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Time to go passive?

#43
KJung said:
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).
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I had a pre-amp with that exact setup, in fact I still have it, in a drawer somewhere...

Volume w/push-pull for active-passive,
Pickup blend,
Passive tone(worked active or passive)
Boost only active bass,

Honestly, it was next to useless, IMO.
 
#45
BarkerBass said:
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)
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I thought about a U-Retro. I don't tend to play passive very often - even though I have the bypass option. The Bart pre has been very good to me. I am certain my tech guy will find the problem and get it corrected. The bass can be dead silent so I'm hoping to return it to it's former glory.

I do prefer the active sound - even if I don't do much with the EQ. I just sometimes long for the simplicity of passive.
 
#50
FWIW I installed the Glockenklang two band in my American Deluxe Precision four string specifically so I would have the Glock passive tone. It is set up Volume (push/pull) - Blend - Bass - and Treble. The three band has it as well. The treble knob in active mode is voiced very high (10Khz) and is boost and cut. In passive mode, it acts as a true passive tone control and cuts a much broader range of frequencies. I am mostly a passive P bass kinda guy, but this preamp is very useful and, in passive mode, acts just like you'd expect a passive control to act.
 
#51
don't get me wrong here...I play above the 5th fret regularly. I will also keep a couple of my active basses. I can say this with 100% honesty, I do not want to make rounds sound like flats...that is why I play flats!

Everyone has there personal preference, like Coke or Pepsi...Elvis or The Beatles (Pepsi and Elvis BTW!!! ;))

I am just simply stating that the bass should be heard and felt...my setup is very simple...bass, cord and amp/cab no frills, no fuss and minimal worries.

Someone mentioned active being less noisy, I have most of my basses sheilded and those basses are as quiet as mice!


spade2you said:
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.
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#53
I have an Audere. It's undoubtably a great preamp. I just don't know if I need it. Definitely not a "lead" bass player. I have a rare solo here and there. Mostly, a groove player.

I am tempted to convert my MIA back to passive. It's a tough call because when the Audere is set flat in the middle toggle position, it's pretty transparent to what the bass sounded like passive. While changing the battery is a pain because you have to take the plate off, it only needs a battery every 8 months or so. I should add, I have shielded the heck out of this bass to include all cavities and the underside of the pickup poles.

Hmmm, things to ponder.
 
#54
Well, I'm bringing my bass in for the "transformation" tomorrow. Volume, Tone, 3-way toggle for pickups as I tend to just leave them both on but occasionally use the front pup for ballads and standards.
 
#58
I am going to change my stance on this topic...I pulled out a couple of my old active basses and fell back in love with them...now, they are both active/passive. I still prefer passive but I did not realize that I missed the growl of the active basses.
 

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