Hey All! I’ve recently opened up a thread about which bass to buy as my first and I went with Marcus Miller Z7, It has both active/passive options. I am wondering what exactly it does from switching it from passive to active because all knobs work just fine in either, it just gives like louder sound. Also I’d appreciate if you just help me set the knobs in a way so that I can find my way from there, thanks.
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Marcus Miller Z7
- Thread starter ardgndg
- Start date
In passive mode, the bass and treble knobs will not work. Only the tone knob will work.
Thanks! And also balance tooI I guess right? Pickup selector and the volume/tone knob will work only?
FullumMusic
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Passive basses make ac electricity (aka signal) when the metal strings vibrate in the magnetic field of the pickup. That signal then goes through the potentiometers (knobs). All these knobs can do is let all the signal through, or bleed off signal. They can't increase any signal.
For example, the Volume is either wide open (lets all the signal through), or it's reducing signal until it's silent.
The tone is either wide open (lets all the frequencies through), or it's rolling off high frequencies until the tone is all the way down.
The blend is either letting all the signal from one pickup through, all the signal from the other pickup through, or some ratio of both through.
When you're in passive mode, the only knobs that will work are the ones that don't do any boosting and work passively like those examples.
Active basses have an onboard preamp powered by a battery that the signal goes through. It needs to be powered by a battery so it can cut or boost signal. Without that battery you can't boost. So the Bass, Mid, and Treble knobs that can cut or boost will only work in Active mode because they need that battery power going to the preamp to amplify those frequency bands. Also, the active volume could be thought of as a gain for the preamp, as opposed to just letting all, some, or none of the signal through in passive.
In general, any bass that's active/passive, any knob that can boost won't work in passive mode.
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Always check the manual or spec sheet for your specific bass though. Sometimes builders will re-use knobs to do two different things depending on which mode it's in. Sometimes the Tone and Treble knobs are separate. Sometimes they use the same knob and in active mode it's treble boost/cut, and in passive it's the tone knob.
Always read your bass's manual to know how they designed your bass's circuit because every bass is different.
Also, not to confuse things, but be aware that Active Bass is different from Active Pickups. An Active Bass like the Z7 has active electronics: an onboard preamp. Active pickups require a battery for the pickups to work, and can send their signal to either a passive circuit or an active preamp.
For example, the Volume is either wide open (lets all the signal through), or it's reducing signal until it's silent.
The tone is either wide open (lets all the frequencies through), or it's rolling off high frequencies until the tone is all the way down.
The blend is either letting all the signal from one pickup through, all the signal from the other pickup through, or some ratio of both through.
When you're in passive mode, the only knobs that will work are the ones that don't do any boosting and work passively like those examples.
Active basses have an onboard preamp powered by a battery that the signal goes through. It needs to be powered by a battery so it can cut or boost signal. Without that battery you can't boost. So the Bass, Mid, and Treble knobs that can cut or boost will only work in Active mode because they need that battery power going to the preamp to amplify those frequency bands. Also, the active volume could be thought of as a gain for the preamp, as opposed to just letting all, some, or none of the signal through in passive.
In general, any bass that's active/passive, any knob that can boost won't work in passive mode.
--
Always check the manual or spec sheet for your specific bass though. Sometimes builders will re-use knobs to do two different things depending on which mode it's in. Sometimes the Tone and Treble knobs are separate. Sometimes they use the same knob and in active mode it's treble boost/cut, and in passive it's the tone knob.
Always read your bass's manual to know how they designed your bass's circuit because every bass is different.
Also, not to confuse things, but be aware that Active Bass is different from Active Pickups. An Active Bass like the Z7 has active electronics: an onboard preamp. Active pickups require a battery for the pickups to work, and can send their signal to either a passive circuit or an active preamp.
To add: In Sire's particular case all active basses are active/passive switchable, and AFAIK the trim pot for active gain on the preamp is usually set to "unity gain" by factory: So sound and volume should be almost identical when comparing passive mode and active mode with bass/mid/treble set flat. (I'm not sure about models with particular preamp settings like those without a mid frequency control or no mid control at all... )
Excellent explanation of Active vs Passive electronics. Well said!! I'm currently in the market for a new bass and the Sire Marcus Miller M6 is one I'd like to take a look at. Price is respectable too.
FullumMusic
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I'd like to add, in conjunction with my other post...
Usually, active and passive modes should be the same volume. (There are always exceptions to this.) But generally it's considered best practice to have switching between active and passive modes be the same exact volume when none of the other knobs are boosting or cutting anything. Obviously, if you're boosting one or more of the EQ bands, it'll get louder. But if the Bass, Mid, and Treble are centered, and the tone is wide open, and the volume is all the way up, the level should stay the same when you switch.
The reason for this is you don't want to have to change all the settings on all your pedals and on your amp when the level changes. And when you're playing a gig, the sound engineer has your channel set up for a certain level and changing levels will mess with your sound and make their job harder.
To fix this:
- first, make sure all the EQ knobs are centered.
- Make sure the Tone is wide open and the volume all the way up.
- Switch between passive & active and see if there's a volume change.
- If the levels change you need to adjust the gain of the preamp internally.
To change the preamp's gain, open up the cavity (unscrew the plate with the knobs). There's a tiny screw attached to the preamp circuit that can be adjusted. Small phillips head screwdriver, and you can adjust the preamp's gain until it matches the passive volume. Very small adjustments should be all you need.
