do you guys prefer active or passive basses?
By thebassdude
@thebassdude (342)
Philippines
October 15, 2010 9:30pm CST
What type of bass do you prefer: active or passive? A little backgrounder for those who don't know the difference between the two. :) An active bass usually has an active preamp. This helps you shape the tone via an equalizer (some have a three band eq while some have a two band). The first hint that your bass is active is if it requires the use of a battery to function, usually 9V. A passive bass usually just has a tone knob and doesn't require batteries. The tone knob attenuates the treble frequency.
I find active basses very useful especially during gigs. I find it easy to dial in the tone I want by just using the on board preamp. It's also very effective in the studio because it's dead silent. Whenever I have to record a track I always bring my active basses to sessions. :) That said, my active basses get gigged more compared to my passive ones --- most especially my Ibanez ATK. :) But there's just something magical about a passive bass. It's tone is in your face and organic. I love the natural punch I get out of a passive bass. That's the reason why I never let go of my passive Jazz bass. It's just way cool. :)
4 responses
@cripfemme (7698)
• United States
19 Oct 10
I like somewhere in the middle. I hate bosses who do nothing and then yell at you for not doing what they want. Like they ever told you in the place. However, I hate overbearing bosses, who need to be control freaks. As a boss myself, I try to be midrange with my employees.
@thebassdude (342)
• Philippines
17 Oct 10
LOL! No problem dude. For what it's worth, I once had a passive BOSS and I hated him. :p A pro-active boss is the best.
@RONDOLAWE (774)
• Indonesia
17 Oct 10
hi .. i not like it much about bass and i always play drum and guitar not like it for it the bass cause will be suck for it i member of band but i never take a bass for play only gutar and drum
@ntpspe (36)
•
16 Oct 10
Very good point's made there!
A lot of the time it depends on the type of sound you're after. My Wesley bass is a passive one, and i've played anything from classic rock, to heavy metal and Muse in between.
When I went to a guitar shop in Leeds (uk), I had a chance to play a Schecter Hellraiser 5, which was on sale for £1200! and this guitar had active pickups.
After plugging it into the same Ashdown amp I had at home, I was instantly in love with it, and have been asking people to buy it me ever since! :P
It played muse and heavy bass riffs amazingly, and nothing could compare! There was absolutely no distortion when i turned the amp up high either (though i think i distorted the force, as the shop's yoda had to come and turn it down hehe :P )
The only problem I had, is i didn't fancy buying 6v batteries for it all the time, because i'd be using it 24/7.
When it came round to playing slower and quieter songs, that's when i noticed no difference between my £80 passive, and this £1200 monster, because it played practically the same, and with an amp head, you've got a pre-amp built in too.
It's also harder to get passive basses to show up on the VU meters on Ashdown and other amps, without turning the input volume up high, which to get a distortion free sound, you need to fiddle with the input/guitar and output sounds, so that the VU meter reads an all clear if you want a perfect sound.
All in all i really can't decide one or the other, i know if i had the money that Schecter would be on my lap right now! But my passive will do me happy for now :)
@thebassdude (342)
• Philippines
16 Oct 10
I made a few modifications to an active bass I had before. Had my tech install a passive bypass switch. That way I have a true bypassed passive mode. Pretty cool. When I'm switched to that mode I actually don't need batteries. :)
