Richard R Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 On an active bass it's normal to have the active electronics switched on by inserting the jack plug of the lead. Simple cheap and reliable. However it would certainly be more convenient for me for the practice setup if I could leave the lead plugged in and switch the electronics off at the bass, ideally by turning the volume down to zero then click to off. Or have pull-to-off perhaps. Either way it's tidier and quicker to start noodling. I wonder if the switch would need to not only disconnect the active electronics and but also short the jack lead so it didn't act like an aerial, which might get a bit complicated. Any thoughts on whether this is a sensible idea? I assume it's not trivial otherwise some manufacturers would do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Makes sense. I don't know about the technical side of doing it though. The only active bass I have is a Westone 1A Thunder, which has a toggle switch to turn on the 'activeness'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cribbin Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Well, most people would say can't see the issue with the existing ' simple cheap and reliable' option, pull the lead. A simple push pull on the volume, or the Fender S1 would do the job to cut the battery + feed. of course you would have to religious in your end of session routine, if you forget to hit the switch, it's gonna stay powered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted March 23, 2021 Author Share Posted March 23, 2021 That S1 is clever - putting that in the list of "things to think about when I build a bass". If I was modifying mine then a push-pull might be the simplest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted March 23, 2021 Author Share Posted March 23, 2021 Just found this: Push-Pull Pots - How They Work, Wiring Mods, and More! (fralinpickups.com) So actually it would be dead easy to both cut the battery +ve feed and short the jack terminals when the pot was pulled out. But as @John Cribbin says - most people would be happy to just leave the lead on the floor 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 i'm not sure that shorting out the lead would be a great idea as you would actually be shorting out whatever it was plugged into at the other end, with the volume at zero and the power disconnected wouldn't it act much like a passive bass plugged in with the volume at zero? Having the volume knob act like a on-off switch sounds like a reasonable idea to me provided there wasn't an audible click on the output when it's turned on. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Ex-Factor has a rotary switch with at least three positions: off - stdby - on. Maybe fourth and an extra boost, do not remember exactly. If the switch has suitable components around it, there won't be any clicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted March 23, 2021 Author Share Posted March 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Matt P said: i'm not sure that shorting out the lead would be a great idea as you would actually be shorting out whatever it was plugged into at the other end Your just shorting the jack lead, so there is no signal at all to the amp and therefore no chance of stray pickup. Its an input short, not an output. You can buy jacks that do this when the lead is unplugged- the FOH engineers' friend. https://www.neutrik.com/en/neutrik/products/plugs-jacks/plugs/professional-1-4-plugs/silentplug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 3 hours ago, Richard R said: Your just shorting the jack lead, so there is no signal at all to the amp and therefore no chance of stray pickup. Its an input short, not an output. You can buy jacks that do this when the lead is unplugged- the FOH engineers' friend. https://www.neutrik.com/en/neutrik/products/plugs-jacks/plugs/professional-1-4-plugs/silentplug If anyone needs a lead with a silent plug on I can make one up for a small fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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