Active EQ Basses

[SuicideVeilBassist]

I've seen a lot of basses advertised with active EQs...does this mean the bass is active or is it passive with a powered EQ?? May sound like s tupid question but i've never really taken much notice of these things until now

[Ou7shined]

It could mean either.
But generally speaking if the bass needs a battery (or 2) then it is deemed active and as such is capable of boosting frequencies or colouring tone.
Passive basses generally can only "cut" tone.

[clauster]

Although there are also active basses that can also only cut tone

[xilddx]

[quote name='clauster' post='1135233' date='Feb 21 2011, 10:58 AM']Although there are also active basses that can also only cut tone[/quote]
And Fender do very odd active circuits.

Generally though, it means the onboard preamp powered by usually 1, sometimes 2 9v batteries. Thi pickups may or may not be active.

If you're interested, to illustrate the difference between the two, I just posted this 'before and after' comparison with sound clips of my Jazz with its standard passive electronics and after fitting an active preamp.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=123987&pid=1135241&st=20&#entry1135241"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...p;#entry1135241[/url]