Pedals to switch between active and passive basses?

[TrevorR]

I used the Lehle 3@1 switcher pedal. Not cheap but the highest possible quality.

 

[darwin-bass]

I use a simple passive A/B switch.

Or more likely, I hit the mute, pull the cable from the bass I'm playing and plug it into the one I'm switching to then unmute.

My active and passive basses are pretty much the same output level so I guess I don't understand the question.

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

Another vote for the Radial Bigshot IO- simple and rugged. Put the louder active bass on Channel 2 and engage the adjustable trim to balance the volume and you are golden.

This. Also great for balance issues between basses of any kind and keyboard bass.

 

[darwin-bass]

Should I still use a compressor with my active pickups as I do with my passive?

My compressor is always on. Doesn't matter whether I'm playing a passive or active bass. For me compression is not about equalizing volume between instruments. It is about bringing a smoothness to the bass line by managing the dynamics. Quite passages don't disappear, loud passages don't stick out of place.

 

[TomB]

I use a Radial Bigshot I/O, which is purpose-built for exactly this. Input A is the passive instrument, input B has a passive cut-only gain control; input your active bass and dial it down to the level of the passive bass in input A. It requires no power; a power supply is only used to light the LEDs.

Peace, SoundSupport

If you use this approach - set the amp for the passive bass on one channel, use the active bass controls to match for EQ and volume on the other channel - any simple A/B switch pedal will work. I’ve had a Morley A/B/Y forever. Like with the Radial, the battery only powers the LED.

 

[MCS4]

You may have already checked this, but since no one else has asked, does your active bass or basses have an internal trim pot to set the overall output level? Most active basses I've owned have one (although certainly not all do), so I typically set these before a gig so that my basses match. If I am taking an active bass with a trim pot and another bass that doesn't (whether active or passive), I just set that one to match the one that can't be adjusted.

 

[sunbeast]

If you use this approach - set the amp for the passive bass on one channel, use the active bass controls to match for EQ and volume on the other channel - any simple A/B switch pedal will work. I’ve had a Morley A/B/Y forever. Like with the Radial, the battery only powers the LED.

The problem with using an onboard volume control to balance the output of an active bass is that lots of (most) active preamps have the volume control(s) before the preamp as part of a basic passive circuit, so turning the volume down also affects tone the same way it will on a passive bass. The Radial Bigshot uses a passive volume but it’s coming after the preamp in your bass, and so buffered from passive pickup losses

 

[TomB]

The problem with using an onboard volume control to balance the output of an active bass is that lots of (most) active preamps have the volume control(s) before the preamp as part of a basic passive circuit, so turning the volume down also affects tone the same way it will on a passive bass. The Radial Bigshot uses a passive volume but it’s coming after the preamp in your bass, and so buffered from passive pickup losses

Good info. A Quick Look shows the Radial just $25 more than the Morley, so it’s perhaps a good value if you have that concern. I’m not sure if the Radial has the “Y” capability, does it (not that OP asked).

PS - I just noticed that Morley has a “Gold” version ABY that provides volume control for both channels at a cost competitive with the Radial - interesting…

 

[kyral210]

You may have already checked this, but since no one else has asked, does your active bass or basses have an internal trim pot to set the overall output level? Most active basses I've owned have one (although certainly not all do), so I typically set these before a gig so that my basses match. If I am taking an active bass with a trim pot and another bass that doesn't (whether active or passive), I just set that one to match the one that can't be adjusted.

Nope

 

[JonathanPDX]

This is exactly what the Radial Bassbone is designed for. It's such a great, versatile tool and a killer DI to boot!

 

[Romain909]

I use a Para EQ pedal early in my signal chain. If I play a passive bass, I activate the boost. If the bass is active, I don’t. A simple as that. The boost is set up with a compressor later in the chain so that I know that Passive + boost OR active alone has the same loudness. Very easy to set up and use

 

[GreyBeard]

I use 2 basses SR5 and a Ultra Jazz 5 and switch between them. I have a wireless transmitter set to the same frequency on each of them and turn them on and off as I need them. Works for me.

 

[GreyBeard]

Most of those guys couldn't hang in a 5 piece band where they had to hold down the bottom and stay out of the guitars way. They would be overplaying to the point that the other players would be throwing things at them.

 

[WaldoNova]

Source Audio EQ2. Set a patch for every bass you own. Then your amp or DI gets a consistent signal from everything. It’s easy. If space is a concern it has a built in tuner.

Serious. It’s brilliant for that.

The PEQ2 is brilliant pedal! If you already have a DI you like you could use it as your preamp to balanceyourlevels, as a tuner/mute, HPF and a LPF with 10 programmable bands of EQ.

 

[klattman]

Lots of nice much more elegant solutions listed above.

I have passive basses that are very different. I use a unit67 on my board. The big boost chickenhead knob is quick to adjust and keeps the gain structure down the line consistent, or I set one for pedal off and another for pedal on. If you have something like this you can get by until you get something fancier.

 

[Zbysek]

Switchers like Radial Bigshot will take care of the difference in output level of your basses. Clean booster (like TC Spark mini) or (passive) attenuator would do that as well but one would need to unplug the bass which is not being used.

Two-channels preamp or programmable EQ (like SA EQ2) will take care of the difference in level AND in EQ profiles of your basses.

I, personally, send two signals to FOH when I am using two different basses at one gig. So I am using two pedalboards (one for each of my basses).

 

[TonyP-]

I used the Lehle 3@1 switcher pedal. Not cheap but the highest possible quality.

Their gear just kills…Total quality for sure.

 

[Romain909]

Again, there are MANY solutions to your situation.

if the ACTIVE bass is your main instrument, set up your entire chain so that you’re happy with the levels, the compression, the amount of dirt.
Then, you need to slightly boost your signal when you play your passive bass so that the output level are identical through your chain.

If the passive bass is your main one, that’s the other way around. You’ll need a pad to attenuate the signal of your active bass.

In the end, what you want is to have a constant signal strength accross your signal path, whether you are playing an active or a passive bass.

 

[SteveLo42]

I want to switch between my active and passive basses live with just the use of one pedal.

The EHX Signal Pad comes to mind as the obvious choice, but is there another way?

Should I still use a compressor with my active pickups as I do with my passive?

The best advice I had on this issue was to check how much volume difference there is between the two basses. I used an interface and DAW to check the wave peaks, turned out both are basically the same and I didn't need a pedal after all. I haven't read all the posts here so something similar may have been mentioned. If things had been different. Otherwise I'd have gone with a boost pedal.

 

[Passinwind]

Most of those guys couldn't hang in a 5 piece band where they had to hold down the bottom and stay out of the guitars way. They would be overplaying to the point that the other players would be throwing things at them.

What guys specifically, please?