Electronics: Passive or Active?

[musicfreak]

Hello.
Well, I'm new to the forum and to the bass. Well, actually to playing any instrument at all.
I want to buy a, well who would guess it, RockBass. I really like the Streamer (4String) in white with the 2 Humbuckers. But I don't know if it would be better to get a bass with active electronics.
Does it matter when I'm just starting to play? Any suggestions?

 

[JanVanHove]

I'm just giving you my opinion, here, but my view of things is that for a first bass, the passive-active distinction is a little irrelevant.

There is a difference between the two:
-In general active basses have a cleaner, more "modern" sound, and more headroom as well as higher output...
-Passive basses have a more "raw" sound, more vintagey...

My 2 cents...

 

[musicfreak]

Since I asked for your opinion, I don't have problem with it.
So thank you.

Since I haven't played a bass at all... Where is the difference between vintage and modern sound? Any band examples?

 

[saxonbass]

Probably best to go at this from a different direction! If you tell is what sort of music/bands you like and listen to... we might be able to sort out which sound is best for you... at least until you get your own opinions!

... and welcome to the forum, you'll get loads of advice here!

 

[JanVanHove]

It's very hard to point bands, especially modern ones, since instruments used in recording and those used live sometimes differ greatly. It is safe to say that any music recorded 20-years ago and more was done with a passive bass, and that a lot of "nu-metal" is recorded with actives... Other than that, generalizations are difficult...

 

[saxonbass]

I still think: "I wanna sound like xxxx from xxxx band" is a good starting point!

 

[musicfreak]

Okay, so recently I like Lifehouse, The Dykeenies ( Amazon.de still haven't got their 1. longplayer in their catalog, which really pisses me off, since I don't have the money to order it from Amazon.co.uk), Mystery Jets, Goo Goo Dolls and Nickelback. I know that Kroeger is a Warwick Endorser, so maybe I should get his bass in the Rockbass version. I also like John Mayer and Paolo Nutini. And Eskobar have one song with an extremely cool bassline.
Well, looking at my list it's probably better to get an active.
So your playing fretless. That's cool. I want to play that way too. How have you been playing?

 

[saxonbass]

I should have pointed out that I play an active Thumb regardless of what type of music I'm playing... but that's the point I've arrived at (after about 7 years of playing by the way!)

... as I don't know much about the bands/artists you've mentioned, I'm hoping someone's gonna chip in and give some more advice! :wink:

 

[Matt0123]

i prefer passive basses (now i have an active one...), the active electronics mostly rely on the pickups, passives let the sound of the wood come through.

 

[Patrik]

i prefer passive basses (now i have an active one...), the active electronics mostly rely on the pickups, passives let the sound of the wood come through.

That might be true, but with an active you have a choise.... if you like.

Or wait a moment.....

Does the passive MEC Jazz PUs (with dynamic correction) sound the same as the active ones when you run them in a passive mode?

 

[JanVanHove]

From What I know of pickups, they shouldn't sound the same...

There's a good chance that I don't know enough about pickups, though...

 

[Thomas]

from what you posted, i'd say you're best off with a passive bass. It will give a more smooth sound whereas an active bass is.... more modern... like more defined. With an active bass, you have better control over the tone because, as said before, the majority of the sound is coming from the pickups rather than the wood as in a passive.

I use active. sounds like you want passive!

 

[ThirdthumB]

Does the passive MEC Jazz PUs (with dynamic correction) sound the same as the active ones when you run them in a passive mode?

From what I've understood they should sound differently.

P.S. Kroeger's Nickelback: is he still playing Warwick ?? I thought he converted to Spector, and plays the NS 5. He's also got his own signature model now..............I'm not much into Nickelback, but boy, the sound (guitar + recording) is totally awesome. :twisted:

 

[Patrik]

i prefer passive basses (now i have an active one...), the active electronics mostly rely on the pickups, passives let the sound of the wood come through.

That might be true, but with an active you have a choise.... if you like.

Or wait a moment.....

Does the passive MEC Jazz PUs (with dynamic correction) sound the same as the active ones when you run them in a passive mode?

From What I know of pickups, they shouldn't sound the same...

From what I've understood they should sound differently.

What's the deal? I'm interested as well....

 

[ThirdthumB]

i prefer passive basses (now i have an active one...), the active electronics mostly rely on the pickups, passives let the sound of the wood come through.

That might be true, but with an active you have a choise.... if you like.

Or wait a moment.....

Does the passive MEC Jazz PUs (with dynamic correction) sound the same as the active ones when you run them in a passive mode?

From What I know of pickups, they shouldn't sound the same...

From what I've understood they should sound differently.

What's the deal? I'm interested as well....

Well,

I learned this recently (me am electronics n00b): an active pickup uses small magnets, and a small signal is produced. Before you can shove that signal to the main amp, it needs to be boosted first. This is done by a tiny amp that's "hidden" under the pickup, and is an integral part of the pickup. Therefore, active pickups need a battery, otherwise you won't hear much. Passive pickups use stronger magnets (I think), and produce a stronger output that don't need an intermediate amplification. This signal can be sent directly to the main amp. So an active pickup has an additional amplification that usually means in practice that you have some colouring of the signal. Therefore an active pickup should sound differently than a passive pickup.

 

[Doog]

Are we differentiating active pickups from passive pickups with an onboard pre-amp? From what I've read the RB Fortress 5 uses passive MEC gold pickups with the MEC pre-amp. I know when I switch back and forth between active and passive modes with the controls flat there aint a lot of difference if any.

 

[Grgzilla]

The RB Fortress actually has ACTIVE MEC gold pickups with a 2 band preamp.

 

[JanVanHove]

Well,

I learned this recently (me am electronics n00b): an active pickup uses small magnets, and a small signal is produced. Before you can shove that signal to the main amp, it needs to be boosted first. This is done by a tiny amp that's "hidden" under the pickup, and is an integral part of the pickup. Therefore, active pickups need a battery, otherwise you won't hear much. Passive pickups use stronger magnets (I think), and produce a stronger output that don't need an intermediate amplification. This signal can be sent directly to the main amp. So an active pickup has an additional amplification that usually means in practice that you have some colouring of the signal. Therefore an active pickup should sound differently than a passive pickup.

Yup, that's pretty much my understanding of it...

An active in passive mode will me less "hot", in theory than a straight, simple, passive pickup, so it will be handeled differently buy the amp, and sound different...

 

[Doog]

The RB Fortress actually has ACTIVE MEC gold pickups with a 2 band preamp.

See what I get for buying used. I have no idea what I've got, but it sounds great.

 

[Grgzilla]

The RB Fortress actually has ACTIVE MEC gold pickups with a 2 band preamp.

See what I get for buying used. I have no idea what I've got, but it sounds great.

Pickups with gold lettering are usually active,silver lettering & they're passive.When you switch from active to passive,your losing the tone controls (unless it's a $$,active/passive hybrid) & only have volume & pickup pan,no bass or treble boost/cut.That's about the guts of it.