active....or passive?

[CHRISDABASS]

hey

after starting off with my frankenstien jazz passive! i then changed it to an audere active pre! ive now changed it back to passive as the audere pre just seemed to make everything so noisey (i even picked up what sounded like russian radio!?) despite having my bass professionally screened!

passively it sounds way more natural, its smoother and generally a nicer tone with little or no noise

now it could just be that particular pre in that particular bass? who knows? but the natural sound of the wizard pickups with the passive stack pot arrangment just sounds lovely


for me the active circuit in that bass just sounded too brittle and artificial


has anyone else modified their basses but found that it was better before??

Edited May 17, 2008 by CHRISDABASS

[The Burpster]

Not yet.....

[BassBod]

I've always kept an Aguilar DB924 handy - very like the original Sadowsky preamp (without the DI). Can make a good passive Jbass straight into a Marcus /Will Lee/ Vic Bailey soundalike...and you don't have to put circuitry and 9Vs into the bass.

I normally prefer Fenders passive (with nickel rounds or flats) but sometimes you just need that active slam...

BB

[nevernever]

I play a Tanglewood Canyon II which is an active. I didn't really go in for it because it was active- in fact (which shows how these things go) I was specifically not looking for an active. In the end though I liked the sound it made and the and decided to roll with the fact it was active. I'd agree with the noise issue, I've noticed it picks up interference from my laptop (which can make learning songs awkward). Having said that, i'm looking for a passive jazz as a back up- you never know when youll have to play under strip lighting next to an in-use microwave in a thunderstorm...

[DanOwens]

Passive precisions every time. How boring am I???

[niceguyhomer]

I haven't turned a passive bass into an active one but I did take the preamp out of my Darryl Jones and returned it to its original passive state. It improved things tremendously and I was about £100 better off. I do like active basses but I prefer the 'natural' sound of a passive bass.

[CHRISDABASS]

[quote name='BassBod' post='201235' date='May 17 2008, 08:37 PM']I've always kept an Aguilar DB924 handy - very like the original Sadowsky preamp (without the DI). Can make a good passive Jbass straight into a Marcus /Will Lee/ Vic Bailey soundalike...and you don't have to put circuitry and 9Vs into the bass.

I normally prefer Fenders passive (with nickel rounds or flats) but sometimes you just need that active slam...

BB[/quote]



yeah i am starting to wish i'd kept hold of my sadowsky outboard pre!

even my j retro is starting to sound a bit too artificial!

maybe its since i got my new aguilar cab and started using my mesa head again......everything has got a hell of a lot clearer! i had been playin through a crappy little combo which you couldn't really tell what was good or bad! lol

[Murph_Orpheus]

I gotta go with active. I play mostly metal, so that big boomy sound I get gives me great joy lol

[OutToPlayJazz]

I was only thinking about that lovely Sadowsky sound this afternoon while in the car listening to Tal Wilkenfeld's album, "Transformations". On jazz basses, the only really creamy sounding pre seems to be the Sadowsky.

Also, I played TerryK's Geddy Lee with Audere pickups & preamp the other week & that setup turned the jazz into a real monster, giving it a very modern (dare I say it) Status-esque sound.

For me, it's active all the way. Means I can get a sweeter sound at higher volumes while using less gain (creating less harshness.)

[LukeFRC]

was intrigued by your description of the 'creamy' sound of sadowsky OutToPlayJazz. Went had wee listen at [url="http://basstasters.com"]http://basstasters.com[/url]
I've sold mine now (so feel a bit bad about recomending this) but next time you see one, or if Rob has some kicking around try out a active status shark. Creamy and warm is that sound, and would be great for Jazz me thinks. If you see one have a go!

[silverfoxnik]

Personally, I prefer passive basses as I find the tone is more pleasing to my ears and there's less to go wrong.

But you still need good electronics in a passive bass, i.e. good pots, wiring and pick ups..

[GreeneKing]

Just to be awkward

[quote]active....or passive?[/quote]

I don't think it's that black and white

The way I see it is that 'Natural' passive sound is just 'processed' to a lesser extent that an active signal. Active signal processing allows you to modify the signal and either make up for any passive deficiencies or perhaps feck it up completely.

I have both and love both. The sound you get depends on so many different factors (I can think of at least 8) and I'd have to say that pre-amps are vastly different. I've said it before and make no apologies but the filter based ACG pre-amps means that I have no active reservations whatsoever

Peter

[Lfalex v1.1]

I have both actives and passives.
I do wish that more systems with active/passive switches had trim pots so that you could set zero gain with the tone controls centred...

Either way, there's good and bad implementations of both concepts.
I like the 2-Band 'Ray (I don't own one!). The EQ helps make it what it is.
I haven't found an active (stock) Fender that sounds good- Deluxe "P", Deluxe "J"... No. Not even the Miller Sig Jazz. Too peaky, and you can't dial it out!

My (Passive) Japanese Attitude is excellent. The passive controls still shape the sound, and interact well with the pick-ups.
Fender "P"s are great. Simple, yet effective.
Why don't Fender offer the stacked twin dual concentric 2V 2T as an upgrade option on the Jazz?
The Jazz is a bit susceptible to noise, but I'd be inclined to blame that on the single coils...

Don't forget that some basses have active and passive controls (Vigier, my Zoot) which can help give a more subtle top-end roll off than a treble alone can give.
My main criticism of active systems is the fact that you're (generally) stuck with the frequencies and bandwidth selected by the manufacturers.
But we don't all want four bands of fully parametric EQ built into our basses, do we?!

