Passive/active sub bass difference help

[Bucket Head]

Hey just wondering if anyone knows the difference in sound in the active/passive music man sub basses. whether ones worse or what ever you guys think Innit mate


cheers

[mcnach]

There's no "worse".
One simply does not have a 2-band EQ. The other one does. If you want a 2-band EQ and a Stingray sound... then the active is for you.
If you don't care so much about having a preamp... then the passive may be enough. It will still sound quite Stingray-like (if it has the alnico pickup wired in parallel... it seems some do and some don't... I'm confused about this, Ou7shined knew a thing or two about this).

I'd go for the active one, which is the most commonly found version, incidentally.

Innit?

[gjones]

Good question! I always wondered. When MM first introduced the SUB did they sell the passive ones cheaper? And how come they still seem to have 3 knobs? Volume, tone and .......eh something else? Can you boost or cut bass and treble on a passive bass? I didn't think you could (in fact I'm a million percent sure you can't). So what are they for?

Somebody somewhere must know?

[mcnach]

[quote name='gjones' post='1349620' date='Aug 23 2011, 10:23 PM']Good question! I always wondered. When MM first introduced the SUB did they sell the passive ones cheaper? And how come they still seem to have 3 knobs? Volume, tone and .......eh something else? Can you boost or cut bass and treble on a passive bass? I didn't think you could (in fact I'm a million percent sure you can't). So what are they for?

Somebody somewhere must know?[/quote]


I don't know for sure what they do on SUB basses... but you can have two passive tone controls, like on many G&L basses. Being passive, they're strictly cut-only, no boost. Fitted with different capacitors, they filter out different frequency ranges.

The very first OLP MM2 (Stingray type) were passive and had three knobs: two tone and one volume. They later switched to 2 volumes (one for each coil) and one tone. That's another possibility for the SUB. BUt I do not know which one is the right one.

[Bucket Head]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1349567' date='Aug 23 2011, 09:46 PM']There's no "worse".
One simply does not have a 2-band EQ. The other one does. If you want a 2-band EQ and a Stingray sound... then the active is for you.
If you don't care so much about having a preamp... then the passive may be enough. It will still sound quite Stingray-like (if it has the alnico pickup wired in parallel... it seems some do and some don't... I'm confused about this, Ou7shined knew a thing or two about this).

I'd go for the active one, which is the most commonly found version, incidentally.

Innit?[/quote]



ahhh yea thats what i was thinking to be honest, will have to get a active one

thanks alot for the advice man ur a dude

[mcnach]

[quote name='Bucket Head' post='1350504' date='Aug 24 2011, 05:29 PM']ahhh yea thats what i was thinking to be honest, will have to get a active one

thanks alot for the advice man ur a dude[/quote]


actually, I'm a girl.

[mcnach]

Nah, just kidding

[Jack]

The passive ones just have passive bass and treble controls.

[4000]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1349766' date='Aug 24 2011, 12:32 AM']I don't know for sure what they do on SUB basses... but you can have two passive tone controls, like on many G&L basses. Being passive, they're strictly cut-only, no boost. Fitted with different capacitors, they filter out different frequency ranges.

The very first OLP MM2 (Stingray type) were passive and had three knobs: two tone and one volume. They later switched to 2 volumes (one for each coil) and one tone. That's another possibility for the SUB. BUt I do not know which one is the right one.[/quote]

I briefly had an early OLP. It did a fabulous Bernard Edwards (well, as near as I could get) . I actually preferred the tone to that of my mate's Stingray, and it only cost me £80. If it hadn't been for that bloody forearm contour I'd still have had it.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='4000' post='1352772' date='Aug 26 2011, 05:33 PM']I briefly had an early OLP. It did a fabulous [b]Bernard Edwards [/b](well, as near as I could get) . I actually preferred the tone to that of my mate's Stingray, and it only cost me £80. If it hadn't been for that [b]bloody forearm contour [/b]I'd still have had it.[/quote]

Looks like you need a pre EB after all then 4000