Is there any sacrifice with active/passive circuits?

[Fuzzbass]

I tried passive/active once. Once. I ended up using the active 99% of the time, and really never used the passive. So the "sacrifice" was the waste of time, energy, and money wiring that bass both ways. I ended up selling it.

Odd way of looking at an active/passive bass! For many (most?) of us active users, passive mode is welcome as an emergency measure: only to be used if the battery happens to go dead.

It should be mentioned that most actives have low battery drain, and a responsible user will change them biannually (possibly annually) whether needed or not. This should prevent a dead battery issue from ever occurring.

That said, I have experienced two battery failures in the many decades I've been playing actives. The first was when the battery I installed in a bass was not a fresh one -- my mistake, obviously. The second was when I got a pre-owned bass with an electronics problem: one of the screws securing the shielded control cover was touching the output jack, preventing the battery from being disconnected when the bass was unplugged. Once diagnosed, the easy DIY solution was to snip the tip of the offending screw. Neither of these basses had a passive mode, but fortunately the batteries did not die at a gig.

 

[JenderBazzFass]

I have a Fender American Ultra Jazz Bass and both the active and passive modes sound great to me, and they both sound like a Jazz Bass.

I know these pickups are stacked, which you'd obviously expect with any active system, but I don't feel like I am losing anything. And the passive mode works without battery which is a nice feature.

 

[Jefenator]

I find that for many styles, the passive tone knob is really important to have.
Fortunately, there is no law that says there can't be a passive tone knob in conjunction with a defeatable active EQ/buffer circuit. Sadowsky has been doing that for a while and more builders seem to be getting hip to the idea. My Roscoe Century Standard Plus has a passive tone knob and the Aguilar OBP-1 (18V 2-band boost-only).
I wouldn't say it is 100% the same experience as having a classic all-passive bass. I find I never miss that active buffer & EQ boost when I don't have it. But whenever I do & have the option to bypass, it always sounds a little better to me in active mode. Always...
So I just keep it parked in active mode, and use that passive tone knob to go old school as needed. When I have to go from Motown to modern & back over & over in a set & don't feel like switching instruments, that Roscoe really is the obvious choice.

 

[iiipopes]

Odd way of looking at an active/passive bass! For many (most?) of us active users, passive mode is welcome as an emergency measure: only to be used if the battery happens to go dead.

It should be mentioned that most actives have low battery drain, and a responsible user will change them biannually (possibly annually) whether needed or not. This should prevent a dead battery issue from ever occurring.

That said, I have experienced two battery failures in the many decades I've been playing actives. The first was when the battery I installed in a bass was not a fresh one -- my mistake, obviously. The second was when I got a pre-owned bass with an electronics problem: one of the screws securing the shielded control cover was touching the output jack, preventing the battery from being disconnected when the bass was unplugged. Once diagnosed, the easy DIY solution was to snip the tip of the offending screw. Neither of these basses had a passive mode, but fortunately the batteries did not die at a gig.

To me, I have never needed an "emergency" backup. I keep extra batteries on my music stand, extra strings, extra cords, etc., at the ready so even if the worst happened it would be a 2-minute change at most. The worst that has ever happened is a treble control broke internally right before the last set of a gig a few years ago and I finished the gig with a bad tone, replacing the control later. Now, I have a gig next week and, yes, everything could go bonkers. I also know most folks can't afford a second bass to strap on and keep going. I can. All this redundancy is part of gigging regularly, and having the lowest noise, cleanest signal, and overall reliability (that was the only item needing change in a dozen years of regular gigging with this setup) all make my EMG setup worth it.

 

[Geri O]

I prefer a real active instrument (genuine low impedance EMG or Alembic and their accompanying tone controls), or a traditional all passive instrument like most Fenders.

I'm no fan of the active/passive switch based instruments. I think they're a cheap way to ad-speak the unsuspecting that they're buying a true active system which falls outside the traditional concept using low-impedance pickups.

But the active/passive switch soothes the fears of battery failure, and since this layout runs regular high impedance pickups, you get the free fringe benefit of asking in your TB thread 'I'm going back to passive tone control, I've had it with this active stuff . . . '

I agree with the sentiments, but I’d hardly call the active/passive switch in preamps from Trickfish, John East, and others “cheap”.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

I put preamps with bypass in two jazz basses (G&Ls) and love them both active and passive equally.
No loss of anything in either mode that I can tell.
Passive works and sounds great, active works and sounds great.
I mean, with a jazz bass and all the drop-in designs available, it's worth a shot.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

I have a Fender American Ultra Jazz Bass and both the active and passive modes sound great to me, and they both sound like a Jazz Bass.

