Is there really any difference in volume between active & passive?

[xgsjx]

Well I was about to play my bass on Thursday, plugged it in and...........

Nothing!

Tried plugging it into the amp direct with a few different leads & still nowt. So I thought "Must be the battery". Nope. Band practice over then.

Opened it up the next day & discovered a power wire off. Took the electronics out to solder it back together & another wire popped off!
Soldered them on & another 3 popped off! Soldered them on & another couple fell off (it is a 20 odd year old bass, but c'mon!).
Put it all back together &......

Nothing!

Went over everything to check it was all correct (using reference photos that I took last year before stripping the bass) & all was fine.
After many hours of messing about I've ended up buying 2 new pots & a capacitor & wiring the bass up as passive.
Funny thing is, it doesn't seem any quieter than it did as an active bass. Need to test this at volume of course, but at home...

I always thought that an active bass gave a MUCH hotter signal than passive. Could it be because I'm using active pick ups? I'm not powering them (I was gonna power it Fender stylee).

Now I have an extra hole on the body from where the EQ switch was, but I have a plan!
I've ordered a 100k pot & some other goodies from Maplin & gonna make it a control knob for the Moogs. So if I want, I can have it so I can add funky auto wah when I'm not using the exp pedal to control cutoff on the LPF or control the LFO rate on the Bass Murf.

Will let you know how I get on with that one too.

[Mr. Foxen]

Active doesn't necessarily mean louder than passive, should be a unity gain buffer ideally, unless you have boosts and eq. Plenty of hot pickups, and I sort of guess passive output is on an upward trend anyway.

[LowdownRumble]

Mine isn't any louder than my old passive bass was. And the change of batteries is pissing me off and I hate that I cant leave it plugged in. Is there such a thing as an active/passive bass? Such as, when the battery dies switch to passive and rock on?

[discreet]

Exactly why I can't be bothered with active basses, but then I'm old school anyway... keep it simple, is my thing.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1334775375' post='1621167']
Well I was about to play my bass on Thursday, plugged it in and...........

Nothing!

Tried plugging it into the amp direct with a few different leads & still nowt. So I thought "Must be the battery". Nope. Band practice over then.

Opened it up the next day & discovered a power wire off. Took the electronics out to solder it back together & another wire popped off!
Soldered them on & another 3 popped off! Soldered them on & another couple fell off (it is a 20 odd year old bass, but c'mon!).
Put it all back together &......

Nothing!

Went over everything to check it was all correct (using reference photos that I took last year before stripping the bass) & all was fine.
After many hours of messing about I've ended up buying 2 new pots & a capacitor & wiring the bass up as passive.
Funny thing is, it doesn't seem any quieter than it did as an active bass. Need to test this at volume of course, but at home...

I always thought that an active bass gave a MUCH hotter signal than passive. [b]Could it be because I'm using active pick ups? I'm not powering them (I was gonna power it Fender stylee).[/b]

Now I have an extra hole on the body from where the EQ switch was, but I have a plan!
I've ordered a 100k pot & some other goodies from Maplin & gonna make it a control knob for the Moogs. So if I want, I can have it so I can add funky auto wah when I'm not using the exp pedal to control cutoff on the LPF or control the LFO rate on the Bass Murf.

Will let you know how I get on with that one too.
[/quote]

if you are getting a signal with active pickups not being powered they aren't active pickups.

[stingrayPete1977]

I run nothing passive and whenever anyone uses my rig with a passive bass they need to boost the output volume loads, that's why lots of amps have either a passive/active switch or separate inputs surely?

[Evil Undead]

[quote name='LowdownRumble' timestamp='1334776604' post='1621200']
Mine isn't any louder than my old passive bass was. And the change of batteries is pissing me off and I hate that I cant leave it plugged in. Is there such a thing as an active/passive bass? Such as, when the battery dies switch to passive and rock on?
[/quote]

Warwick Corvette $$

[leftybassman392]

[quote name='LowdownRumble' timestamp='1334776604' post='1621200']
Is there such a thing as an active/passive bass? Such as, when the battery dies switch to passive and rock on?
[/quote]

My Regenerate Axiom has a pull-passive function on the volume control, plus an old-school passive tone control hardwired. Also the output is quite low for an active preamp - hardly more than my passive Jazz. So if the preamp dies for any reason I just pull out the volume pot and hey presto! Passive Jazz bass just like Leo made 'em. Pre and pickups were all Nordy items.

