which do you prefer

[chilievans]

I own 2 basses:

Ibanez sr500

Shuker classic jazz

I preffer the tone of the passive Shuker over the active Ibanez. What do you guys play?

[BigJim]

It's all horses for courses mate.

If I'm doing a delta blues / jazz gig, I'm not going to want a super crisp Status or 18v circuit, I'll want a passive bass. If I'm doing a modern covers band / musicals, I'd want an active bass so I can adjust the tone and make sure it punches through a full orchestra.

Jim

[Ou7shined]

I play both given the circumstances. I also have basses with both options.

[chilievans]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1082180' date='Jan 8 2011, 03:04 PM']I play both given the circumstances. I also have basses with both options.[/quote]

That sounds like a good idea
Wonder how much it would cost for the upgrade?

[ThomBassmonkey]

My wick and Sandy have push/pull active/passive, so I just use whatever I'm in the mood for and depending what gear I'm using (e.g. going through the PA or just using my amp etc). I find on both basses passive's a bit punchier, but active is smoother.

[JTUK]

Both my gigging bases have both...so I am covered. At home, I use passive most of the time, but on gigs I dial in both and see which starting point I prefer for that room. Have to say, mostly active is more flexible in the situation.

[Bassassin]

I generally tend to gravitate towards my passive basses. This might have a lot to do with dead batteries or empty battery compartments on the active ones, though...

Jon.

[mgibson]

I play active live, passive practice, gotta love that on/off switch...

[stingrayPete1977]

My only passive is my P and that might change yet!

[Schnozzalee]

I like have an active/passive switch. Long practice sessions I like passive and gigs I like active.

[Cat Burrito]

It's all down to personal taste. Personally I always favour passive

[Grand Wazoo]

I have owned both active and passive basses and even a couple with the by-pass switch to allow both ways. I like either, though I prefer the safety of passive because there's no batteries to check, or let you down in the middle of a set.

That was until I bought a passive Dingwall ABZ 5 and believe me I have had to check under the back plate to make sure I wasn't being fooled. There's no preamp and no battery I confirm,



yet these pickups are so powerful that I am having to plug it in the passive stage of my amp to avoid clipping. That Sheldon Dingwall is a bit of a magician I tell you, it's not just the fanned frets malarchy and the woods he uses, but there is a lot of work in the electronics wizardry of his pickups that makes these basses stand out.

[Conan]

My Status has a by-pass switch. I even use it sometimes as it does sound different in passive mode. Other than that, I can get just about any sound I want through the active treble/bass cut/boost.

Having said that, the last passive-only bass I owned was a Fender Musicmaster back in the mid 1980s... Oh no I forgot - my Jazz copy is passive! Oops! The tonal variation I can get out of that bass is pretty impressive. But then again, what would it be like with a pre-amp installed?

[Conan]

[quote name='chilievans' post='1082169' date='Jan 8 2011, 03:00 PM']I preffer the tone of the passive Shuker over the active Ibanez. What do you guys play?[/quote]

Is that a fair comparison though? How many times more did the Shuker cost than the Ibanez? Isn't what you are really saying "My expensive handmade bass sounds better than my mid-range/cheap factory made one?".

Just playing Devil's Advocate there!

[Chris2112]

I'd pick active every time. There are times when an "obvious" active sound wouldn't be appropriate and with normal boost/cut preamps on basses, my Kubicki wouldn't sonically 'fit' every gig (mind you, these aren't gigs I'd want to be playing). I could use my ACG there, with it's complex filter based preamp. It works in such a way that you can shape your sound so much more and change it's inherent tone.

Even in the studio, I prefer active basses because you'll get that 'sizzle' in your sound which is always pleasing to listen to.

[chilievans]

[quote name='Conan' post='1082371' date='Jan 8 2011, 06:06 PM']Is that a fair comparison though? How many times more did the Shuker cost than the Ibanez? Isn't what you are really saying "My expensive handmade bass sounds better than my mid-range/cheap factory made one?".[/quote]

Fair point

[bubinga5]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1082399' date='Jan 8 2011, 06:20 PM']I'd pick active every time. There are times when an "obvious" active sound wouldn't be appropriate and with normal boost/cut preamps on basses, my Kubicki wouldn't sonically 'fit' every gig (mind you, these aren't gigs I'd want to be playing). I could use my ACG there, with it's complex filter based preamp. It works in such a way that you can shape your sound so much more and change it's inherent tone.

