lemmywinks Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 (edited) [quote name='ianwild16' post='626172' date='Oct 14 2009, 04:45 PM']Why?[/quote] I tried a few while ago, all were noisy with brittle treble, sounded like budget active electronics. I tried another recently and it was still very noisy although the bass itself sounded excellent. Maybe they've got their act together on the pre but the bass hummed very loudly Edited October 14, 2009 by lemmywinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Yes, the Fender preamps aren't great - I always think they sound very harsh. The pre in my Marcus Miller Jazz was horrid, but when played passively then plugged into the Sadowsky it was immense. I've also played a few Jazz Deluxe & Jaguar models and they all have the same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nash Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 i had a USA jazz deluxe and it was such a nice bass but it sounded rubbish because of the eq. it kept draining the batteries for some reason. as for passive pickups and active pre. i'm down with that but i sure as hell love my EMG in my pbass without an EQ. i have however been considering getting the out board sadowsky or aguilar pre's. which one is better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='625392' date='Oct 13 2009, 07:35 PM']But good active electronics aren't cheap. Alex[/quote] I agree, but don't understand why that is. Surely it can only be in the design costs and profit margins, because the component costs, even in the best electronics, can only be a matter of a few tens of pounds (I'm guessing that most of that is in the pots etc as Op-amp chips and resitors etc are generally very cheap). Yet we are expected to pay £80 - 90 for something half decent and approaching £200 for something like the John East filter preamp. Is it a case of charging what the market will stand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Sure anyone with some electronics knowledge can knock up a circuit with a volume control mix for two input sources and cut/boost centred around a couple of selected frequencies. The trick is to make it noise-free, musically sympathetic, capable of being powered from 1 or 2 PP3 batteries without draining them too quickly and on top of all of that fit in the average bass control cavity along with the battery. That takes some skill. What you're paying for is R&D along with the fact that retro-fitted on board pre-amps are hardly mass-market items. Most of them don't offer any significant advantages overe the tone controls you already have on your amps. I'm no longer interested in any on-board active electronics unless they offer a different kind of sound-shaping to the standard cut/boost or they allow individual tone control of each pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcrow Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 [quote name='silddx' post='557218' date='Jul 31 2009, 04:11 PM']Active tronics are powered (9v or 18v batteries) and can boost frequencies. Passive can only cut frequencies. Naturally there are many more ramifications, but that's the basic answer. Many will argue a floor pedal can do the same, and of course your amp's preamp stage too. I find active very useful, but then I use a lot of dub tones in a couple of my bands.[/quote] thats about it...onboard eq along with mid sweep..parametric makes going to the store easier.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 the best medium is one that allows you to boost eq without colouring the sound... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skelf Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 (edited) Could you please explain that. What is the difference between EQ'ing something and colouring the sound. This is not a smart arse reply I really want to know how you define the difference. I have always regarded EQ'ing something as colouring the sound and also thought that was the purpose of using a pre-amp. Edited October 16, 2009 by skelf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 I like the flexibility they give you. Sometimes you might want a really and I mean really fat sound, so you just boost that bass up and there it is. Also really good, like silldx said for dub sounds. It's just a matter of personal taste and wanting to muck about a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 In what way are the controls on your on-board pre-amp more flexible than the ones on your amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosebass Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 [quote name='BigRedX' post='628569' date='Oct 17 2009, 10:49 AM']In what way are the controls on your on-board pre-amp more flexible than the ones on your amp?[/quote] Hi Mike its not really a case of flexibility with active setups but down to simple electrical theory. Passive basses with volume and tone pots load the output impedance of a bass , this in conjunction with a long poor quality cable can have the effect of 'killing' higher frequencies and will make any bass sound 'muddy' Using a good active preamp the output impedance can be engineered into the circuit to exit the bass low (impedance buffering / similar to DI boxes) and the bass output will retain the highs , hence the reason active basses sound more alive. I am a big fan of passive (simplicity) but my recent builds only contain a volume control so as not to degrade the output signal too much. Best set up for a passive bass is direct from the pup into the amp via a high quality short instrument lead but this is generally impractical for use other than recording / studio work. Obviously if you are after a dull , muddy tone then all of the above does not matter, but as you agree , the best way to modify your tone is with your amp, and the best / cleanest / most transparent way of getting the true tone from your bass into the amp is via an active , buffered preamp with no specific individual frequency band boosted. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nash Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 my emg with no pots sounds so much better than the passive SD QP i had in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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