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Is it just me??
- Thread starter adk teleman
- Start date
I stopped using my active after noticing that passive seemed to sit/cut better in a live mix.
Active sounds better in a bedroom mix though.
Active sounds better in a bedroom mix though.
I like my passive P Bass. It’s great for classic blues and early rock n roll or if a paying party or engineer asks if I have a “Fender bass” (very rarely), but my active Pedulla and my Stingray get the bulk of the live gig work.
By my experience, they are just superior performing instruments in every way to my passive Fenders.
The passive P is a good instrument for anything requiring use of an airplane’s cargo hold though. Tough, easy to replace, and they don’t look bad with battle scars on them.
By my experience, they are just superior performing instruments in every way to my passive Fenders.
The passive P is a good instrument for anything requiring use of an airplane’s cargo hold though. Tough, easy to replace, and they don’t look bad with battle scars on them.
Passive, but Rickenbacker.
I get the appeal of being able to dial in your EQ curve with a preamp on an active bass, but I really don't like the overly neutral voicing of the pickups. I think that when they design them, they try to make them be all things to everyone, which is a bit of a fool's errand. Sure you'll get a useful tone and versatility live, but it'll never be the one you reach for when recording.
I feel the same, but some basses are kinda defined by the preamp for me. I couldn’t imagine my Stingray 5 without the preamp.
So Anyway, I think it's just one more thing to go wrong. But I've never owned an Alembic, Sadowsky or other high-end bass that uses them.
Years ago I saw a Peavey Combo that was seriously underpriced. When I went to check it out, the owner told me it 'buzzed' sometimes. It didn't take us long to figure out that his active bass just needed a new battery. He sold it to me anyway as he had just bought a Markbass amp to replace the 'broken' Peavey.
And he told me not tell his wife.
Years ago I saw a Peavey Combo that was seriously underpriced. When I went to check it out, the owner told me it 'buzzed' sometimes. It didn't take us long to figure out that his active bass just needed a new battery. He sold it to me anyway as he had just bought a Markbass amp to replace the 'broken' Peavey.
And he told me not tell his wife.
Never felt like I needed active electronics. All the shaping and modeling and tinkering was just too much for me. Paralysis by analysis as some say.
I play mostly mustangs and have had regular passive setups (volume, tone), blend setups (between P and J pickups), but no EQ or any of that....
... Though I really would like to drop a kill switch in one of my mustangs sometime...i don't think that counts.
I play mostly mustangs and have had regular passive setups (volume, tone), blend setups (between P and J pickups), but no EQ or any of that....
... Though I really would like to drop a kill switch in one of my mustangs sometime...i don't think that counts.
I have a couple Jackson basses that were originally active. One I modified the wiring and use the original pickups but it is now passive. The other I took everything out and installed a set of emg passive pickups
Active, passive, fretted, fretless, 4 str, more strings... tools of our trade 
. Whatever makes you perform and/or feel better is good.
I have 3 actives and 3 passives and appreciate them for what they have to give. But I go through phases where I'll play one bass more than the 5 others, for no particular reason.
. Whatever makes you perform and/or feel better is good. I have 3 actives and 3 passives and appreciate them for what they have to give. But I go through phases where I'll play one bass more than the 5 others, for no particular reason.
I play seven different basses on a loose rotating schedule. Five of those are active, but none of those actives have active pickups in them. They all have passive pickups with an active preamp. That is actually what I prefer. The versatility that the active preamp adds is wonderful. In fact, with some of the basses that I've converted to active, I was ready to give up on them and sell them because I just couldn't get a sound I liked out of them. Then I added an active preamp, and they became great-sounding basses. And to me, the passive pickup sound is still present.
In order to have my response remain civil and not rock any boats. I'm going to remain "passive". As I have for over 50 years of playing basses.
My oldest are on a 1963 P - I know they've been on it since at least 1972. 51 years and counting.
I have flats on a Univox hollowbody that have been on it more than 20 years.
The rest vary from 2 years to 10+ years.
I've converted all of my basses to active, or they were already active. Except two.
The older I get, the more I feel simple is better. I once had a Honda Civic that had power NOTHING. Everything was manual on that car. You know how many problems I had with it? None. Aside from consumables like tires, needing a new exhaust once or twice, etc. I'm starting to feel that way about a lot of other things to keep headaches and costs to a minimum. However, all my basses are active with the exception of my Fender Jazz Elite which has a switch.
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