Also I had a Shuker with a passive bypass switch, but IIRC it overrode everything and gave a 'default' tone so you could at least finish the gig.

Edited April 18, 2012 by leftybassman392

[Davo-London]

I have active and I do like the 3 knob EQ that comes with it. Batteries do seem to last for a long time so it's not really an issue for me.

I like passive too.

I wouldn't go active just to get more volume.

Davo

[chrismuzz]

Ive always been a passive guy, out of the basses I've owned the active ones had less of a mid punch, and more glassy highs. Volume hasn't ever been a noticeable issue. Never bothered with onboard EQ either, as I have pedals and an amp if I really need to alter things drastically. Usually unless engaging/disengaging an effect, the only change I make is slightly turning down the tone on the bridge pickup. Also, batteries are a PITA!

[thisnameistaken]

The real benefits of active electronics on the bass are more EQ options, and a lower output impedance so your signal survives the run down your cable a bit better than it otherwise would. Active circuits aren't necessarily louder but can be of course, given that they usually allow you to boost certain frequencies (something passive electronics can't do).

FWIW I like things that 'just work', like passive basses and amps with simple but musical EQs (like my Hartke LH500). It's nice to have actives onboard for some stuff, like if you want a massively scooped sound or whatever, but I tend to prefer more rounded sounds.

Edited April 18, 2012 by thisnameistaken

[Austin7]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1334777648' post='1621225']
Exactly why I can't be bothered with active basses, but then I'm old school anyway... keep it simple, is my thing.
[/quote]

+1

[thepurpleblob]

In my limited experience, all the passive basses I have had have been much "louder" than the active basses I have owned. As has been said, the advantage (of active) is generally to provide an EQ that will give you boost and to provide a lower output impedance. A passive bass has a very high output impedance such that your instrument cable will affect the sound (due to its capacitance). In the real world it doesn't matter much. You have an EQ on your amp - you don't really need more than one EQ do you?

There's a good discussion here - http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/active.shtml

Edited April 18, 2012 by thepurpleblob

[xgsjx]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1334778080' post='1621234']
if you are getting a signal with active pickups not being powered they aren't active pickups.
[/quote]

Could it be an active bass with passive pick ups? It's an Ibanez SR1000 from 1989.
I like the idea of not having to worry about flat batteries, but it's only ever been an issue once in it's life as an active instrument.

[Marvin]

[quote name='LowdownRumble' timestamp='1334776604' post='1621200']
Mine isn't any louder than my old passive bass was. And the change of batteries is pissing me off and I hate that I cant leave it plugged in. Is there such a thing as an active/passive bass? Such as, when the battery dies switch to passive and rock on?
[/quote]

Hohner B2A's. You can switch the active circuitry off and still keep going. Wicked piece of kit.

I only realised recently that my Ibanez SR has passive pick ups and that it's only the EQ that's active. Since I don't use the on board EQ...

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1334785626' post='1621407']
Could it be an active bass with passive pick ups? It's an Ibanez SR1000 from 1989.
I like the idea of not having to worry about flat batteries, but it's only ever been an issue once in it's life as an active instrument.
[/quote]

Most "active" instruments have "passive" pickups (i.e. they do not need power in themeselves) which are followed by the "active" amplifier circuit (missusing the amplifier term slightly). Active pickups do exist, but it just means that the electronics are built into the pickup casing so there is no real difference overall.

It's not true to say that an active bass will give no sound with flat batteries. It depends entirely on the circuit design. Some signal *could" bleed through. One example I can think of is the 3EQ Musicman Stingray circuit. If you pull the battery out it still works, albeit on the quiet side.

