Passive vs Active

[mcnach]

I have both passive and active basses. I just use them, don't really think about them.

this

 

[Jay2U]

The main advantage of active electronics is the low output impedance. This especially helps suppression of unwanted electromagnetic interference in long cables.
Another advantage is less loss of high frequencies, as the R- C time is much shorter due to this low output impedance. Especially useful for guitarists.

 

[JRA]

What drew you to active electronics?

i really don't remember why i started using actives --- probably a tip/hype from some fellow EB players, but i enjoy the EQs and balance/pan control. i don't like batteries, but i accept them in order to get that active goodness. my passive axes are a joy, too, so it's a luxury to have both active and passive. i prefer 'each'! i like 'em all!

 

[Alessandro Cruz]

I prefer active just because I found it a better going with my playing, since I enjoy when the sound comes effortlessly, string touch is easier, and I can dial my EQ on the fly.

It's like you having a NA engine versus a turbocharged engine, both with same power output, the powerband and behavior is kinda different despite the same output.

 

[el murdoque]

My first bass was a cheap affair, something to try out bass for me. It was passive.
My first real bass was active.

When I was gigging my bare minimum setup for a while, that was quite important.
Said setup consisted of:
-Bass (Carvin LB75)
-Strap
-Gigbag
-Clip tuner
-Spare 9V battery
-Cable.

I went up on stage, plugged into the provided DI and used the monitor wedges to hear myself.
Some kind of sound shaping is/was a big help there.
FOH was kind of baffled by this behavior more often than not, but it worked out way better than one might think.

When playing through an amp, I had a boost at hand by turning down volume on the bass a bit - you can't do that with a passive bass.

In my current situation, I bring a pedalboard pretty much everywhere, ranging from a bare essentials nano to a fully decked out Schmidt Array. Most of the advantages of the active bass are somewhat lost when combining it with a pedal board where you carefully fine tuned all the input stages so the drive pedals and the comp play nicely.

 

[JakobT]

I don't really care about whether a bass is active or passive, and don't let either stop me from getting a bass I like. I've owned 3 basses with active electronics, but my current basses are all passive.

 

[XLunacy]

An active is a passive where the preamp migrated "upwards" from one end of the cable to the other.
A passive through an amp is an active with a reeeeally long wire between the pickup(s) and the preamp.

The dichotomy is an illusion

 

[LowEndThrasher]

I used to scoff at the idea of active electronics in general as unnecessary and never really made much sense to me. It was only until recently I discovered just how much more versatile active electronics are that drew me in to them. I’m addition, just about every tone I have been striving to achieve with passive pickups can easily be replicated with the actives, meaning I don’t have to spend copious amounts of time tweaking external preamps for each different bass I play. I honestly don’t see myself going back to passives anytime soon. For guitar however, active pickups still haven’t convinced me otherwise, so passive it remains for that.

 

[icefly]

I just pick bass from stand, don't care about whether is active or passive

 

[kinopah]

Gotta have both!
Sometimes it's the simplicity of the passive PJ and sometimes it's the variety of the active YY for me. Honestly a passive is just an active with the preamp further on down the signal chain. Even my upright relies on a great preamp - it's just outboard.

But in my heart I do love the illusion of tonal minimalism specific to the passive. I think about tone differently and I make broader decisions between/within songs which really does help me to stop listening so much to myself and really get into the music the group is making in the moment.

But everybody's different.

 

[ThingsAbove]

I mostly purchased active basses when I started playing but migrated to all passive basses about a decade ago. Personally I achieve better dynamics from passive instruments.

It also seemed that I could rarely get any tone I liked by boosting rather than cutting. So the need for active electronics became moot for me.

Everyone is different and that's why we are here. There's no right instrument for everyone.

 

[ahbradot]

The first active bass I ever bought was a guild pilot bass back in the 80s. I was drawn to it because it had to very modern tone at the time.
Fast forward to today;
To me the ultimate active bass is my Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling HH4.
So now I am selling all my other active basses.
I am only keeping my passive Fender American Pro 2 and my passive Gibson Explorer and the active Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling Bass.

 

[ctmullins]

My experience:

• Passive - 2D
• Active - 3D!

The only caveat is that I use quality onboard preamps, usually at 18V. It’s no surprise to me when others are disappointed when they use a cheap preamp.

 

[jnewmark]

I never liked the sounds of active basses. I've tried a few but got rid of them quick. Just not for me.

 

[TrevorG]

Back in the eighties it felt like all boutique basses were active. I was into boutique basses. Even when I had the option I tended to stay in active mode. I now have a couple of Fenders with both options which I jump between freely.

 

[RichterScale]

Both "passive" and active basses are electric instruments.
They both use magnets and coils to turn string vibrations into an electrical signal.
They both run through pedals and an amplifier.
An active setup simply means there's an extra little preamp/EQ in the chain.
I always find it odd when passive basses are described as "raw" or more "natural".

 

[Standalone]

I like to be as directly connected to my amp and cabs as I can, excepting the occasional effected foray into psychedelic jams — and passive hot pickups seem to do that best.

I feel like actives are a little passé in the 2020’s as amplification has become more universally hi-fi and able to more naturally get clarity from pickups. Not often there is now no need to boost and cut and fiddle with things.

View attachment 4907454 My first active bass was also one of the first production active basses.

It was a 1979 Ibanez Musician.

I believe it’s an MC 900.

I didn’t buy it for the active electronics alone, buy mainly for the looks.

For the last 10 years or so, I haven’t used the on board EQ at all, and I like the passive tone better.

I feel the sound is cleaner.

Mike

I think that’s an MC924 unless their model numbers were different in 1979.

 

[TheArchitect]

The interesting thing to me is I like the idea of active basses. The reality is though that they don't always work for me

 

[Standalone]

Both "passive" and active basses are electric instruments.
They both use magnets and coils to turn string vibrations into an electrical signal.
They both run through pedals and an amplifier.
An active setup simply means there's an extra little preamp/EQ in the chain.
I always find it odd when passive basses are described as "raw" or more "natural".

Well, there is one fewer thing in the chain. An amplifier often has a more robust preamp that can sound better…

 

[lug]

I started out on an active. I just started using a passive P bass and find getting sounds much easier. What drew you to active electronics?

Peer pressure.