I wouldn't base all actives on those basses. I have all active basses and most don't sound anything like those mentioned basses.
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Time to go passive?
- Thread starter SteveC
- Start date
I wouldn't base all actives on those basses. I have all active basses and most don't sound anything like those mentioned basses.
I love my passive basses (P and J) and 99.999% of the time I run them volume and tone full on. I would love a custom passive P with zero knobs and just control the bass on or off with my amp's mute switch.
I am a passive guy also and when i did use a preamp and if i ever did again it would be outboard only. I like outboard and dont feel stuck with them, also if it dies i go direct passive. I have never like the tone from any active basses i have owned and sold them all.
The buffering of a preamp changes the nature of the tone (reducing pickup loading, etc.). And, many preamps have a subtle voicing to them, even when set flat, that can make an instrument sound very nice.
More importantly, most preamps have a bypass switch, so there is no downside to having a preamp in a bass. The bypass switch allows you to have the 'best of both worlds' (i.e., the ability to eliminate that pickup loading when it is not desirable, and also having nice tone controls on the instrument for 'on the gig tweaking' without having to go back to your amp).
Edit: I would not make a decision on going passive if your issue is a faulty preamp?????!!?!?!?!
No, I know. I was just a little pissed when I wrote started the thread. I am bringing my bass in today so we can (hopefully) find the problem and fix it. I do like the "best of both world's_ with my bypass - although I wish I had a "passive tone control" in that mode. As it is I just have master volume and blend.
+1 I would never consider using a preamp without a passive tone control at this point, especially in passive mode.
Is it just me, or are a lot of companies using the treb knob as active boost but passive cut?
I have a Yamaha BB605 and got so fed up of the stock pre that I swapped it for an East U-Retro 5 knob Deluxe and it's a fantastic preamp but I chose it because of it's full passive mode with tone control. The preamp uses a passive blend and tone control with a hybrid volume knob which means you get true passive vol blend and tone in passive mode and you get passive tone and blend with active volume and variable 3 band eq in active mode so you get a very nice and very usable set of basic tones before employing the tone control and eqs. I'd seriously recommend checking them out, also John East is a very friendly guy (and a member on here) and his site is very informative.
I use my BB605 with stock pups in passive mode about 60% of the time and use the active mode for a distinctly different tone, be that huge Dub bass or grindy mid boost or HiFi slap tone etc then I just have to knock the tone push/pull down and I'm ready for a solo or song shift or just some fun!
(along with the bartolini 3rd pickup I added this preamp has hugely expanded the usefullness of this bass)
I use my BB605 with stock pups in passive mode about 60% of the time and use the active mode for a distinctly different tone, be that huge Dub bass or grindy mid boost or HiFi slap tone etc then I just have to knock the tone push/pull down and I'm ready for a solo or song shift or just some fun!
(along with the bartolini 3rd pickup I added this preamp has hugely expanded the usefullness of this bass)
Over the last year or so I have been selling off the majority of my active basses. Everyone seems to mention "crisp" or "bright", the fact is we play BASS! Correct me if I am wrong, but if you want crisp and bright play the guitar!
Personally, I use flat wounds on every bass I have. My main basses are Jazz and P-Basses, both modern and vintage. I run full volume and tone on the bass and roll off most of the mids and highs on the amp. Again, I play bass....not only do I want the crowd to hear me, I want them to feel the thunder of the low end!
Now I am stepping off of the soapbox; when it comes to it, simplicity is key...no batteries, no worries of failure, no messing around with a ton of volume and tone controls...it is just so much easier with a passive bass. The only time I need to make any adjustments is when I change basses. If I go from one of my vintage basses to a newer one it usually requires me turning the amp volume down a bit (or vice versa).
Call me lazy, but the least amount of worries I have the better it is for me.
Personally, I use flat wounds on every bass I have. My main basses are Jazz and P-Basses, both modern and vintage. I run full volume and tone on the bass and roll off most of the mids and highs on the amp. Again, I play bass....not only do I want the crowd to hear me, I want them to feel the thunder of the low end!
Now I am stepping off of the soapbox; when it comes to it, simplicity is key...no batteries, no worries of failure, no messing around with a ton of volume and tone controls...it is just so much easier with a passive bass. The only time I need to make any adjustments is when I change basses. If I go from one of my vintage basses to a newer one it usually requires me turning the amp volume down a bit (or vice versa).
Call me lazy, but the least amount of worries I have the better it is for me.
The same could be said about more than 4 strings or going above that darn 5th fret.
Regardless, the thing about active basses (and the people who hate them with a passion) is that the EQ is generally under utilized. Crisp is only one option. I can get my roundwound basses to sound like flatwounds with ease.
I'm starting to go thru the same process where I'm getting tired of the "hotness" from my pre (and it is merely a stock EMG 2 band pre, that came with my Schecter's EMG-HZ, not the hottest stuff out there by a long shot). So I'm thinking of one of two possibilities:
a) Since I love that bass in terms of build, looks and playability, convert it to all passive (leaving an odd "empty knob") making it Vol/Vol/Tone.
b) Change the bass for something entirely new, passive and simple, like a P or a J.
Right now, I'm not decided in any direction...
a) Since I love that bass in terms of build, looks and playability, convert it to all passive (leaving an odd "empty knob") making it Vol/Vol/Tone.
b) Change the bass for something entirely new, passive and simple, like a P or a J.
Right now, I'm not decided in any direction...
I switch back and forth between my MIM Precision with passive Lindy Fralin pickup and my active Ibanez ATK constantly. Totally different sounds but both very good sounding basses. I think a lot of bass players envision "their sound" and try to impose it on whatever bass they pick up as opposed to tweaking the sound inherent to the bass. Sounds like it's time for the OP to head down to the nearest music store and play some different basses and compare sounds; I don't think it's as easy as just "going passive".
i definately agree with you.
active basses can and usually are far more versatile than a passive bass is. i have had many active and passive basses and passive is what works best for me in my situation. one tone works very well for me, so i usually don't need to fiddle with a preamp. also, i am a plug and play type player, i don't like fiddling with things. i want to get a good sound out of my bass as easy as possible.
again, I AM NOT BASHING ACTIVE BASSES. i recognize thier versatility and usefullness, i just don't need them as much as the next guy.
Not that I know of, although I have heard of that type of circuit... maybe on one of the East or Audere models... can't remember. The Celinder Greengrove circuit is interesting, and a bit like what you are talking about... internal dip switches to set the shelving treble boost start point and amount, then a traditional passive tone control to set the level.... works very nicely.
Most preamps I am familiar with have a typical active treble cut and boost (Bartolini, etc.), or my preferred configuration... active boost only bass and treble with a passive treble roll off (Sadowsky, Aguilar OB-1, FBass, Alleva-Coppola).
I believe Glockenlang has a different slant. In active mode, it boosts and cuts, but acts like a tone knob in passive mode. It would be kinda nice if treb knobs were push pull to allow for the active or passive cut. Sure, you could always add another tone knob, but if possible, I like to get things done with 5.
I guess it was Glock I was thinking of. Not really common though.
I guess it depends on how the passive cut is voiced. Remember, a passive tone control impacts a wide variety of frequencies, not just treble. I could get along just fine with blend, bass boost and passive tone control... never really use any of the other knobs on any preamp (except maybe an 'on/off' with the volume control on break).
