Active vs. passive

Active or passive electronics?


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So! Active vs. passive electronics? What do people out here preffer?
 
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Passive pickups with an active preamp all the way for me.

From the "BASSis of Consideration" thread:

"I'm a big humbucker fan by default, but I don't really like active pickups. I suppose it's mainly because I feel that passive pickups bring out the natural sound of whatever woods I end-up choosing better, but also because I just hate depending on a battery."
 
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I tend to agree with EVOLVEBASS, but I have zero experience with passive pickups........oi oi oi.....I have a lot to learn....... :wink:
 
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I like the tone I get from actives overall, but love the simplicity of a passive bass/guitar.
 
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I might be a tad interested in trying some active electronics some day. But for now, I'll stick with my current ;)
 
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active for me mate, more control over your sound i think.
 
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I just love the sound of passive way more than the active. I think it brings a uniqueness to the tone that is lost when you switch on the active. This is why I use the passive on my thumb almost exclusively.
 
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active. i think passive sound weak. whenever i get a fretless, ill probably put in an active eq and passive PUPs because fretless is about the wood (thats why i hate amplified uprights with a preamp, sounds to fake). And i'm really thinking about trading my streamer std now, it sounds so weak to me.
 

jay

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I like them both, but have to agree with Doog, you can't beat the simplicity when everything is passive...
 
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for having an active and one passive bass, I'd say active. It's easier to get the tone you want 8)
 

maddrakkett

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Vinman said:
I just love the sound of passive way more than the active. I think it brings a uniqueness to the tone that is lost when you switch on the active. This is why I use the passive on my thumb almost exclusively.

+1! I do like having the active preamp available for certain tone shaping, but passive pickups sound more natural and have more character, whereas active pickups tend to sound a bit too "HiFi" or slightly "sterile."
 
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Vinman said:
I just love the sound of passive way more than the active. I think it brings a uniqueness to the tone that is lost when you switch on the active. This is why I use the passive on my thumb almost exclusively.

Unless I missed a memo or something, when you switch to passive on the Thumb, you're only disabling the preamp - the pickups are always active. It's the exact opposite with say the $$, where you can disable the preamp, but the pickups are always passive.
 
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I can't vote.

I prefer active on some basses and passive on some others.

Active EMG's are perfect on my Thumb, but passive Fralins rule on my Fenders 8)
 
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I prefer active electronics, even though I sometimes turn them off and use only the EQ on my preamp but they're still there if I need the wide variety of tones from them. When using passive electronics I don't get the variety of tones I can get from Active Electronics, and basically, with active electronics you have both active and passive.
 
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I agree with Mr Rabble,
Actives on some, Passive on other. There's just a certain something SOooo right about 'digging in' to a nice passive jazz bass that you just cant get with the expanded head room on most actives, But at the same time, when faced with dodgy room accoustics, you can't beat good ol' actives to give you that bit of top or bottom to get your sound across.
 
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