active vs passive

[mcnach]

[quote name='stringintheshade' post='1350686' date='Aug 24 2011, 08:28 PM']but surely you can boost & cut frequencies at your amp just as well ? It's just a couple of steps away & no PP3 to die on you or leak horribly?[/quote]


you can use your amp, but:
1) it's generally easier to adjust a knob on your bass than on the amp, if you're adjusting for different bits in a song, or even between songs (less obtrusive).
2) each preamp is different, different ranges, frequencies, Q etc.
It's not like passive rules or active rules. The things an active one offers are nice things -in my opinion- but not something one cannot live with.

Battery dying on you?
It can happen. If you are not paying attention.
They do not just run out. They give plenty of warning. And even if they didn't, they last so long, that it's not a bad idea to just replace them every few months to be safe. Not exactly expensive. The cambelt in your car is normally replaced every X years or Z miles, to avoid it dying on you and give you trouble. I'd say replacing a battery can hardly be said to be a problem. I also carry spares in my bag. Just in case I need it.

Battery leaking?
It's less frequent these days. In fact, it's just very rare (at least if you buy quality batteries, not Aldi specials ) But again, it just won't happen if you replce them in a timely fashion. It's not hard.

And you can always have a bypass switch if you are very worried.

But, like I said... it's not like one is clearly superior to the other. It must come down to personal preference. Some say the prefer the simplicity of passive. Whilst I don't see active and batteries as "complicated"... then I am one of the ones who prefer a one-pickup bass because I find it more immediate and there's less fiddling about... which may seem a bit contradictory

I prefer red and you green. Well, great, big deal. Good luck to both of us

[BottomE]

I can't choose between the two. In different circumstances i like them both. If i had to choose, a matter of life or death, then i would go for passive. I prefer the natural growl tone of a passive bass than one that goes through an active circuit. Gigging is probably easier with active especially if you are jumping through differnt styles of music that need a range of tones.

[The Dark Lord]

Active basses have a cleaner sound. High ouptut 'hot' bass pickups give that cleaner sound too. Passive basses have a bit of vintage edge. Not as loud, but there is usually a volume control on a bass amp. I'm a Precision man. You'll only get that signature Precision clank and rumble from a passive Precision without 'hot' pickups.

Edited August 26, 2011 by mercuryl

[Mr Fudge]

I am fortunate enough to have 2 great Fender Jazz basses and a Ric, all of which are passive. I have dabbled with active basses, most notably a Marcus sig which I kept the neck and sold the active body on and sources a passive body.

I tried a few Sadowsky basses yesterday and was massively disappointed as the most expensive ones didn't match up the feel and playability of my bitsa Fender Jazzes with wizzard pups.

I get a great active tone by digging my fingers in a bit harder or occasionally a pic for a few punk covers.

All I want to do during gigs is perhaps roll a bit of tone off for certain songs or parts of songs. Anything else defeats to object of a simple instrument IMO.

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1350506' date='Aug 24 2011, 09:31 AM']All people are different.
Some like to plug and play and not worry too much of the nuances of "tone", while others enjoy an understanding of "tone" and like to play about with it and use it as an expression of the music.[/quote]
Some realize every amplified bass plays through a preamp and the only advantage possible from an onboard preamp is a slight loss of highs from a long cable and the ability to be redundant and process your signal twice.

As someone who is not into glassy "tone" I find the only advantage is it's easier to play with your knobs.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1353239' date='Aug 27 2011, 01:34 AM']Some realize every amplified bass plays through a preamp and the only advantage possible from an onboard preamp is a slight loss of highs from a long cable and the ability to be redundant and process your signal twice.

As someone who is not into glassy "tone" I find the only advantage is it's easier to play with your knobs. [/quote]

Other people realise that putting different sounds into the pre amp will make a different sound when it's amplified, some that don't like a glassy sound also like to boost their mids or lows without being forced to play in a particular style just to achieve it

[TheGreek]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1350347' date='Aug 24 2011, 03:31 PM']I like active electronics because it gives me more tonal control without fiddling with my amp.[/quote]


same as...

