So I've been looking into buying a BC Rich Heritage Classic Mockingbird bass. Active basses really aren't my cup of tea, simply because I don't like the fact that my bass needs a battery to rock out. I have heard of gutting the electronics, but can anyone give me a step-by-step guide of converting an active bass into a passive bass?
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How can you convert active to passive?
- Thread starter Led Hendrix
- Start date
It depends. Many, maybe even most active basses actually have passive pickups feeding an active preamp. In this case you can just get that thing out of the way and you will have a passive bass. Some basses actually have active pickups. These have a circuit internal to the pickups themselves and will not work properly without a battery, even if you don't want or need active bass and treble controls. A quick look around describes what's in that bass as 'B.C. Rich P-style Bass Pickups', I have no idea what those are.
find a wiring diagram for 2 vol & 2 tone, or whatever, and buy the parts (pots, caps, wire). I like to wire the harness before it's installed in the bass and use a piece of stiff cardboard to hold the pots in postion while working on it. if you aren't comfortable with soldering, most shops will rewire it for you for a nominal fee.
