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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 6:54 am
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I think that speaking about this argument is useless.
I have both active and passive bass: one is a fender J bass american standard (passive) and one is a Music Man Sting Ray (active).
And well,i feel there are a lot of differences, but i can't even say for sure which one is the best.
I play a lot of stuff and i'm involved in three bands, one plays pop/punk rcok,another plays folk music and the third plays cover songs from blues brothers to all the kind of 70's music songs.
So when i'm going to play punk rock or other kinds of stuff that request a large amount of volume (especially if you play in a trio) it's nearly obvious that you choose for the active bass guitar (i still remember i saw obituary last year and the bass player used a black active P. Bass).
When i have to play other things like folk music,jazz etc i abuse of my J bass, cause i can choose for a different way of sound from the active one,and that different approach is the one that i feel the best for playing that stuff.
In the end,the formula that still stands is an ancient Roman motto:

De Gustibus non disputandum est
(you can not argue about other people choice)

:D still remembering that it is not the instrument that makes the musician....but the musician itself!


p.s. sorry for the horrible english


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Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 10:49 am
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To each his own. You are right that there is no point in arguing over matters of taste.
The tone of a bassplayer is always in the hands - active or passive.

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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:02 am
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bassclef wrote:
hands5 wrote:
I'm done with active basses period and that's to include Sadowsky and anybody else for that matter also,however I do still have his Sadowsky Preamp/DI which is the way I've gone for the last 3yrs,and I never been sold on 18vlt systems having so much more ( so called) headroom.
I've heard quite of few 9vlt systems sound just as big as 18vlt systems


You do realize what is inside your Sadowsky Preamp/DI......the same as in a Sadowsky bass, just in a metal box!

I do agree about 9V vs 18V. The 18V preamp in my Fender Deluxe is very good, but not as nearly as big and punchy sounding as the 9V in my Sadowsky. Also the Sadowsky's are much hotter, which probably due to the combination of the preamp and the Sadowsky pickups. I like the hotter signal 'cause I don't have to run the gain on my Genz-Benz as high. Thus a very clean signal.

But to be fair to those passive guys, I do prefer passive for my P-bass. But jazz basses.....active all the way!
My take with the Sadowsky was more due to the materials that was used to make the bass i. e Swamp Ash/ flatsawn maple neck/fretboard with his preamp which was too bright,however I think most of his basses have a real bright tone thats to include the Alder body ones also, but still I prefer a di/preamp box to any onboard preamp,regardless of who makes it.


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Post subject: why active
Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:52 am
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thank you! someone who see the flaw in this other than me.


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Post subject: Re: why active
Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 6:02 pm
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There are many good reasons to choose active pickups/electronics, not that they're necessarily "better" than passive, but:
  1. You can use them with much longer cords without losing signal quality;
  2. They are often cleaner than passive, which can be good for certain recording or live situations;
  3. They often impart a certain "modern" tone that is really great slapped or picked;
  4. More headroom;
  5. Often actives are good if you are going to be using a lot of effects because the signal lends itself to digital alteration. For the same reason, actives can be good for MIDI controller basses/guitars as well;
  6. Active pickups are less susceptible to interference of all types: overhead florescent lighting, radio interference, etc.;
  7. They often have more of a "cutting" tone and stronger hi-mids and treble frequencies;
  8. Active pickups sometimes help even out the response among strings;
  9. With actives, you may not need compression or as much compression as you do with passives;
  10. Certain musical styles, such as funk, fusion, or modern jazz, really lend themselves to that "active" sound;
  11. etc., etc.


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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 6:37 pm
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Hmmm... A lot of bold statements in this thread. I try not to close my eyes, or my ears for that matter, to any tone. You probably have no idea how many songs, bass lines, and TONES you have loved over the years that were recorded with active basses. If they are not your cup o' tea that's great! But to say there's no point in them is rediculous. I play fill-in gigs all the time. I play just about any style you can think of...and I LOVE it. I love meeting all types of musicians...hearing all kinds of takes on the songs I've played a bazillion times...and, yes, all kinds of TONES! I promise I'm not trying to lecture you. I just think that you could have a much better musical experience without turning your nose up at things that are different from the way you would do them. A very passive cheers to you!


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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 8:47 pm
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BCbassman wrote:
To each his own. You are right that there is no point in arguing over matters of taste.
The tone of a bassplayer is always in the hands - active or passive.


BC said it best lets just drop it!

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Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 5:05 am
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tommygunn wrote:
BCbassman wrote:
To each his own. You are right that there is no point in arguing over matters of taste.
The tone of a bassplayer is always in the hands - active or passive.


BC said it best lets just drop it!



Amen, Tommygunn - perhaps the only true way to resolve the differences is to scrap all of them and revert back to the passive upright accoustic bass - but my back won't take carrying it around much anymore...LOL... :wink:

( I wonder if I can get a neck strap large enough to................. NAH, too heavy... just a thought.... :roll: )

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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 5:31 am
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Chris1980 wrote:
First I'll send a disclaimer that my opinion is solely my own and I'm not an audio engineer, a technical guy, or even a great bass player.

That said, it seems to me that in a hobby where such minutae things such as COO's on transistors, and metal percentages in cables can spark a heated debate, it's at least plausable that having active tone control on the instrument has a great deal to do with the sound quality, vs. not having access off the amp or eq. we arrange our pedals for ultimate tone, we choose at what part of the signal path we should add compression, and we all have superstitions regarding playing, and recording.

If the arguement solely boils down to, " Anything you can achieve onboard the bass can be achieved equally on the preamp", again, I disagree. Even if you set the tones to match exact, you're still using different components at different stages of the signal path, and components make the difference between the $10,000 and $ 200 pieces of gear, including eq's, compressors, and mics. The real question then is, "is the extra price of getting active electronics worth it ?" That's something you have to decide for yourself, and no post on these forums can change your mind. I personally don't see how a mic can cost $4000, but I'm not getting the kind of takes those pros get either. I do know that as a guitar player, I have 13 different distortions including 2 identical model Big Muff's solely because I hear the difference between them. In my case, as a bass player, I use a newer bassman that doesn't quite nail the perfect eq, after dialing in as close as I can, I tweek the sound with my active jazz bass. It gives me the extra thump the bassman lacks, and gives me a tone more similar to how I sound through my buddies nicer SWR amp. I should note that my bass is second hand, and the active electronics didnt' cost me a cent more.


A-men, bro! Nicely put....


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:15 am
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I definitely agree. Active basses are just a pain in the butt. Seriously. There are too many knobs, you need to replace the battery every couple weeks, and if you keep your bass plugged in to the amp even when it's off, your battery will run out very quickly. The worst part is that when the battery starts getting low, the signal will cut in and out until it stops completely. It's so much easier to buy a passive bass, and just use a good amplifer.

It. Just. Makes. Sense.


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:40 pm
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bassbeast11 wrote:
There are too many knobs

Let's see, Beast...you are living in 2009 with high speed Internet, iPhones and HDTV with a gajillion remotes, but "there are too many knobs" :?:
Yeah - and take a look at some of the pre-amp, amps, pedalboards and stompboxes out these days. There are more than 3 knobs USUALLY on each one, not to mention the entire chain.

bassbeast11 wrote:
you need to replace the battery every couple weeks, and if you keep your bass plugged in to the amp even when it's off, your battery will run out very quickly. The worst part is that when the battery starts getting low, the signal will cut in and out until it stops completely.

And a battery is going to prevent you from on-board adjustability? Have you even TRIED an active bass? I can't believe you have, since you'd notice a totally different sound approach. I'm not saying better - just different. But for me, definitely the way to go!




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