Switching active to passive.

[jonnythenotes]

Without appearing to dense, can some of you guys answer this question.. Will switching an active bass from active to passive using the onboard push/pull switch make that bass sound the same as an identical, but none active bass, or will there be some drop off in performance by bypassing the active circuitry. If a bass is built as an active model... Eg Fender Jazz, will the passive switching be almost a secondary 'add on' to what the bass was built for, or still it deliver all frequenciies, tones etc just as well as a passive built model... Thanks..

[bubinga5]

It depends on the preamp, of course there will be a drop off in performance, thats what an active system is there for. But some preamps are clean, meaning, they will not colour the sound either in active or passive, with (importantly) no drop in volume when switching from active to passive.

Some preamps are coloured specifically for there manufacturers tone. and also when you switch the battery off, you will get a drop in volume and the specific tone to that preamp.

What bass are you referring to.?

The experts will be along soon.

Edited June 4, 2016 by bubinga5

[jonnythenotes]

I have a couple.... Wood and Tronics and a Valenti. Really got back into passive basses again having bought a Jazz Road Worn, but still want to use the active basses, all be it in a passive mode, but I am curious by switching them to passive, will I lose some of what they are capable of, apart from the obvious that happens going from active to passive...

[JTUK]

I believe the Glockenklang are as unobtrusive as they can be.
My Easts suffer a drop but I can also set them up quite nuetral...as in the pre amp engaged
can be used as a gain boost, almost.

I think the idea is to have them as an extension of your basses sound rather than colour it hugely.
That is what I try and achieve.

[darkandrew]

It also depends on what you mean by "active". Are you talking active pre-amp and passive pickups or active pre-amp and active pickups? My old SB1000 had a passive pickup and with the preamp bypass engaged became a genuinely passive bass (ie. You could remove the battery and it would still work), on the other hand my Streamer Stage 1 has active pickups and even if the bass's preamp was bypassed you'd still be playing through the pickups' in-built preamps and so it can never truly be passive.

Edited June 4, 2016 by darkandrew

[bubinga5]

Delano are also.

[Truckstop]

Just different factors of an instruments flexibility.

Sometimes you'll want an active sound and sometimes you'll want a passive sound. One's neither better or worse than the other, just different.

[SICbass]

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1465061088' post='3065061']
Just different factors of an instruments flexibility.

Sometimes you'll want an active sound and sometimes you'll want a passive sound. One's neither better or worse than the other, just different.
[/quote]

That sums it up nicely, I'd say.

[bubinga5]

[quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1465060209' post='3065047']
I have a couple.... Wood and Tronics and a Valenti. Really got back into passive basses again having bought a Jazz Road Worn, but still want to use the active basses, all be it in a passive mode, but I am curious by switching them to passive, will I lose some of what they are capable of, apart from the obvious that happens going from active to passive...
[/quote]you will be running the sound to what your pickups are capable of.

[bubinga5]

[quote name='SICbass' timestamp='1465110250' post='3065269']


That sums it up nicely, I'd say.
[/quote]but it didn't answer his question

[AustinArto]

Typically active preamps in basses offer two benefits:

1) Low output impedance so less (well, practically no) 'tone suck' as your pickup signal travels down the cable to your amp.
2) Active EQ, so the potential to boost/cut different frequencies.

Whereas on a passive bass you get high output impedance from the pickups and you either need to hit the amp in a hurry (good 5m cables are OK, longer and you'll hear treble loss) or have a good active buffer inline (the first pedal in a pedalboard is often a good spot for such a line-booster, after which your signal is low-impedance and behaves much like the signal from an active bass). and the only tone control you get is a passive low-pass filter. So wide open you get everything the pickup has to offer*, and as you turn it down you lose treble frequencies to a capacitor**.

* This also depends on the impedance of the potentiometers you're using for both volume and tone. Fender tend to use 250k in their passive basses but you will notice more treble content if you swap them out for 500k.

** Fender like to use .22 or .47uF caps in their passive instruments. A .1uF cap on a bass tone pot will allow you to roll a lot more treble off and give you a very subby sound.

For the record the first thing I do with any passive bass is replace the pots with 500k and replace the tone cap with a .1uF. It just gives a broader range.