dmccombe7

After watching @Bassfinger post above it brought back memories of this one from Stones.

Afraid i don't know what they are .........

Biko came to mind right away but i'm struggling to think of anything else. Sure i'll recognise them as they appear on this thread. Dave

Maybe you two need to see a DOC

Brilliant

That's a good sign then. 👍

Wonder if that borders on OCD behaviour.

Aye that's true.

Do you have a gut feeling about what to do. ?

I'm halfway there. I just need to add the experiment part I think i'm one of those guys that buys a bass and plays it with everything flat and i even like my amp to be set flat. Mentally i always think there's something wrong if i need to change anything from that. Am i a nutter or just mentally disturbed . ? Dave

My passive basses are def affected when i turn the bass volume down but not so much the active basses. I guess i've always been taught to use active bass in active input and just always stuck with it. Def gonna try the bass on passive mode next gig see how it sounds

Difficult decision with such a gorgeous bass. Not sure which way i'd go to be honest. Send it up here for a year and i'll give you my honest opinion. Absolutely stunning bass tho. Dave

Perfect. Always appreciate your help sir. Thanks Dave

Does it make a difference using the active / passive input on an amp if it has a gain control. ? Does turning the bass guitar volume down do the same thing ? Can you use an active bass into passive input on amp and adjust gain. ? Think the 3 questions above are basically the same question written in different way. Dave

Did some very quick googling about active / passive thing and found some good stuff on another US forum. Looks like you were right @mcnach. Most comments were that one input Lo-gain and one Hi-gain but it shouldn't really matter which input you use if the amp has a gain control. What i took from it was that you can either turn the bass volume down, turn the amp gain up or down to suit, use an active or passive input to suit. The guys with SWR amps odly enough had the same experience as you using active bass into the passive input and said it sounded better. So there you go you've taught me something else today Dave

It does and i had it around 10 o clock whereas i would normally run the Gain up till it clips and bring back a few notches but because of the distortion i've been running it even lower than i normally would with an amp. Typically with most amps and most of my basses i would be around 12-2 o clock. The 10 o clock setting was a compromise setting. I've found it same with EBS HD360 heads as well. Its fine with my Mesa head and i run that on active input with Gain at 1 o clock but no distortion. Once i get up above 2 o clock i start to hear a little tube distortion coming thru but that's normal for one of these amps as far as i know. @mcnach you have a lot of experience and have given me some great advice thru BC and you've now got me wondering and might just try my VM4 thru the passive input or even try the bass on passive mode. I'm relatively new to VM4 bass and still getting used to it. As i always say "Everyday's a school day on BC" There are some brilliant electronic techy type people on here that might shed some light on the passive / active thing @EBS_freak might know. He's intelligent and knows all this kinda stuff. Dave

I've had issues when i forgot to switch to active on the amp and found the amp distorting. Also found problems using active basses thru the Aguilat AG500 amps in the rehearsal studios where it sounded like a speaker had gone. Spoke to studio engineer and he said it was down to some active basses having a higher output. I tend to run my basses almost flat with volume about 90% up on the bass itself. At home i've found my passive basses don't have a lot of tone variation when used thru the active input. When i switch to passive mode my Jazz tone has a huge range and its like it gets a boost and just sings.. Dave

Out of curiosity when playing in passive mode do you change the bass amp from active to Passive mode as well. Does the output change or does the pre-amp simply by-pass the EQ section. Dave

Now i get it. That's the kind of thing i would end up doing Dave

If the boards were exact same i don't get why you changed it ? dave

Must admit i like that low end thing that you talk of @mcnach. I've never really tried the bass on passive mode to be honest. At the very least i'll have it on active mode but all EQ centred. Because the treble control becomes your tone control you can't go straight from active to passive and have same tone like my Thumb bass. I have been running my VM4 with pick ups on centre point with a slight boost on bass. Thru the Mesa rig it gives me a deep warm tone. Not my usual or preferred tone for a bass but it suits my band at the moment. Normally i'd go for a more hi-mid punch to a treble edge sound with a fair bit of low end depth. If i turn the PU selector slightly to the P pick-up i do get more edge on the tone. It doesn't take much on the bass to get a tone i need or want. Such a versatile bass. Plus i'm using flats at the moment on a trial run. Wasn't sure about them on Sat nights gig but hearing the various youtube clips posted by audience with phones i'm really liking the tone i have. My perception on stage while playing is different to what i hear on the clips. Weird !!!!! Dave

I'm more a 70's & 80's guy but agree on the enthusiasm, talent and experience. Same for me. This is the first band i've been in where the money is great. Its an odd experience too. As you know, and stated many times, i was never in it for money but now that the money is "available" i'm finding that it's having more influence than ever before. Dave

To be honest its the only Peavey amp i've liked. You really need the footswitch to get the full benefit but i used to mix the 2 channels with one set with a very punchy mid tone (para EQ channel) and the passive channel set with a nice low warm tone. Mix the 2 together and it was a WOW factor for me. Then use the Graphic for room requirements. It was like having 2 amps in one. Bloomin heavy tho Dave

2-4-6-8 Motorway by Tom Robinson Soldier of Fortune by Deep Purple