Even in the studio, I prefer active basses because you'll get that 'sizzle' in your sound which is always pleasing to listen to.[/quote]+1 Chris... i do like a passive bass, but the control of an active is great...depending on the bass you do tend lose a little character though... Got any pics of the Shuker then mr Evans?

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Conan' post='1082371' date='Jan 8 2011, 06:06 PM']Is that a fair comparison though? How many times more did the Shuker cost than the Ibanez? Isn't what you are really saying "My expensive handmade bass sounds better than my mid-range/cheap factory made one?".

Just playing Devil's Advocate there! [/quote]

You beat me too it ! How much of this is new bass love? I remember a time you were after a Stingray until the Shuker came knocking (nice looking bass TBF) if the Ibby had been a passive and your new love were active I think you would be loving active basses right now. No one knows when the gas will strike next!

[ped]

I'm usually playing in passive, but if I need to I can flick a switch and make adjustments with the active circuit. My control cavity is pretty crowded!!

[stingrayPete1977]

Also I think you should restart the poll and to choose passive you have to have a bass, lead and a simple amp either solid state or valve but nothing like my Genz can count IMO as they have an active EQ so it's exactly the same as having it on the bass except you have to turn round and reach over for it. With an active bass I would just run the active EQ flat and adjust from the bass as I'm yet to find a situation where that leaves me short on anything, With a passive bass I would boost/cut at the amp until it sounded how I wanted it too but that's not a true passive sound is it and there are many of us on here with similar setups.

So who is totally passive with an all valve amp and standard EQ? I'm expecting Fender P and J with Bassman /Ampeg amps from a big majority?

Edited January 8, 2011 by stingrayPete1977

[bh2]

I play a heavily modded Fender Jazz, it's fretless with a J-Retro and a bog standard fretted Precision... they are completely different animals, I love them both but they do different things.

Edited January 8, 2011 by bh2

[chilievans]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1082414' date='Jan 8 2011, 06:29 PM']+1 Chris... i do like a passive bass, but the control of an active is great...depending on the bass you do tend lose a little character though... Got any pics of the Shuker then mr Evans?[/quote]
I certainly have

[attachment=68192:P1000141.JPG]

[attachment=68193:P1000142.JPG]

[attachment=68194:P1000143.JPG]

[attachment=68195:P1000148.JPG]

I'm not much of a photographer though

[Machines]

Hmmm I like both. If I had to have just one though - active.

[Lozz196]

I`ve owned many basses, with only one out of the lot being active (and that was over 20 years ago).

I think active basses sound great on their own, but for me, a passive sounds better with a band.

Hence me being a Precision man - can`t get more basic than a passive Precision.

[darkandrew]

Are we talking about active pickups or active preamps? My SS1 and Euro 5LX both have active pickups and active preamps while my SB1000 has a passive pickup with an active preamp - it can get pretty confusing, for example I've seen many basses featuring EMG Hz pickups being incorrectly advertised as having active pickups.

Basically an active pickup will not work without power since the coil is directly coupled to a preamp inside the pickup, this preamp is used mainly as an impedance matching circuit to ensure maximum power transfer from the coil to the outside world (a similar function to a DI box) and cannot be bypassed. The main benefits of an active pickup are firstly that output from the bass should sound pretty much the same regardless of the load that you put on it and secondly that the output from the pickup is amplified earlier in the signal chain therefore increasing the signal to noise ratio. OK, so what are the limitations of active pickups? Well they won't work without power, this can be a pain if your battery goes half way through a performance. Other issues are that some active pickups feature a noise-gate type function in their preamp - whilst this is a good thing with regard to cutting out mains hum, etc when you're not playing it can sometimes lead to a slight latency with the gate's attack.

And now active preamps - these are viewed mainly as active tone controls that can boost frequncies as well as cut them (a passive tone control can only cut frequencies), they also serve to impedence match and ensure maximum power transfer but unlike active pickups they can usually be bypassed, when this is done the "true" sound of the bass can be heard (ie. without any tonal adjustment) but don't forget that amps, mixers, etc with different input impedances will affect the way the bass sounds as they will be loading the pickup differently.

I hope that all makes some kind of sense.

By the way, my vote goes to active in both cases.

Edited January 8, 2011 by darkandrew