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Post by windmill on Apr 27, 2023 0:04:21 GMT -5
On the weekend I was at a local "Open Mic", sharing bass playing duties with another player and I realised they were using an active bass.
I noticed it by the sound being even and consistent.
Does anyone here use an active bass and why do you choose it ?
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jeffscott
Wholenote
Rickenbacker Guru..............
Posts: 139
Age: GOF
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Post by jeffscott on Apr 27, 2023 18:24:46 GMT -5
I used to back in the '90s with a couple of Alembics, and a Zon Sonus Special 5 (fretless). After not being satisfied with the sound of the Bartolini preamp in the latter bass I made a passive harness for it. In the first part of this current century I owned a couple of Rick Turner's Renaissance basses (4- and 5-string fretless). Those sounded amazing. These days it's just passive basses (Rickenbacker, Martin Keith, and Guild).
I forgot that I also had a EBMM Stingray 4H a few years ago. Superb bass, and if I were to get another active bass it would be another one Stingray.
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Post by themaestro on Apr 27, 2023 19:50:44 GMT -5
I'm basically a passive guy. I have a couple of actives. A Musicman SUB5 and a G&L L2500. I usually run the L2500 in passive mode. I don't care for a real bright, scooped sound. With either one running active, I tend to EQ the highs down a little so they sound passive.
One good thing about active basses is that you can roll the volume pot down without getting the treble roll-off that tends to happen with passives.
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Post by Larry Madsen on Apr 27, 2023 20:59:56 GMT -5
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Post by LTB on Apr 29, 2023 6:55:41 GMT -5
I still have one passive, a G&L Fullerton LB-100 (Precision bass style) that I love the tone as is. My other’s all being active because I have a lot more control of the tonal output, no treble rolloff with the volume controls, more output to get through the mix better. All pickups are passive. They are as follows:
Fender American Professional Jazz bass with Aguilar Noiseless pickups and Audere 4 band preamp and TI Jazz Flat strings
Sire V5 with stock pickups and EMG BTC preamp and DR Pure Blues Nickel Rounds.
ESP LTD B5-E with Lace Alumitone bassbar pickups and Bartolini 3 band preamp and DR Pure Blues Nickels (which I may put the GHS Pressure Round Wounds back on to compare and see which I like better on this bass).
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Post by Leftee on Apr 29, 2023 7:38:57 GMT -5
I think I’m going to sell my L-2000. It’s a great bass, but me not being a real bass player, it’s not something I appreciate. I have a P-bass that I built and a cheap J-bass that is nicer than it has a right to be. Those represent two instruments I don’t “need.” 😂
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Post by LTB on Apr 29, 2023 10:55:18 GMT -5
I forgot one of my Active Basses, a Sire P7 which I love so I do not know how I missed that one. I finally put the GHS Pressurewound strings back on the 5 string Active and has better feel and tone on that bass.
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Post by Taildragger on Apr 30, 2023 10:14:59 GMT -5
Passive basses, all the way: I don't like messing with on-board batteries so all the active electronics live on the peddle board, powered by a Strymon Ojai power brick.
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Post by LTB on Apr 30, 2023 11:28:14 GMT -5
Passive basses, all the way: I don't like messing with on-board batteries so all the active electronics live on the peddle board, powered by a Strymon Ojai power brick. I have some external methods if I decided to go back to them. 1. is a DC power box I built that is powered by a wallwort and utilizes a stereo cable to pass DC to the bass and A/C back thru the box to the amp using a short standard cable. 2. A small box that clips to my hip and supplies 18vdc via two internal 9 volt batteries in series. |
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jeffscott
Wholenote
Rickenbacker Guru..............
Posts: 139
Age: GOF
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Post by jeffscott on Apr 30, 2023 20:21:25 GMT -5
1. is a DC power box I built that is powered by a wallwort and utilizes a stereo cable to pass DC to the bass and A/C back thru the box to the amp using a short standard cable. I made a similar (sorta) external PS many years ago but with a high quality AC powered PS module utilizing a similar TRS cable setup for the two Alembics I had in the '90s. Tip was audio, Ring was 12VDC. |
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Post by hushnel on May 23, 2023 9:57:54 GMT -5
I purchased my second bass, the Fender Precision Special,. I think every other bass is passive.
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Post by Laker on May 24, 2023 11:37:17 GMT -5
My 55-94 Lakland can be played in either mode by lifting up the volume knob (pop up?) for passive and pushed down for active. I prefer the active as I have much more control over tone.  |
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stevedallman
Quarternote
I spent years at FDP....even got a “best amp tech advice” award early on.