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1353309' date='Aug 27 2011, 12:37 AM']Other people realise that putting different sounds into the pre amp will make a different sound when it's amplified, some that don't like a glassy sound also like to boost their mids or lows without being forced to play in a particular style just to achieve it [/quote]
Maybe the sarcasm on the first judgmental post was too light?

[JapanAxe]

A dead thread - great, let's indulge in some necrothreadia!

I am on the verge of a likely purchase (trip to Bass Direct occurring on Monday), and looking at all those tempting delights, I wonder: passive, active, or switchable?

I have owned actives, but at present all my basses are passives. To my ear, they lack nothing. Here's my thinking: First, assume I have an active bass with 2-band EQ. I set the bass control on the amp to suit the stage/room. If I then cut bass on the instrument, it will be too thin; if I boost it, it will overpower the mids that I need to stay 'fat' as I play up the neck. I could use the treble control to boost/cut, but on a passive all I do is set sufficient treble on the amp so that the sound is as bright as I need it with the tone control full up, and sweet/warm/round when backed off. Therefore I don't need a 2-band active EQ on a bass guitar.

So what about 3-band? TBH I have never felt the urge to tinker with the mids in the middle of a number, or even a set. Plus there is option anxiety - volume, tone, and P/U selection (unless on P) are quite enough to be thinking about, thank you. And don't even think about sweepable mids - loads of opportunities to screw up your tone!

Switchable active/passive? See above!

That's just my take on it. I'm not trying to convince anyone to abandon kit that they like, but if this saves someone from thinking they [i]must[/i] have an active, then my time here has not been wasted.

A final thought on EQ: A bass player of my acquaintance has a 'half-smile' on the 12-band graphic on his amp, so that 15kHz is getting the maximum boost. I can't hear above 12kHz...

[chrismuzz]

I only own passive basses. Sold all of my actives, and I actively avoid anything which has active electronics.

I find that I don't need the amount of tonal versatility that some can offer. A pickup selector, volume and tone is all I need, and all my other sounds are at my feet.

In my experience, my aggressive picking technique has caused problems with the majority of active basses I've played. I end up clipping the preamp, or just getting WAY too much attack (Especially with Warwicks!). Passive pickups tend to be more... forgiving? In fact the tone in general tends to be either over trebly, or completely devoid of mids.

Also, the battery and the preamp are just extra things which could go wrong. At least if my pedalboard breaks down I can bypass it and go straight to the amp!

[shizznit]

I prefer going passive when I am recording. I prefer to put down the natural tone of the bass and worry about the sweetness of the EQ later. If the bass sounds great straight of the bat and I dont have to waste unnecessary time on the amp or preamp then I know that my job will be easier in the mix down. It's easier to add than it is to take away once the bass tone is down. I find that when I record active the cut and boosted EQ coming from the bass can sometimes be a bitch to control once you start using compressors, high and low pass filters etc... at the mix down.

I play active live all the time. I leave the amp more or less flat (depending on acoustics and stage position) and I will tweak the EQ from my bass to get the tone I want. It gives me full control over my tone without having to turn my back at the audience to tweak the amp.

My live tone is totally different to my recording tone. I like a nice rounded tone in the studio and a dynamic hi-if tone on stage. Switching from active to passive and vice versa seems to do the trick for me. All my basses are able to use both circuits at a flick of a switch, so in any situation I have the best of both worlds.

[Lozz196]

Passive all the way for me. I love the sound of Stingrays, but having had a couple earlier this year, I realise it`s the sound of others playing them that I like. Anything in my hands other than a passive Precision just sounds wrong to me, even a Precision with a J bridge pickup.

[ezbass]

FWIW I like both. Nothing else sounds like my passive P in my small collection, passive heaven! However, I wouldn't be without the active preamps on the other 3, it's part of their sound. The one thing I miss on the active ones is a passive tone control, I love that passive roll off. I know Sadowsky do this as an option and it surprises me that more manufacturers don't offer this.

