My primary rig is a tube head (Traynor YBA-1) into a 2x15 cabinet, although when I'm out and about I have an Ampeg BA-110 I take with me that I use instead.

What are the major differences between active and passive, and how can I get the best possible sound from the new bass?
 
#2
Think of the active EQ in the same manner as the EQ on your amp. It shouldn't be something which intimidates you, it's very simple really. You just have more control in your hands than with a passive. The first mistake a lot of people make is boosting the bejesus out of the EQ on the bass without adjusting the settings on the amp. They end up with an exaggerated EQ shape overall and blame the active system.

Set everything flat, both on the amp and the bass, and adjust from there. Get to know what the bass sounds like without the EQ. Understand if the onboard EQ is cut and boost or boost only. You see a lot of people set the controls about halfway on 2-bamd Stingrays, when it's a boost only system, and wonder why it sounds scooped when they're boosting the highs and lows unwittingly. An active EQ set flat should be a neutral sound, like a passive bass with the tone control open. If you boost the low end on the bass then you probably need to take some out of the amp and the same goes for high end. If you boost the highs on the bass of course it will be bright. Start flat and then adjust to taste, it's really that simple.
 
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#3
Definitely find out the details on the eq. I have a spector that is boost only, dosnt cut. I usually run the highs and lows up almost all the way, because they are higher, it in effect scoops the mids further than I like, so I add a little mid in on my tone modifer on my effects proc. Its versatile though, I can countour a sound easily with it. I kept my amps the same way I eq em and played around with the bass itself because I hate having to dick with the eq's on my amps once they are set. Also, I recorded with the bass using different settings to see what the result was.
 

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