On board active electrics...going full circle.

[NancyJohnson]

Well, it's started.  This inevitable urge to simply go back to passive basses.

 

I suppose getting handy with the soldering iron over the last few months on other basses, I've decided to start putting the basses that have had retro-fitted active electrons installed, back to passive.  I'm just sick of batteries, and the disparity from bass to bass.  Obviously the Spector is the only one that came with the preamp installed as stock, so that will be unaltered.

 

Bliss.

[HeadlessBassist]

I know what you mean. I've been out playing my Status basses, GB Spitfire and even my regular American Elite Jazz regularly on jobs for a few weeks, and the other day I sat down and got my Fender American Original Jazz out for the first time in a while. There's a simplicity and naturalness to the tone of a really good passive bass that's both refreshing and hard to beat. Yes, sometimes we need some active preamp shove, but that pure simplicity of a good passive bass is so satisfying.

 

Interestingly enough, my new walnut/graphite Jazz build is going to start out passive with the Fender Pure Vintage 66 pickups and the initial plan is to see how I like it passive. There is the possibility of a John East Jazz preamp lurking in my mind, though...

[BigRedX]

IMO most on board electronic don't offer anything that couldn't be done better, and more electrically efficiently elsewhere in the signal chain.

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

IMO most on board electronic don't offer anything that couldn't be done better, and more electrically efficiently elsewhere in the signal chain.

Buffer?

[BigRedX]

IME buffers are only useful if you have a very long lead to your amp, and nowadays most people in this situation will be using a wireless system which essentially acts as a buffer.

[Skybone]

Went through something similar a while ago. Had a very nice StingRay at the time, but just couldn't find a sound I liked from it, so sold it and bought an SB1000 that came up in the local music emporium (both it and the Ray had been "dream" basses since the 80's), fabulous bass to play, but again, just couldn't find "my" sound out of it no matter what I tried.

 

Went back to said music emporium, and simply sat down and tried a load of basses (thankfully, the shop had an excellent selection of basses), in order to try and find one that not only felt and played well, but sounded great too. After a couple of hours of trying stuff, I walked out with a passive Mexican Jazz (which had US made pickups). It was just head and shoulders above anything else I tried. Only sold it to get my first 4003 (THE dream bass).

 

The only active I've had since then was a G&L L2000 Tribute, again, looked and played great, but just couldn't get a sound I liked from it.

 

Bizarrely, the only active bass that ever "hit the spot" sound wise was an old Thunder 1A.

 

Though currently tempted by the Ibanez BTB that @fleabag has in the marketplace.

Edited 9 hours ago by Skybone

[NancyJohnson]

37 minutes ago, Skybone said:

Went through something similar a while ago. Had a very nice StingRay at the time, but just couldn't find a sound I liked from it, so sold it and bought an SB1000 that came up in the local music emporium (both it and the Ray had been "dream" basses since the 80's), fabulous bass to play, but again, just couldn't find "my" sound out of it no matter what I tried.

 

Went back to said music emporium, and simply sat down and tried a load of basses (thankfully, the shop had an excellent selection of basses), in order to try and find one that not only felt and played well, but sounded great too. After a couple of hours of trying stuff, I walked out with a passive Mexican Jazz (which had US made pickups). It was just head and shoulders above anything else I tried. Only sold it to get my first 4003 (THE dream bass).

 

The only active I've had since then was a G&L L2000 Tribute, again, looked and played great, but just couldn't get a sound I liked from it.

 

Bizarrely, the only active bass that ever "hit the spot" sound wise was an old Thunder 1A.

 

Though currently tempted by the Ibanez BTB that @fleabag has in the marketplace.

 

I had a lovely Bongo 5HH and likewise, could never dial it in.  I enquired here about whether there was any way to just run it passive as it was uncontrollable; you'd start a rehearsal/gig with a nice tone, then you'd slowly notch up and up and up and a hour later it would just sound like mush.  

 

At the time, could never really determine whether the bass had passive pickups/active circuit or whether the pickups were active themselves and there was an additional active circuit.  I gather from previous enquiries it's the latter, so in hindsight it would have meant pulling all the guts.  There still doesn't seem to be any direct drop in replacement pickups for these, either.  Looking at the board, there's nothing on there to turn down the output on the board itself.

 

 

 

[miles'tone]

11 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

I had a lovely Bongo 5HH and likewise, could never dial it in.  I enquired here about whether there was any way to just run it passive as it was uncontrollable; you'd start a rehearsal/gig with a nice tone, then you'd slowly notch up and up and up and a hour later it would just sound like mush.  

 

At the time, could never really determine whether the bass had passive pickups/active circuit or whether the pickups were active themselves and there was an additional active circuit.  I gather from previous enquiries it's the latter, so in hindsight it would have meant pulling all the guts.  There still doesn't seem to be any direct drop in replacement pickups for these, either.  Looking at the board, there's nothing on there to turn down the output on the board itself.

 

 

 

The volume knob?

[stewblack]

I have a few active basses and they all behave so differently from one another. One is really quite mellow and I like it, another is so powerful it distorts on anything approaching full volume. 

And I never know if the battery is going to last or not. 

I feel your pain.

[neepheid]

Complexity, solved.

 

[NancyJohnson]

2 hours ago, miles'tone said:

The volume knob?

 

Don't be silly now, eh? 

 

😁

[neepheid]

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

I had a lovely Bongo 5HH and likewise, could never dial it in.  I enquired here about whether there was any way to just run it passive as it was uncontrollable; you'd start a rehearsal/gig with a nice tone, then you'd slowly notch up and up and up and a hour later it would just sound like mush.  

 

 

So, pardon my ignorance, but if you started with a nice tone, why did you eff around with it?

[NancyJohnson]

4 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

So, pardon my ignorance, but if you started with a nice tone, why did you eff around with it?

 

It just happened quite naturally.  We'd be in a room and would just tweak things as our ears went numb as things got louder.  There was an inevitability that we'd all be fighting for our frequency.

[HeadlessBassist]

5 minutes ago, neepheid said:

So, pardon my ignorance, but if you started with a nice tone, why did you eff around with it?

 

Agreed. I always set my sound/eq before I play and leave it alone. In fact, I usually use exactly the same eq settings most of the time.

[HeadlessBassist]

5 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

It just happened quite naturally.  We'd be in a room and would just tweak things as our ears went numb as things got louder.  There was an inevitability that we'd all be fighting for our frequency.

 

Ah, I see. Yes, that can often happen. I just refuse to increase volume just so I can hear myself. Responsible [and professional] players listen for the balance. 

 

I played at a charity gig on Friday which had a guitardist who insisted on playing ridiculously loud. The rest of us just played more gently and then he eventually got the message when he couldn't hear us over his own row!

Edited 5 hours ago by HeadlessBassist

[miles'tone]

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

Don't be silly now, eh? 

 

😁

 

[crazycloud]

On 25/10/2025 at 23:48, NancyJohnson said:

This inevitable urge to simply go back to passive basses.

Inevitable? I've found no such desire ever. Well since I got my first active bass in 1983.

 

7 hours ago, BigRedX said:

IME buffers are only useful if you have a very long lead to your amp, and nowadays most people in this situation will be using a wireless system which essentially acts as a buffer.

But then you have a different battery powered device in the signal chain that can fail especially as most are rechargeable so you can't just quickly change out the battery. Oh, the horror, oh the terror...

 

On 25/10/2025 at 23:48, NancyJohnson said:

and the disparity from bass to bass

All my basses sound different, that's sort of the point.