Posts: 17
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Post by stevedallman on Jul 30, 2023 6:39:33 GMT -5
In 1975, I started playing in a country band, in addition to the hard rock band I was in. It drove me nuts that the tone of my bass changed so much when I used the volume control. I tried a few different treble bleeds, but couldn't get consistent tone. (1964 P bass into an SVT head and various bottoms...Rotosound rounds with the tone up.)
I built a preamp...James tonestack, two transistors and put it in my bass in 1976. That was the end of passive basses for me. The closest to passive I've used since was my 1968 Tele bass. I put a Stratoblaster circuit in that one...just for the consistent volume tone.
I am building a 5 string 51 P bass and may try passive for the first time in decades. We'll see.
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Post by morrow on Jul 30, 2023 7:16:02 GMT -5
I like passive basses , but I do like to use a tube preamp.
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tmc
Wholenote
Posts: 907
Formerly Known As: tmc
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Post by tmc on Aug 2, 2023 11:34:55 GMT -5
I had an active Jazz with an Audere JX3 preamp. It's a great preamp, but with so much versatility, I found myself constantly trying to micromanage my tone. Eventually I swapped it out for passive vol/tone controls.
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Post by LTB on Aug 2, 2023 14:46:32 GMT -5
I ended up changing the Audere 4 band Pre amp to and EMG 2 band in my 2017 Fender Pro Jazz bass and love the tone much better. when the bass and Treble on the premp are at mid position and you flip from active to passive you cannot tell the difference. I am extremely happy now as I can get a full range of tones without it going really dark.
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woody
Wholenote
Posts: 245
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Post by woody on Aug 2, 2023 18:19:12 GMT -5
My only active bass is the Spector Euro Bolt in my avatar. Bought it on a whim. It is nothing like the other basses I have which are p and j bass types and a Gretsch short scale hollow body. I don’t play out and I only infrequently play with others in recording situations. The Spector is just so much fun with the Aquilar preamp. It is kind of meh with the preamp bypassed as the tone controls are also bypassed. It is currently sporting round wounds but I think a set of flats are in its future.
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Post by LTB on Aug 2, 2023 23:14:25 GMT -5
My only active bass is the Spector Euro Bolt in my avatar. Bought it on a whim. It is nothing like the other basses I have which are p and j bass types and a Gretsch short scale hollow body. I don’t play out and I only infrequently play with others in recording situations. The Spector is just so much fun with the Aquilar preamp. It is kind of meh with the preamp bypassed as the tone controls are also bypassed. It is currently sporting round wounds but I think a set of flats are in its future. It is a nice looking bass. How does it sound and feel? |
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woody
Wholenote
Posts: 245
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Post by woody on Aug 3, 2023 11:34:01 GMT -5
Thanks. It sounds great. It's my first venture into "modern" basses. The pickups are pushed back toward the bridge to accommodate the long neck pocket, so think 70's Jazz Bass for the bridge pup. The P pickup is reversed so the E and A poles are closer to the bridge than a regular P pup. It's a Spector thing. This tends to emphasize the mids and highs. I tend to use the P pup with the bass boosted and add a bit of bridge pup as needed.
It's made in the Czech Republic. The fit and finish are impeccable. Spector bills them as being all hand made. The body is alder, and it sports a thick flame maple top. The roasted maple neck is chunky, with a 1.64" nut width and a flat 16" radius. It has a satin, almost nothing there finish which is really smooth. It's well above my talent grade.
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stevedallman
Quarternote
I spent years at FDP....even got a “best amp tech advice” award early on.
Posts: 17
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Post by stevedallman on Aug 28, 2023 9:34:11 GMT -5
In the mid 70's, I used my volume control a lot. Despite trying treble bleed circuits, the inconsistency of tone as i rolled the volume down drove me nuts. So in 1976, I built a two band eq, two transistor preamp and put it in my 1964 P bass. It solved that problem, and I love the baxandall/James tone controls.
I've put preamps in every bass I've owned since. I recently built a 5 string "51 P bass" (with a dynamite crate face) and wanted to try passive again. I used just volume and tone, but the tone is a push pull/treble or bass rolloff. I have an adjustable treble bypass on the volume.
Dang...the bass cut part of the tone control changes depending on the cord I use. The high end also changes depending on cable capacitance. So I added a buffer which solved those problems. Now with the buffer, the high end, and operation of the tone control stays the same regardless of the cable used.
Isolation from cable capacitance is enough for me to use active basses.
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Post by LTB on Sept 13, 2023 19:29:14 GMT -5
I prefer the sound of a passive Fender Bass but have to admit there are times when changing passive volume or tone are not optimal thus the reason for an Active Bass.
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