Is was pretty common in the '80s/'90s. I have a Peavey B90 active PJ (Schaller pickups) with V/V/T.
And in the guitar world, almost all EMG active pickups are wired with passive controls (some exception by adding EXG and SPC circuits).
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NBD! (well, new to me anyway)
- Thread starter Eric Ryan
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- 2tek cruisebass hamer
And in the guitar world, almost all EMG active pickups are wired with passive controls (some exception by adding EXG and SPC circuits).
In the contemporary bass world (taking a look at the lineups on Ibanez, Schecter, ESP/LTD, etc. websites), passive pickups/active preamp (and obviously active pickups/active preamp) is still a more common combination than active pickups/passive controls.
Active pickups/passive controls is not something you find much nowadays. ESP/LTD's AP-5 and Tom Araya signature models are some of the few that do it.
Active pickups/passive controls is not something you find much nowadays. ESP/LTD's AP-5 and Tom Araya signature models are some of the few that do it.
I recently read a description of the early history of Alembic - Ron Wickersham (the engineering wizard at Alembic) found that even a short cable from the pickup to an onboard preamp caused a significant loss of high frequencies. They remedied this by mounting a unity gain buffer (Darlington pair emitter follower, if you're interested in the exact technology) right on the pickup.
"Unity gain" refers to voltage gain - the voltage out is the same as the voltage in. But the input impedance is high (it doesn't impose a load on the pickup) and the output impedance is much lower. The result is that adjusting the passive controls doesn't affect the signal the pickup generates (unlike, say, a passive Jazz where lowering the volume control can cause the tone of the pickup to change).
I have no experience with the Seymour Duncan active pickups, but I'd expect your bass to have remarkable high-end clarity and crispness.
I had some active SD Basslines and found them too bright & clean for my taste, more so than EMGs. EMGs seem to work very well with just a passive tone knob and I often rolled off at least some highs to get a killer punchy tone. As mentioned active EMGs with passive tones flooded the 80s and 90s. I feel it's a great tone that's underused today. Probably because there's no passive option.
As for your Hamer, I went through a phase of buying every mass produced 5 with narrower spacing I could find and afford. I would jump on yours, great color too. It was always on my radar. Do you mind sharing what you paid?
As for your Hamer, I went through a phase of buying every mass produced 5 with narrower spacing I could find and afford. I would jump on yours, great color too. It was always on my radar. Do you mind sharing what you paid?
My Guild Pilot has a single EMG P: active pickup with passive tone control. This sort of configuration wouldn't have been unusual in the 80s.
The Battery is probably to power those pickups. They look like Seymour Duncan Active (preamp inside the pickup).
That's awesome! Those are underrated and you scored a beautiful specimen. I remember trying one of these out long ago when I was looking around for something new. I remember that 2TEK bridge being a new thing on the market. I do remember it feeling and playing great. As others have said, active pickups (hence the battery) with passive tone controls. I actually don't mind this setup especially if you're used to only using passive controls. Congrats!
Different and yet familiar!
That shade of blue is just right with that white pearloid pickguard.
What string spacing is on that?
I definitely roll the highs off, it's maybe up a 1/3 at most, & yep...Punchy!
I don't mind sharing. I actually traded a 2001 Lakland Skyline 55-02 for it. Everything I'd heard about Lakland was true, it was a bucket list bass, but I don't prefer 19mm string spacing. I had purchased a Peavey Grind 5-string as a backup to the Laky (an early Vietnamese model), & actually much preferred it for both playability & tone (it has a MONSTER B-string). So the Laky was kinda just sitting around, & that it unfair. It needed to be out in the wild, making someone happy. A straight-across trade for the Hamer seemed fair. We both got what we felt was an upgrade.
I did the same thing a couple months earlier with a Fender Signature Jaco Artist model J-bass. Traded straight across for a 1998 Pedulla Rapture fretless 5-string...I'm kind of on a roll!
LOVE the blue!Different and yet familiar!
That shade of blue is just right with that white pearloid pickguard.
What string spacing is on that?
I'm not sure about the spacing; it's tight like I like it, but I'll try to remember to get back to you.
I'm a pick player so I hear ya loud & clear!LOVE the blue!
17 mm or less and I'm happy.
Those pickups are essentially the SD equivalent of EMGs. They are a low-impedance coil (great clarity), which is highly susceptible to cable impedance. Putting the buffer into the pickup gives you all the sonic benefits of low-impedance without the high sonic price of the capacitive effects of the cable. The buffer may also have some gain to boost the low-output of the coils.