[ped]

I think a bass should have a great core 'passive' sound always, and with the active circuit engaged, no change in sound with everything centred - the EQ is there to add shizzle or punch but really just the 'icing on the cake'. 99% of the time my bass is totally flat. Therefore I think Active is the way to go if it sounds completely neutral when disengaged.

[Telebass]

Passive.
Active = just one more thing to go wrong. Ignoring extra tone control, which is, IMHO, superfluous with modern amps, the only other reason for active (and one of the reasons Alembic bothered to put so much effort into it) was to drive a long cable and reduce tonal loss that way. These days, cables are vastly improved, but I use a radio anyway (because I'm a clumsy oaf who treads on and breaks any cable, no matter how bomb-proof...). There's literally no place for active in my setup. It could be argued that the radio link is active, but it is supposed to be a clean link with no EQ, and that's how I run it. The bass version of the Samson Airline actually does have a pre-shape function if you want it, but it doesn't sound good, so I never use it. This also means you can save a few quid and simply buy the guitar version - they are otherwise identical.

Sorry, rambled a bit there!

[BassBod]

Just a thought - but I'd love to hear a Jasss bass fitted with Alembic pickups and circuit. My Epic is sooo active and clean, it could almost be passive. Sounds great with flats even.

So that's the way I see it. Passive is generally nicer, but active can be great if its really really high quality....oooeer, that might upset a few people?

BB

[Viajero]

What I like about an active bass is that you can adapt your sound to the room and the song on the fly. I set my amp near to flat and then make little changes on the bass, which is efficient and flexible.

Saves you looking like you're making loads of changes with your back to the audience, you just roll on.

[6stringbassist]

Both my basses have active bypass, so I get both.

I prefer the active sound though, I think it depends on the pre, some pre's probably don't suit certain basses, the East pre's I have in my two sound very natural, not at all artificial.

[7string]

I've got passive, active and a combination of the two.

I had my Sei changed from passive to active as it didn't have enough 'zing'. A few holes later, a Schack pre was in and it sounds great!

I had a Fender '51 RI with a SD in it and it sounded pretty darn good! Unfortunately, I had to sell it to get the funds together for the ACG 9...

With a combination of stuff, I've got a Mk1 Fender Urge with passive and active in it. Sounds great wherever the knobs are..
...and just to sling in a curve, my Jackson has active pickups and passive tone controls. I've been tempted to change the pickups and have it passive.

The passive vs. active debate definately isn't straightforward. If it sounds good then it's right

[ashevans09]

Hmm I'll be honest it depends on the bass for me. I really don't like J's or P's with an active circuit as a rule of thumb (though i make an exception for that five string fender P with the chunky pickup at the bridge), however I love my rapture and I have rather a soft spot for those tasty active spectors .

Depends on the bass?

[CHRISDABASS]

hi

yesterday i put together and soldered my new passive jazz stack pot arrangment that i got from the states!! its an official US fender one! seems like it has great quality parts!

once installed i was so much happier with the very natural warm sound!

the stack pots give me all the versatility i need!

so i think for me the decision has been made!! passive all the way!!

[mr_russ]

I'd been playing active basses for years, and was certain a 5 string bass needed to be active to get the sound I was after -

After buying a CIJ 75 reissue jazz, I stuck an audere preamp straight in before I'd played it passive - after a couple of days of not being able to get anywhere near the tone I was after, I took the preamp out and there it was, spot on- that audere was anything but transparent.

I liked that jazz so much I replaced my SR5HH with a passive lakland DJ5 which works far better for me - I've also just got my hands on a Lakland bob glaub which is excellent, my first precision.

So- I'm running all passive now- my pedals sound better too ;D

Russ

[Delberthot]

I have owned and played a lot of both types over the years and have come to some conclusions that suit me best.

I find that when using flatwound strings, an active bass gives me more control over the sound and makes it more pleasing to the ear.

My main bass is passive and is as basic as it gets being modelled after the '54 P bass. When I play "normally" it sounds very full and rich but if I play it harder as I am wont to do, it gets very nasty and in your face in a good way. Perfect for 90% of the stuff I play in my wedding/function band.

I am in the process of installing a set of SD lightening something or others in my bass collection 4 string for using with my rock band for some other stuff like the chilis etc when needs must.

One test that I will be doing next week is active v. passive on my 12 string basses. My Carlo Robelli is active and my Tenessee is passive so it should be good. I bought these 2 basses cos they were cheap to let me make up my mind about what to go for when I buy my more expensive 12 string. The shortlist is Hamer B2A, Chandler Royale or Waterstone Tom Petersson.

I think that it also has a fair bit to do with your choice of amp and cab(s). My GK 700RB II has a very distinct sound and my Schroeder is very transparent in that if you plug a crap bass into it, it will sound like a crap bass. there's no disguising it.

Its definitely not cut and dryed. I would say that for me, passive is the way to go but active still has its place for certain stuff.

[MythSte]

I just cant get both the punch and zing i like from a passive bass no matter how hard i try! One or the other is usually possible with amp EQ and specific strings but not both!

Good quility Passive basses do sound good, but just dont do what i need.

[artisan]

passive all the way for me,if a bass has more knobs on it i just f*** about with 'em all the more instead of just playing the bloody thing.

btw glad you got the stacked controls Chris all you need now is another set for the jazz you bought of me .