[WalMan]

[quote name='LowdownRumble' timestamp='1334776604' post='1621200']
Mine isn't any louder than my old passive bass was. And the change of batteries is pissing me off and I hate that I cant leave it plugged in. Is there such a thing as an active/passive bass? Such as, when the battery dies switch to passive and rock on?
[/quote]G&L's - at least my L2500's have a 3 way switch that runs passive : active : active with treble boost.

And yes the L2500's & Wal are a lot louder than the Tanglewater ClassicJ

[barkin]

Also, there can be a huge difference in the outputs from different passive pickups.

I've a Tanglewater Classic J, and the output from that is noticeably less than that of my passive Westone Thunder.
The Westone always gets plugged in to the active input on my amp, which gives roughly the same output volume as the Tanglewood into the passive input.

[dannybuoy]

The quietest bass I've ever owned was a Warmoth SG with (famously loud) Dark Star pickups and an active Audere pre.

The loudest bass I've ever owned is my passive Yamaha BB415!

[Doctor J]

Active pickups are one thing, onboard eq is another. As said, a lot of 'active' basses have an onboard eq fed by passive pickups. A lot of basses have an eq bypass which takes the eq out of the circuit but you still won't get output unless there is a battery installed. A bass with an onboard eq won't necessarily be louder than a passive bass as, when the eq is set flat, ideally you should be getting close to passive sound. If you're not boosting or cutting then you shouldn't really be hearing the influence of the eq when everything is flat.

[neepheid]

[quote name='LowdownRumble' timestamp='1334776604' post='1621200']
Mine isn't any louder than my old passive bass was. And the change of batteries is pissing me off and I hate that I cant leave it plugged in. Is there such a thing as an active/passive bass? Such as, when the battery dies switch to passive and rock on?
[/quote]

Is unplugging really such a burden? Looking at it another way, it isn't a lead left in to get tripped over and yanked, possibly pulling your bass with it or causing damage to the socket?

Certainly there are active/passive basses out there. I know for a fact that a G&L L-2000 can run with no battery because its "active" mode is just a wee preamp which provides a signal boost with no tone shaping other than the treble boost setting - the bass/treble are passive, cut only so work regardless. My Gibson Victory Artist has a passive/active switch which back in the day was punted to the buyer as a safety valve in case the battery fails (and the EQ goes passive but using the same knobs as the active EQ - quite clever apart from the fact that your zero point on active EQ becomes the half way point in passive so you have to remember to crank them up). My Guild B402-A has a passive switch but that is literally a last resort - no EQ controls available. So in summary, it varies from bass to bass. Some do, some don't, some it really is a case of "better than nothing" and some allow you to retain some functionality.

[BigRedX]

My passive Gus bass has a higher output than all my other basses except my active Gus!

BTW are active pickups like EMGs significantly different in design and construction to passive pickups or are they simply standard magnets and coils pickups with some pre-amp circuitry included in the potting compound?

[Norris]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1334777648' post='1621225']
Exactly why I can't be bothered with active basses, but then I'm old school anyway... keep it simple, is my thing.
[/quote]
This ^

[chaypup]

[quote name='LowdownRumble' timestamp='1334776604' post='1621200']
Mine isn't any louder than my old passive bass was. And the change of batteries is pissing me off and I hate that I cant leave it plugged in. Is there such a thing as an active/passive bass? Such as, when the battery dies switch to passive and rock on?
[/quote]

Westone Thunders!

[EdwardHimself]

It all depends really. There are different types of "active". Basses with passive pickups and active EQs I find aren't generally massively louder than a passive bass, but on the other hand active pickups can be really loud. The pickups on my guitar right now are stupidly high output, about twice as loud as the 20 k passive pickup in my other guitar. It also depends on what type of strings you put on there. Heavy strings are usually louder than lighter ones because you can put more force into them. So I think what you will find is that a guitar or bass with low output passive pickups and an active EQ may well be less loud than one with a high output passive.