passive basses

[Philbiker]

I say "aside from tone", 'cause my contention is that a properly designed active preamp shouldn't change your sound "at all"

Is it just me or is "tone" modification the reason for most active pramps? With active preamps, you can:

* Boost/cut multiple frequencies.
* Buffer pickups so that there are no impedance interferences between the pickups when blended.

Both of these affect tone hugely.

 

[morebass!]

I agree with Figjam about the passive tone being more natural and characteristic of the bass itself. It's a tone preference that many of us enjoy. I played active basses for about 9 years before realizing that I liked the passive bypass on my MPG better than any of the settings on its NTMB. Now I own 2 passive fenders and have never been happier tonewise. It's clearly not as versatile but it's versatile enough for me and countless others. Maybe it's because I grew up listening to passive basses and played nothing but passives for 18 years. Maybe its because I'm tired of thinking about settings while I'm playing.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I like passive basses because the tone seems to have more 'feel' thats relative to the bass. For instance, i think a passive bass tone is more reflective of the materials of the bass and such, whereas with active electronics and a preamp, i dont feel as much of the tone shaping is coming from the actual woods/bridge/nut etc of the bass itself. I feel a passive tone has more character.

Have you come across any exceptions to this?

My Godin SD has passive bartolini pickups in it, and i can alter the tone whether i want thin and growly, thick, ballsy and growly, or phat and smooth. Although the thing i love about it is, at any of these settings, it still sounds like MY BASS. It keeps its unique tone throughout all.

My Spector Q5 has active electronics and an EMG preamp. I can alter the tone tremendously, but the thing is, it doesnt have a tone that i can just call the 'spector q5' tone. It has too many different types of tones that all seem to be unrelated and share no common feel.

Have you played a Spector with passive pickups? Did you find it to have the same issues as your active pickup/preamp model?

 

[Figjam]

Have you come across any exceptions to this?

Actually i can say that i havent really. Granted in some cases, certain basses hold onto their signature tone better than others, but i think there is a basic tone achieved always. Im sure if i looked, i might be able to find an exception, but i havent really been paying close enough attention.

Have you played a Spector with passive pickups? Did you find it to have the same issues as your active pickup/preamp model?

Actually my Spector does have passive pickups. They are passive EMG-HZs with active electronics and a preamp. Thats the main reason i think its the preamp/active electronics that makes the huge difference in tone shaping.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Actually i can say that i havent really. Granted in some cases, certain basses hold onto their signature tone better than others, but i think there is a basic tone achieved always. Im sure if i looked, i might be able to find an exception, but i havent really been paying close enough attention.

Cool. IME there are tons of exceptions. It's all about what you like. Cheaper active packages can indeed impart way too much of themselves on the overall tone. Better ones IME IMO allow the sound of the instrument to come through while offering onboard tone shaping as an option.

Actually my Spector does have passive pickups. They are passive EMG-HZs with active electronics and a preamp. Thats the main reason i think its the preamp/active electronics that makes the huge difference in tone shaping.

It does on your bass. Not surprising considering what's in it.

OTOH there are pickups/preamps that don't contribute so heavily as to obscure the basic character of the instrument.

Just as a little reality check, I just plugged my Fodera AJ 6 in. It has Lane Poor pickups and an HAZ preamp. I played it with no signal going out to the amp, then played it in bypass mode, then in active mode. The same character comes through in each situation... it sounds like it's unplugged sound when it's plugged in... just louder. The same is true for all of my Brubakers.


That's the kind of system I generally prefer though I'm not adverse to anything that might even drastically color the sound... as long as I like the results. OTOH there are active systems that heavily impart on the sound. Ken Smith, Alembic and Peavey Cirrus immediately come to mind... not that there's anything wrong with that. The thing is, they all exist so whenever I see a statement that actives do this and passives do that...

 

[Figjam]

Thats interesting, and actually good to hear. Thats a good way of putting it.. with the unplugged tone vs. the plugged/amplified tone.

Godin = sounds same as unplugged when its plugged, just louder.

Spector= can sound completely different

To hear that their are active basses that retain their character sound when amplified/preamped etc gives me more faith in active basses.

I enjoy reading this thread... its interesting.