Not a poll, but do you prefer active or passive & why,,

[Rib 13]

Funny question: When I record with a passive bass, the engineer or producer generally puts me into an active DI like a Sans Amp or some type of Pre but if Im using an active bass, the engineer or producer - no matter what studio Im recording at - usually just lines me out of the bass directly into board/interface with no active DI in between....and this seems to be standard studio practice..........think about that

Anyway, I like both: neither of which is the biggest factor in tone for me....What is the biggest factor in tone for me is the newness of my strings regardless if the bass is active or passive

 

[JIO]

Funny question: When I record with a passive bass, the engineer or producer generally puts me into an active DI like a Sans Amp or some type of Pre but if Im using an active bass, the engineer or producer - no matter what studio Im recording at - usually just lines me out of the bass directly into board/interface with no active DI in between....and this seems to be standard studio practice..........think about that

Anyway, I like both: neither of which is the biggest factor in tone for me....What is the biggest factor in tone for me is the newness of my strings regardless if the bass is active or passive

bingo!

 

[Nedmundo]

I prefer passive because I normally don't like the high end "sheen" that active electronics often produce. I especially prefer passive with hot pickups like G&L MFD's and Lindy Fralins. For gigs, I typically get a tone I like, and use technique or J-bass pickup blending to vary from there.

But, having bought a G&L M-2500 two years ago, I now appreciate what active basses offer. I bought it for playing in a musical (and due to GAS), and it was perfect because I could go from a conventional tone to heavy club bass instantly, without having to fuss with my amp's eq in the dark. In situations like that, active just rules. I've recently joined a cover band, which doesn't call for quite the same extreme tone changes, but I'm finding it useful there too.

Also, keep in mind that stock active systems are designed to complement the specific instrument, so their EQ points might work better in some ways than some amps' EQ sections. The G&L's EQ is very well-designed for the bass, and the midrange EQ allows it to venture further into gnarly L-2500 territory.

 

[Watchootognbout]

I have five basses.Two are active.Two others are passive.
One,an ABG, is considered what?..........

 

[Skybone]

I prefer passive these days, and have done for a while now.

I used actives for a long time, but I was never happy with the sound I was getting, it was never quite right (apart from my old Westone Thunder 1A, which I stupidly sold), I've had quite a few from many different price ranges, but they never really cut it sound-wise.

I heard a few people playing passives, and they got so much more out of the instrument than I was expecting. I bought a MIM Jazz and then sold my active's. I think you can get more nuances and sonic variation out of a passive than an active.

But there again, there are plenty of pro-players getting plenty of nuances out of their actives...

Go figure.

 

[Scoops]

I was totally active.

I'm trending passive

 

[joebar]

What I don't really care about are active basses that sound like passive basses, just with more flexibility on board. That's just redundant

not entirely-
some people just want a preamp to buffer and push the signal

 

[Matthew Fisher]

Which is better, semi-gloss or flat interior paint?

Watching semi gloss paint dry is more fun. You're never quite sure if the show is over.

 

[JIO]

not entirely-
some people just want a preamp to buffer and push the signal

factual logic is always so clean - so simple

 

[Watchootognbout]

That would be active assuming it has an UST in it. Of course, it could have an UST and run the pickup to the output jack leaving the choice of outboard preamp to the user, then it would be considered passive at the OJ.

What's a UST?
My ABG has no pickup.It has a piezo bridge.

 

[XLunacy]

That reminded me of when I took my Elfin 5 to GC to check out some gear. I got a whole bunch of different tones with various pickup and control settings, and a guy came up to me saying how much he loved all the different sounds I got from the bass, and he asked what kind of preamp was in the bass (I wondered why he did not ask about the pickups!). He was very surprised when I told him the bass was a passive instrument.

Yes, I like passive instruments than can cope many tones and react to different fingering techniques as well.
But I still can't help thinking : take the same bass, slap a good preamp with a passive switch in it and voilà, more possibilities Same as before, and then some.
So yes, in that sense, active > passive

 

[Munjibunga]

Actives come out sterile. It's by nature a weak signal boosted by a preamp. They don't capture character and color like a hot pickup. That's why passive pickups and active preamp is the best route for people wanting to go active.

Ridiculous first sentence. If you play a passive bass, it's the same thing, only the preamp is in the amp. All but one of my [15] basses are active. None of them sound "sterile."