I know these pickups are stacked, which you'd obviously expect with any active system, but I don't feel like I am losing anything. And the passive mode works without battery which is a nice feature.

I just got a Player II Modified, the MIM version of the Ultra, and have the same experience.

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

I generally just prefer passive, but once in a while I miss the utility of being active. So, active circuit with a passive switch, right?

But I'm getting wary of "best of both worlds" stuff nowadays. Like coil splitting gives you humbuckers AND single coil tones!! ...but it doesn't really  ever sound like a single coil. Stacked pots give you versatility AND a tidy control setup!! ... if you can keep the knobs from sticking when you need them.

So I thought I'd check your experiences on whether active/passive circuits really do give us both the full active and passive experiences, or if it's a good idea that doesn't usually work the way we hope it would. I know you've gotta watch out for unbalanced volume when switching between them, but is there anything else?

If it matters, I'm probably looking at either a Sire V7, P7, or Yamaha BB735 as far as this question goes. Thanks, y'all.

Active/Passive circuits and whether things are single coil or humbucker have nothing necessarily to do with each other.

I don't use the passive toggle on my basses that have an active/passive capability. Why? As a gigging player called on to play a huge variety of songs and sounds, I need the tone sculpting capabilities that the active 3-band eq can provide. I also play both single coil and humbucker-equipped basses.

 

[Parzival]

For me, the active/passive switch is just a life preserver switch in case the batteries die. Otherwise, always active.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Just to clarify something here, the "active/passive" switch on Ibanez SRs does not disconnect the active mode, it merely turns off the EQ function, so the bass is always drawing current through the pre-amp. I wonder how many other basses are wired this way? The bass is always "active."

 

[SunByrne]

I have multiple active/passive basses (including a couple Sires and a Yamaha BB734a).

Some I play almost entirely in passive (fretless Sire V9), some almost entirely in active (5-string Sire M5), and some where I switch back and forth a fair amount (BB734a). I don't see much in the way of drawbacks other than extremely minor issues, e.g., there are knobs on the V9 that I hardly ever use. Unused knobs are hardly a deal-breaker.

 

[NocoLaw]

My arsenal is ‘62 Fender P (Fender flats), Fender Am. Stand. fretless P (LaBella tapewounds), Fender Am. Pro II Jazz V (Rotosound 77s), and Sadowsky Metroline vintage MJ V (new version Sadowsky Blue Label flats); so, the only active bass is the Sadowsky. In passive single coil mode, it can sound very similar to the Jazz; not identical, but I can dial it in to very similar. The Ps get further away from the sound of the Sadowsky MJ.

*Not directly responsive, but relevant (maybe): I love Fenders, have always had “that sound” in my head; but I am really, really digging the Sadowsky. It sounds incredible in both modes, though I definitely play it active most of the time, and it only weighs 8.2 lbs. The Fender Jazz V is a roasted pine body (because of weight) and pretty light at 9.2; and aesthetically, I like the full sized body (I’m 6’ tall 265 lbs) against my body, but the lighter weight and small body of the Sadowsky are wicked comfortable, and the size is probably only noticeable to me - nobody is looking at me that hard anyway ;-). The necks are definitely different profiles, and they are both very comfortable.

 

[Fuzzbass]

To me, I have never needed an "emergency" backup. I keep extra batteries on my music stand, extra strings, extra cords, etc., at the ready so even if the worst happened it would be a 2-minute change at most. The worst that has ever happened is a treble control broke internally right before the last set of a gig a few years ago and I finished the gig with a bad tone, replacing the control later. Now, I have a gig next week and, yes, everything could go bonkers. I also know most folks can't afford a second bass to strap on and keep going. I can. All this redundancy is part of gigging regularly, and having the lowest noise, cleanest signal, and overall reliability (that was the only item needing change in a dozen years of regular gigging with this setup) all make my EMG setup worth it.

