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Why does my Bass amp sound louder in passive & not in active


Soulpatch60
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Hi all

I have a active fender Jazz bass Delux series my amplifier is a Hartke 200 watts and the box is also a Hartke 300 watts
Im fairly new to playing bass but I was told that active is louder than the passive but when I plug into passive its much louder then the active I have played around with the switches but still passive is louder can someone please shed some light on this.

thank you.

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Yes as has been hinted at you have slightly the wrong end on the stick (or amp) :)

Your bass is active - always. Some basses are passive.

You should ideally plug into the active amp input. The signal from the bass is attenuated slightly to match it with the passive input.

Use the passive input for a passive bass with a weaker signal.

So if you plug your bass into the passive input it will be louder as the signal isn't being attenuated.

It's not an exact science and some passive basses have huge outputs and actives visa versa.

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I think having "active" and "passive" inputs can be slightly confusing. It really should just be like on my bass amp which has "high gain" (That would be "passive" on yours) and "low gain" inputs. Y'know, i don't think people should have to be spoonfed everything, i think we have a right to choose what sort of input is sutiable for our bass!

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[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='526561' date='Jun 28 2009, 10:42 AM']I think having "active" and "passive" inputs can be slightly confusing. It really should just be like on my bass amp which has "high gain" (That would be "passive" on yours) and "low gain" inputs. Y'know, i don't think people should have to be spoonfed everything, i think we have a right to choose what sort of input is sutiable for our bass![/quote]

Indeed. BC Says No to input Fascism!

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[quote name='Jono Bolton' post='526673' date='Jun 28 2009, 01:18 PM']Doesn't running an active bass through the passive input mean you run the risk of damaging the amp?[/quote]

No - just use the input that sounds best.

If it distorts at all, try the other one.

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[quote name='Jono Bolton' post='526673' date='Jun 28 2009, 01:18 PM']Doesn't running an active bass through the passive input mean you run the risk of damaging the amp?[/quote]

not really. If the output of the bass is too high for the amp then you'll get distortion but that's about it really.

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Active and passive is no real indication of output volume of a bass. My passive Gus G3 is louder than pretty much any active bass I have. I always use the active input on my amp unless the sound is weedy.

Personally if you're going to have 2 preset levels and not a single one with a gain control I'd like to see them labelled "Loud Basses" and "Quiet Basses" so there's no confusion.

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[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='526561' date='Jun 28 2009, 10:42 AM']I think having "active" and "passive" inputs can be slightly confusing. It really should just be like on my bass amp which has "high gain" (That would be "passive" on yours) and "low gain" inputs. Y'know, i don't think people should have to be spoonfed everything, i think we have a right to choose what sort of input is sutiable for our bass![/quote]

Got that right!
My Will Power equiped P-bass will blow ANY of my actives out of the water!

Edited by Kongo
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[quote name='Kongo' post='527243' date='Jun 28 2009, 11:26 PM']Got that right!
My Will Power equiped P-bass will blow ANY of my actives out of the water![/quote]
And my Will Power equipped Attitude slays all comers! If it ran any hotter, you could just plug it straight into a cab... Them DiMarzios is EVIL!

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