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Passive electronics - better dynamics?

gil_mor

gil_mor

Apr 24, 2006
406
151
Talent, OR
www.myspace.com
#1
Hi all,
I've been playing mostly passive basses, Squire with DP126 and stock 09 MIA Jazz.
I've had a USA Cirrus, and now own a Precision deluxe lyte. Both active.

I like the sound I'm getting from the active bass, but it seems the passive ones are more responsive to my fingers, I play hard - the bass screams, I play soft, the bass whispers.
I guess you can call it punch / growl.

The active bass just sounds louder or softer. Less dynamic maybe?

Is it just me, or is it the way active electronics works?
Thanks!
 
#2
Active electronics integrate a preamp while Passive electronics use the preamp in your amp/signal path.

the quiet is never as quiet, and the loud won't really seem as much louder.

I prefer passive instruments but love the tone I've had come from active instruments...
 
#3
So I took the active bass for a jam, looks like I was right.
NO DYNAMICS, I usually play kinda soft, but once in a few bars I'd hit a few harder notes.
With this bass - it all sounded THE SAME.
Even a really nasty slap didn't quite make it.
That really sucks, I've tried many different settings, making sure i boost the mids for punch - to no avail.
 
#4
AFAIK it may depend on the pickups/preamp design. You should also take the way your bass was built (mahogany usually tends to compress the sound a bit as opposed to ash or alder, a bass with lots of glue loints will generally have less dynamics than a bolt-on one-piece necked bass with 1-3 piece body)
 
#5
You do need to remember you aren't really doing a valid comparison, unless you pick one bass and swap in/out the passive vs. active setup. The bass itself MIGHT be to blame.
That said, I would have to generally agree with your findings- I prefer passive as well, for the same reasons. Stuff seems to get lost in onboard pre's. Anthony Jackson, among others, is a big supporter of this view. Take that as you will, but he sort of knows his stuff....;)
 
#6
It ain't necessarily so... Some preamps allow for great dynamic range, others don't. Fender on board aren't famous for it ... Audere doesn't seem compressed at all to me. Neither do the pre's in my semi hollow Godin's. Hotter pickups seem to kill off some odynamics as well - that is within a given form factor. The Dark Star is hotter than heck and it's incredibly dynamic. A well designed, standard output level P or J should be able to express a wide dynamic range though.

From a preference stand point. In a solid body, I really prefer the edgy punch that comes along with a traditional design P or J pickup and passive controls. My piezo equipped semi-hollow basses need the on board EQ and they don't lack for punch a bit...
 
#10
Jefenator said:
Why not just rewire the Lyte if you like everything else about it so much?

IME lame stock components are usually easy to upgrade and/or eliminate.
Click to expand...

+1

If the built-in preamp is doing anything objectionable to the sound, it's easy to eliminate. Then you can decide if you like the bass better or worse. I think a Lyte is a sweet bass, and I'd give it the best chance I could give it.
 

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