Fair enough, it's whatever your bandmates will tolerate. I'm juggling a few bands, all at the semi-pro level, so I probably wouldn't get fired from any if I had to pause a gig to change a battery in my bass (or replace a broken string, etc). That said, my bandmates would rightfully be pissed off: "dude, this is unacceptable, you need to bring backup from now on".

In the five decades I've been playing I've only needed to go to backup a half-dozen times or so (variety of issues), but I was relieved to have backup every time. To your point, it's no big deal if your active bass dies mid-song as long as you can quickly switch to a backup bass. Just sayin' it's quicker and easier to toggle over to passive mode on the same bass, no swap necessary.

 

[funkinbottom]

I love having active/passive. I use East pre's with passive tone control, so I feel there is no sacrifice at all.

 

[J Wilson]

I agree with the sentiments, but I’d hardly call the active/passive switch in preamps from Trickfish, John East, and others “cheap”.

Geri, I should have more properly said is you could take a great aftermarket preamp like Audere or East and add it to the OEM pickups and wind up with less than satisfying results or even boosting noise due to the higher gain on less than ideal pickups as a match.

That's how I should have put it.

Thanks.

 

[Geri O]

Geri, I should have more properly said is you could take a great aftermarket preamp like Audere or East and add it to the OEM pickups and wind up with less than satisfying results or even boosting noise due to the higher gain on less than ideal pickups as a match.

That's how I should have put it.

Thanks.

Truth!

No doubt there!

(Your point about the less than ideal pickups….)

Cheers.

 

[HeavyJazz]

I played tricked out axes for many many years... they're great, but as my personal technique developed, I wanted the instrument to get out of the way and simply amplify what I was doing. Hence, my appreciation for very basic preamps, or even passive basses. Having both on the same axe is a plus especially if I'm playing a quiet intimate gig and the preamp is just too strong for the room. Passive/active and a 2-band pre (because the bass has so much natural midrange already), and I'm good to go!

 

[HolmeBass]

I find that for many styles, the passive tone knob is really important to have.
Fortunately, there is no law that says there can't be a passive tone knob in conjunction with a defeatable active EQ/buffer circuit. Sadowsky has been doing that for a while and more builders seem to be getting hip to the idea. My Roscoe Century Standard Plus has a passive tone knob and the Aguilar OBP-1 (18V 2-band boost-only).
I wouldn't say it is 100% the same experience as having a classic all-passive bass. I find I never miss that active buffer & EQ boost when I don't have it. But whenever I do & have the option to bypass, it always sounds a little better to me in active mode. Always...
So I just keep it parked in active mode, and use that passive tone knob to go old school as needed. When I have to go from Motown to modern & back over & over in a set & don't feel like switching instruments, that Roscoe really is the obvious choice.

My custom bass is also a Roscoe. I told him to omit the switch - I would never switch to passive. But keep the passive tone knob. I love it.

 

[logdrum]

I have the J-Tone from John East and the Passive Tone works with the active circuitry, The other nice thing about this preamp is the ability to switch the capacitors to color you based passive tone and then the frequencies for your bass and treble shelf, Then lastly the option to set the boost level of your active mode, I set it to just a smidge above 0 or sometimes at just 0, so very little difference between passive and active level with no boost or cut. Even if there was no active circuitry, that passive tone control really works, If he just made a passive control with the ability to change the capacitors, it blows many passive controls.

And I am convinced that 2 band EQ is where it's at with basses, specially J basses. For me the J Tone has only upsides

 

[logdrum]

'm no fan of the active/passive switch based instruments. I think they're a cheap way to ad-speak the unsuspecting that they're buying a true active system which falls outside the traditional concept using low-impedance pickups.

I wouldn't call Mike Pope or specially Bartolini who has been doing passice pickups into preamps fro almost 5 decades cheap or beneath EMG or Alembic low impedance active pickup approach. My Bartolini equipped bass has been working since early 1988, with no issues , Bartolini P bass into a filter pickup, Was for many years active only and I added the passive option recently .

The Mike Pope active passive on my other bass allows you to bypass all tone controls and is just another flavor of your sound not intended as a battery saver. Lusithand also recommends that a passie tone stock before the NFP expands the tonal palette rather than just saving you when the batteries die.

You do not have to like this pickup preamp topologies but they been a viable and valid option outside of what EMG and Alembic. for as long as Bartolini and Leo Fender (MusicMan) have done it with their systems. I am also an EMG fan and they do have solutions for passive preamps into their active preamps.