[JTUK]

First off.... check out Bassgear at Twyford, nr Reading, as well.... Loads of QUALITY basses there and Phil is great to deal with.

Active will do not a lot if your bass doesn't sound good tonally. My basses are active with passive options and I can run them just as well passive but I then lack
a bit of gain. The active is used to beef up anything on the bass..that is all... I don't want massive of tonal change from it. And I don't want to be faffing around hunting down sounds.after soundcheck when I have set the rig up for the room. This mainly will be a minor adjustment on the amp, if tha..normally it is gain only.
If, for any reason, I need a bit more during the track, I have it to hand on the bass when running active.

But these things run +- 15db in some units...and that is a hell of a lot of EQ...and I defy anyone to have to run them flat out. That would likely sound awful
and akin to a MM bass with +bass and treble full on..

Tone is a tweak here and there...IMO...not a chase around the houses as that is a hiding to nothing. Active should be an enhance approach on passive sound.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1355566531' post='1899934']
Passive all the way for me. I love the sound of Stingrays, but having had a couple earlier this year, I realise it`s the sound of others playing them that I like. Anything in my hands other than a passive Precision just sounds wrong to me, even a Precision with a J bridge pickup.
[/quote]

This is my exact opposite! All my heros are P bass players but its the sound of them on a P bass I like not the sound of me on one, any Ray and I am at home.

[krysh]

I love my active and passive basses. there is no better, just different.
and it's all in your taste and your goals.

[ead]

[quote name='krysh' timestamp='1355571951' post='1900030']
I love my active and passive basses. there is no better, just different.
and it's all in your taste and your goals.
[/quote]

+1 to that.

[iconic]

Tis a funny thing......certain bass's are better active or passive...and other way!

Take the Yamaha BB-614 (active 3 EQ) and the BB-414 (passive), both are great bass's, I know I owned both, but the passive BB-414 was for me simply a better bass for being passive, pups were hotter, sound warmer, great range of tones, all seems to gel better... ........

.............even stranger was that I've heard they both have the same pups (?)....maybe the EQ was the cause on the BB-614, mine was OK when everything wound up & a to die for slap tone, otherwise a bit thin sounding and very quiet.

........but, then again a Yamaha RBX-374 is active and far better than the passive version RBX-2-3 range I tried.....and yet my Yamaha RBX4-A2 sounds so lively you could be forgiven it's an active

...not sure what all this proves though maybe it's a Yamaha thing, or it maybe because I've owned a few Yamaha's!

I'm going to back to bed...

[Black Coffee]

[b]Active / passive . . . . . ?[/b]
[b]I like to tell my wife it's just another reason to own another bass and have the choice. [/b]

[b]But. When the Death Metal bassist is thumping the life out of his B string all night long among a screaming lunatic singer, double-bass drumkit taking a beating and twin drop D tuned guitars, do you really pause to be sure you get to savour the clarity or scooped mids or the active benefits proclaimed by the preamp on board brigade....? MMMM. Its all personal choice.[/b]
[b]I still could do with a lot more practice no matter what bass I play. [/b]
[b]No quick fix for fudgy fungers. Smelling pistakes and bum notes all sound the same no matter if its active or passive. [/b]

Edited December 16, 2012 by bassman344

[dave_bass5]

I like both, and recently got a P retro for my Squier (whats left of it) CVP. It made a huge difference and the tones i can now get are amazing, especially considering its just a one pickup bass and im used to what a P can put out.
But, i feel its lost a bit of what the P bass is about, for me at least. More knobs to play with, and endless variety of tones (that sound great but aren't actually needed), on top of the ones i already had. Its been great playing with the new tones but ive gone to passive. for me the one tone knob, full on volume is all i need from a P bass.

