Jump to content
Why become a member? ×
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt

Sandberg appreciation society

GisserD

By GisserD,
in Bass Guitars

 Share

Recommended Posts

dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

Posted
Posted

Did some very quick googling about active / passive thing and found some good stuff on another US forum.

Looks like you were right @mcnach. Most comments were that one input Lo-gain and one Hi-gain but it shouldn't really matter which input you use if the amp has a gain control. What i took from it was that you can either turn the bass volume down, turn the amp gain up or down to suit, use an active or passive input to suit. The guys with SWR amps odly enough had the same experience as you using active bass into the passive input and said it sounded better.

So there you go you've taught me something else today :hi:

Dave

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

Posted
Posted
25 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

@dmccombe7 - I'm not really sure what I'm being asked?

Does it make a difference using the active / passive input on an amp if it has a gain control. ?

Does turning the bass guitar volume down do the same thing ?

Can you use an active bass into passive input on amp and adjust gain. ?

Think the 3 questions above are basically the same question written in different way.

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EBS_freak Grand Master

EBS_freak

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Does it make a difference using the active / passive input on an amp if it has a gain control. ?

Does turning the bass guitar volume down do the same thing ?

Can you use an active bass into passive input on amp and adjust gain. ?

Think the 3 questions above are basically the same question written in different way.

Dave

1 - Shouldn't do. Active/Passing is typically a pad/attenuator (depending upon your preferred terminology). All it's doing is turning the incoming signal down by a predetermined amount of dB.

2 - Ish. When you turn the volume down, you are basically sending some of your signal to ground, some to the amp. Treble more readily goes to ground. Hence, turning down the volume also has the impact of turning down the treble. Active wise, depends on what the circuit is doing. So yeah, you'll be turning down the signal... but you *may* be changing the tone too. This is largely more noticeable on guitars than bass though.

3 -- yes. Depends on your bass though. If you exceed the headroom on the input, it will start to clip. If you run an active bass into a passive input and it still doesn't clip, it's all good. Some basses for example, are so hot, if you were to run it into the passive input, you may still not be able to turn down the input pot enough to stop it clipping... or you may not have enough variance in the pot between clipping and no clipping if you are right on the edge of the pots travel.

Hopefully this makes sense?

Edited by EBS_freak
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mcnach Grand Master

mcnach

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

It does and i had it around 10 o clock whereas i would normally run the Gain up till it clips and bring back a few notches but because of the distortion i've been running it even lower than i normally would with an amp. Typically with most amps and most of my basses i would be around 12-2 o clock. The 10 o clock setting was a compromise setting.

I've found it same with EBS HD360 heads as well. Its fine with my Mesa head and i run that on active input with Gain at 1 o clock but no distortion. Once i get up above 2 o clock i start to hear a little tube distortion coming thru but that's normal for one of these amps as far as i know.

@mcnach you have a lot of experience and have given me some great advice thru BC and you've now got me wondering and might just try my VM4 thru the passive input or even try the bass on passive mode. I'm relatively new to VM4 bass and still getting used to it.

As i always say "Everyday's a school day on BC" :lol:

There are some brilliant electronic techy type people on here that might shed some light on the passive / active thing @EBS_freak might know. He's intelligent and knows all this kinda stuff.

Dave

 

Yeah, I've made lots of mistakes over the years, I guess that's what they call experience :p

But a lot of it comes down to preferences... I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with using one or another input. If you like the result, then it's good.

The VM4 in passive mode... it's a tricky one. It will probably come down to personal taste and what else you do with the bass: amplifier, speakers, room... In some situations I find passive sounds a lot better, while in others it makes little difference (but still 'better' for my liking). It's free to try :) so have a go and see if you like it. In my case, I was never in love with the preamp: it's not bad, but it doesnt give me the ability to adjust the sound the way I want, I find it always a compromise. So once I figured I much prefer its sound passive, that's it: the preamp must go. But you might like it as it is, in which case just carry on. 

When I go passive, I'm definitely putting a Tonestyler plus a pot to adjust its intensity, as I'll have the space. 

I'm going to be moving soon so I've got a few things to take care of first, so it won't be immediate, but when I do it I'll record a few clips as it is now, and then with the passive circuitry. It's not as good as comparing with your own bass/strings/equipment but it may still be useful if you're curious.

 

 

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mcnach Grand Master

mcnach

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Did some very quick googling about active / passive thing and found some good stuff on another US forum.

Looks like you were right @mcnach. Most comments were that one input Lo-gain and one Hi-gain but it shouldn't really matter which input you use if the amp has a gain control. What i took from it was that you can either turn the bass volume down, turn the amp gain up or down to suit, use an active or passive input to suit. The guys with SWR amps odly enough had the same experience as you using active bass into the passive input and said it sounded better.

So there you go you've taught me something else today :hi:

Dave

 

The thing with turning the bass volume down is that on most passive basses that also changes the tone somewhat, losing some treble. It could be a great sound as it is, but it might not be strictly the same as turning the gain down on the amplifier's input.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, mcnach said:

 

The thing with turning the bass volume down is that on most passive basses that also changes the tone somewhat, losing some treble. It could be a great sound as it is, but it might not be strictly the same as turning the gain down on the amplifier's input.

My passive basses are def affected when i turn the bass volume down but not so much the active basses.

I guess i've always been taught to use active bass in active input and just always stuck with it.

Def gonna try the bass on passive mode next gig see how it sounds

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mcnach Grand Master

mcnach

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

My passive basses are def affected when i turn the bass volume down but not so much the active basses.

I guess i've always been taught to use active bass in active input and just always stuck with it.

Def gonna try the bass on passive mode next gig see how it sounds

 

 

Go crazy! Experiment! :D

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

Posted
Posted (edited)
51 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

Go crazy! Experiment! :D

 

I'm halfway there. I just need to add the experiment part :laugh1:

I think i'm one of those guys that buys a bass and plays it with everything flat and i even like my amp to be set flat. Mentally i always think there's something wrong if i need to change anything from that.

Am i a nutter or just mentally disturbed . ? :laugh1:

Dave

Edited by dmccombe7
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Opticaleye Community Regular

Opticaleye

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, jrixn1 said:

Did you just remove everything in there, and in its place install a standard passive VVT loom?  I'm considering doing this.

Apart from the TM4 I tried making them passive. The TT4 worked ok, the VM4 didn't. I changed pickups to Alnico ones as I prefer them to the Delanos as I think they are more dynamic. I sold all those basses.

Generally though I have 3 Umbos which are passive by design, a passive TT4 and a VS4 which I installed a Geezer Butler EMG pickup and solderless loom with a Stellartone as well as a normal tone control.

I prefer a traditional tone though so view my opinion with that in mind.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...