dmccombe7 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 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 Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 @dmccombe7 - I'm not really sure what I'm being asked? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 (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 December 12, 2019 by EBS_freak 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Perfect. Always appreciate your help sir. Thanks Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 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" 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 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 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 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! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) 51 minutes ago, mcnach said: Go crazy! Experiment! I'm halfway there. I just need to add the experiment part 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 . ? Dave Edited December 12, 2019 by dmccombe7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 13 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said: Am i a nutter or just mentally disturbed . ? If you are, nobody here will be able to tell the difference as you would blend right in 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleOhStephan Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 21 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said: 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. Same 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 19 minutes ago, mcnach said: If you are, nobody here will be able to tell the difference as you would blend right in Aye that's true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 12 minutes ago, DoubleOhStephan said: Same 😁 Wonder if that borders on OCD behaviour. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said: Wonder if that borders on OCD behaviour. It bothers me that OCD is not in alphabetical order... 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 15 minutes ago, mcnach said: It bothers me that OCD is not in alphabetical order... Agree, it simply has to be CDO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opticaleye Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 9 hours ago, mcnach said: It bothers me that OCD is not in alphabetical order... Brilliant 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 10 hours ago, mcnach said: It bothers me that OCD is not in alphabetical order... 9 hours ago, Lozz196 said: Agree, it simply has to be CDO Maybe you two need to see a DOC 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangotango Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 8 hours ago, dmccombe7 said: Maybe you two need to see a DOC DO you mean a DM or a dhP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 1 hour ago, mangotango said: DO you mean a DM or a dhP? Afraid i don't know what they are ......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 (edited) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6I4sgHAYOp/?igshid=1n6x9q5dda8sd limited edition vS4, pink and roasted maple Edited December 16, 2019 by Cuzzie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 Tidy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 Not really liking them to be honest but i'm not a fan of aged basses unless very subtle. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 It's a wonderful shade of pink 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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