[Grangur]

I had a passive Ibanez with a 3 way Eq. I thought I wouldn't be without the Eq.
I bought a Warwick Corvette passive and REALLY missed the boost features of the Eq.
I traded in the Corvette for a Warwick Streamer (active/passive switchable) and I'm amazed how often I turn the active off.

My guess is sometimes what you want varies with the instrument/pups. So never dismiss a bass just cos it's active or passive. Just try it and if it's right for you,go for it!!!

[Bobby K]

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1355575304' post='1900079']
Tis a funny thing......certain bass's are better active or passive...and other way!

Take the Yamaha BB-614 (active 3 EQ) and the BB-414 (passive), both are great bass's, I know I owned both, but the passive BB-414 was for me simply a better bass for being passive, pups were hotter, sound warmer, great range of tones, all seems to gel better... ........

.............even stranger was that I've heard they both have the same pups (?)....maybe the EQ was the cause on the BB-614, mine was OK when everything wound up & a to die for slap tone, otherwise a bit thin sounding and very quiet.

........but, then again a Yamaha RBX-374 is active and far better than the passive version RBX-2-3 range I tried.....and yet my Yamaha RBX4-A2 sounds so lively you could be forgiven it's an active

...not sure what all this proves though maybe it's a Yamaha thing, or it maybe because I've owned a few Yamaha's!

I'm going to back to bed...
[/quote]

My BB1100s can be passive and active, but I never use it in active mode; it just sounds infinitely better passive.

I got the 1100s in a trade for my BB1500a, which was a fantastic sounding active Yamaha. The sound was very hi fi and it sounded like a much more expensive bass! I swapped because, although I loved the sound of the 1500a, the hi fi sound wasn't right for the stuff I was doing at the time. I still miss it though

I guess this all boils down to the fact that active and passive both have their merits, it just depends on what sort of music you're playing and what's right for the music you're playing...

[JapanAxe]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1355529217' post='1899763']
A dead thread - great, let's indulge in some necrothreadia!

I am on the verge of a likely purchase (trip to Bass Direct occurring on Monday), and looking at all those tempting delights, I wonder: passive, active, or switchable?

I have owned actives, but at present all my basses are passives. To my ear, they lack nothing. Here's my thinking: First, assume I have an active bass with 2-band EQ. I set the bass control on the amp to suit the stage/room. If I then cut bass on the instrument, it will be too thin; if I boost it, it will overpower the mids that I need to stay 'fat' as I play up the neck. I could use the treble control to boost/cut, but on a passive all I do is set sufficient treble on the amp so that the sound is as bright as I need it with the tone control full up, and sweet/warm/round when backed off. Therefore I don't need a 2-band active EQ on a bass guitar.

So what about 3-band? TBH I have never felt the urge to tinker with the mids in the middle of a number, or even a set. Plus there is option anxiety - volume, tone, and P/U selection (unless on P) are quite enough to be thinking about, thank you. And don't even think about sweepable mids - loads of opportunities to screw up your tone!

Switchable active/passive? See above!

That's just my take on it. I'm not trying to convince anyone to abandon kit that they like, but if this saves someone from thinking they [i]must[/i] have an active, then my time here has not been wasted.

A final thought on EQ: A bass player of my acquaintance has a 'half-smile' on the 12-band graphic on his amp, so that 15kHz is getting the maximum boost. I can't hear above 12kHz...
[/quote]
I take it all back! (Apart from the 15kHz thing.) Find out why [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/194520-nbd-sandberg-vm4-in-candy-apple-red/"]here[/url].

[D.I. Joe]

I prefer passive generally. A lot of actives sound clinical almost to the point of being antiseptic to me, and I find that passive pickups are more responsive to the way that I play. Also, as a friend of mine pointed out - however you set your bass compromises your pedals, which in turn compromise your amp, so I like to keep things simple where I can.

[Norris]

I only own one active bass - the one that convinced me to never buy another. I don't feel I've ever lacked tone because of my passive preference, but certainly they have been a lot more reliable. I never want another case of 'flat battery fart'!