with a bass, preamp and compressor you can get your bass and get a nice tone from the preamp. Compressors are great for slapping, but thats a whole other topic 
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Passive + Preamp = Active??
- Thread starter m3t4lhed
- Start date
The umbrella term "active bass" would include basses with active pickups, active pickups + onboard preamp, or passive pickups + onboard preamp. I'll explain:
The most common format is with passive pickups and onboard preamp. You can have a variety of tone controls or pickup shapes or types. This setup can be wired with an active/passive switch which bypasses the preamp and allows a passive signal (like that of an old Fender Jazz) to come out of the jack. This saves you when your battery dies, or allows for a tonal change. Passive pickups have fairly hot outputs on their own most of the time (except Lane Poors and maybe a few others). The benefit of the preamp allows for tone shaping before the instrument cable, saving you some lost tone there, especially in the treble frequencies. It also gives you a hotter signal to your amp or DI.
Active pickups are not the same as passive pickups. As I understand, these pickups have less turns (windings) on the magnets so they have a very low output. Since this is the case, miniature preamps that boost the signal have to be placed into the pickup itself. (This comes before the active EQ if there is one onboard.) Advocatees of this setup say that having less turns on the magnets translates to crisper highs and snappier lows, but advocatees of passive pickups say that active pickups lack the warmth and character that passive pickups have. You can still have the EQ preamp after the active pickups, but it is not necessary. EMG makes active pickups as well as Bartolini and Seymour Duncan Basslines. However, all of these makers also make passive pickups (EMG-HZs are passive). An example of a bass with active pickups but no preamp would be a bass with an EMG Jazz Pickup set with Volume/Volume/Tone controls and a battery.
I hope that helps.
As far as an outboard preamp, I highly recommend the one John East makes, the STMP-01. It has a switchable parametric mid control, you can go from 2 to 3 band in an instant. Very handy... These are worth the pricetag IMO.
The most common format is with passive pickups and onboard preamp. You can have a variety of tone controls or pickup shapes or types. This setup can be wired with an active/passive switch which bypasses the preamp and allows a passive signal (like that of an old Fender Jazz) to come out of the jack. This saves you when your battery dies, or allows for a tonal change. Passive pickups have fairly hot outputs on their own most of the time (except Lane Poors and maybe a few others). The benefit of the preamp allows for tone shaping before the instrument cable, saving you some lost tone there, especially in the treble frequencies. It also gives you a hotter signal to your amp or DI.
Active pickups are not the same as passive pickups. As I understand, these pickups have less turns (windings) on the magnets so they have a very low output. Since this is the case, miniature preamps that boost the signal have to be placed into the pickup itself. (This comes before the active EQ if there is one onboard.) Advocatees of this setup say that having less turns on the magnets translates to crisper highs and snappier lows, but advocatees of passive pickups say that active pickups lack the warmth and character that passive pickups have. You can still have the EQ preamp after the active pickups, but it is not necessary. EMG makes active pickups as well as Bartolini and Seymour Duncan Basslines. However, all of these makers also make passive pickups (EMG-HZs are passive). An example of a bass with active pickups but no preamp would be a bass with an EMG Jazz Pickup set with Volume/Volume/Tone controls and a battery.
I hope that helps.
As far as an outboard preamp, I highly recommend the one John East makes, the STMP-01. It has a switchable parametric mid control, you can go from 2 to 3 band in an instant. Very handy... These are worth the pricetag IMO.