But remember to make sure all the EQ knobs are centered. If you're boosting the EQ when you do the test, active mode will be louder and you'll wind up overcompensating and making it too quiet. And if you're cutting EQ when you test, it'll be quieter and you'll overcompensate the other way, and active will be too loud again.
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation, I was lost but starting to get it.
I am still too new to this whole thing and I am scared to do something wrong right now but maybe after some time I might consider doing these. I am still adjusting and trying to play some things and very excited along the way. All the information you gave is just amazing,I love knowing the product I own and be able to do whatever I need whenever I want.
FullumMusic
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Welcome. Don't worry if you don't get it all at first. The more you play with the bass and the more you experiment turning the knobs and listening to what they all do, the more it'll make sense. The good news is you don't have to be an expert in how it all works to play bass and have fun making music.
For sure. If you're hesitant to start messing with things, don't sweat it. Like i said, it's "best practice" or "ideal situation", but nothing is going to break if you leave it the way it is and just adjust the volume as you switch back and forth until you're more comfortable adjusting it. Or, if you want you could take it to a tech who can adjust it for you.
But again, have fun playing and learning and don't worry about learning everything all at once. A lot of times in music and music gear, you learn some things but don't fully understand them. But then you play a bunch of songs or tweak the settings on the gear, and that thing you learned that's been floating around your brain for a while all of a sudden starts to have some context and makes much more sense.
It's perfectly fine to start just using the passive mode and just try to find out how the blend control changes sound when focusing on the bridge vs. neck pickup, or how the tone control reduces highs when rolled back.
FWIW, I have 2 Sire V7 with the same preamp and controls, and I mostly play them in passive mode and usually only switch to active mode for particular songs or emphasize.
FWIW, I have 2 Sire V7 with the same preamp and controls, and I mostly play them in passive mode and usually only switch to active mode for particular songs or emphasize.
Yes that’s true I’ve been enjoying it a lot and I am kinda quite obsessed with my guitar right now, I love how it sounds but the thing is when I listen to people online they make the guitar sound like very clean I mostly think it is because of how good they play. I just have one more question, some people say these preamps fail in a few years if that were the case would the passive mode still work and if I wanted to replace it can I do it myself with zero experience?
FullumMusic
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Hehehe, be very wary of what you see people play online. A lot of it is edited.
Clean playing is always a great idea and very achievable. Just don't worry about how much better or cleaner anyone else plays, especially online. As with everything in music, it just takes time and practice, and that's half the fun. The fun is getting there.
As for the preamps failing in a few years, i don't know about that. I don't have any personal experience with that. It probably won't. Depending on how it breaks, passive mode may or may not still work. Passive mode probably will still work. But, it's nothing to worry about until it actually happens because onboard preamps are easily replaced. There are dozens upon dozens of aftermarket preamps available. If you're comfortable with a soldering iron you can do it yourself. Otherwise a tech can do it no problem. But there's a good chance that preamp will be fine for years and years.
Hehehe, be very wary of what you see people play online. A lot of it is edited.
Clean playing is always a great idea and very achievable. Just don't worry about how much better or cleaner anyone else plays, especially online. As with everything in music, it just takes time and practice, and that's half the fun. The fun is getting there.
As for the preamps failing in a few years, i don't know about that. I don't have any personal experience with that. It probably won't. Depending on how it breaks, passive mode may or may not still work. Passive mode probably will still work. But, it's nothing to worry about until it actually happens because onboard preamps are easily replaced. There are dozens upon dozens of aftermarket preamps available. If you're comfortable with a soldering iron you can do it yourself. Otherwise a tech can do it no problem. But there's a good chance that preamp will be fine for years and years.
Thank you so much! One problem I noticed with my guitar today was fret buzzing, I guess that’s what it is called, the retailer I bought from made every adjustments as far as I know. I checked youtube videos and checked with the ruler string height from the frets etc and stuff and it looks decent but when I play frets between 12-20 of the tickest string (E) the frets buzz but when I pluck lightly it’s fine, It’s also sooo hard to press on them for me, is it basically just a skill issue for me in this case?
FullumMusic
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It could be a technique thing or a setup thing.
It could be technique if your fingers are still building strength and you're not pressing the fret in the right spot or the right amount. Finger strength and good fingering technique is something that develops over time. It takes a while because finger strength comes mostly from tendons which takes longer to build strength than muscles.
But if it's only happening in that range of the neck on only one string, it sounds more like a setup issue than a technique thing. You can do a setup on your own, but if you're just starting out and just learning, it's best to bring it to a tech. Big chain retailers aren't know to do the best setups. Try to find an independent one in your area and have them set it up.
Here are a couple of videos of how to do proper setups with some legends in the tech world:
My 2 cents would be, when you have the extra cash to get it properly set up by a professional in your area, have the do that to get the instrument really dialed in. Once it's dialed in, you can learn doing small adjustment jobs whenever you change strings or as the transition from winter to summer and back causes the wood to shift slightly. That way you know the pro set it up right, and you're just doing minor tweaks while you learn. The difference between playing on a properly set up bass and a poorly set up one is drastic. Definitely recommend a pro setup when you have the spare cash. It shouldn't cost too-too much.
