Anybody use an SMB-4a passive?

[Gibson 1964]

What did you think?

I got a steal of a deal on a carvin neckthrough husk that had a musicman route in the bridge. For personal reasons I avoid active electronics. They tend to die at the most awkward moments in my experience. I was thinking that in the bridge and a Wilde Jazz bass pickup in the neck. Right now I am trying to get back into bass playing a bit. I mostly play hard rock, old school punk and hardcore, and dabble in some other genres as well.

What was your experience if you used it that way?

Currently my bass rig is rack. A TB RAXX preamp by Peavey, and a classic 120 Tube power amp into a couple Thiele cabinets with EVM 12Ls.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Anybody use an SMB-4a passive?

Yes, my sunburst Stingray has a SMB-4a in passive mode. I plan to use one of the pot positions for a rotary but it turns out I have stocked the wrong type of rotaries.

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: Anybody use an SMB-4a passive?

Yes, my sunburst Stingray has a SMB-4a in passive mode. I plan to use one of the pot positions for a rotary but it turns out I have stocked the wrong type of rotaries.

What are your thoughts on it? Does it have enough output and growl on its own? Will it hold it's own with the Wilde Jazz neck pickup?

 

[uOpt]

Re: Anybody use an SMB-4a passive?

What are your thoughts on it? Does it have enough output and growl on its own? Will it hold it's own with the Wilde Jazz neck pickup?

SMB-4a is good pickups. I like them better than the parallel MM nonsense.

But if you want to mix with a second pickup then you need to take into account that doing that without individual preamps for the two pickups then their electrical properties change as you mix them. In a Jazz bass that's what people want. With a Stringray I dunno.

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: Anybody use an SMB-4a passive?

SMB-4a is good pickups. I like them better than the parallel MM nonsense.

But if you want to mix with a second pickup then you need to take into account that doing that without individual preamps for the two pickups then their electrical properties change as you mix them. In a Jazz bass that's what people want. With a Stringray I dunno.

Well this is a Carvin husk. It has 6 Pot holes so I was thinking a 3 way switch. (I theoretically found one that fits a 3/8in hole) I was going to add in a blend pot for middle position like the wiring for my rickenbacker guitar. (To allow for variable combined pickup sound.) Personally I would have chosen a musicman bridge and no neck pickup and 2 knobs, but this was already routed and for a price I couldn't pass up.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Anybody use an SMB-4a passive?

ive used the mm pup passive a few times. i wire it to a series/split/parallel switch and there are lots of great tones to be had. the series option has a ton of output and is fat fat fat

 

[polluxmdq]

Re: Anybody use an SMB-4a passive?

I have a SMB-4A and a SMB-4D on my warwick $$ (4A on the neck, and 4D on the bridge)
they are both killer pickups, but given the styles you play, I'd rather go with a SMD-4D as it has a more agressive sound and cuts out better through heavy distorted guitars.

The 3-way switch is a must as you get 3 very different tones (series is huge, split is great for slapping and more technical playing, like Jazz, and parallel gives a tighter sound).

I also replaced the stock MEC 2-Band preamp for a STC-3P, and it really brings out the very best of the bass. it's transparent in flat settings, and allows to craft your tone really well (I wasn't a fan of active stuff before, but I would install it again on any bass I'll have). It's been in there for over a year, and I didn't even had to replace the battery

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Anybody use an SMB-4a passive?

I also replaced the stock MEC 2-Band preamp for a STC-3P, and it really brings out the very best of the bass. it's transparent in flat settings, and allows to craft your tone really well (I wasn't a fan of active stuff before, but I would install it again on any bass I'll have). It's been in there for over a year, and I didn't even had to replace the battery

I have the SMB-4a in a short-scale Jackson prototype bass, along with the STC-3M preamp (very similar to the STC-3p, but with no blend control). When the EQ controls are in the center detent positions (unity gain), it's essentially the same as if the bass were totally passive.

For personal reasons I avoid active electronics. They tend to die at the most awkward moments in my experience.

When we were developing these preamps, we were aware that a lot of bass players shared your concerns. "What if my battery dies during my one solo the whole night?" (That's why so many bass preamps offer an active-passive switch). The way we addressed it was by offering a preamp with very low current draw that can run for 500 continuous hours on a single 9 volt. And when your battery starts to go dead, you don't have to worry about the bass shutting down in the middle of your solo. You'll get plenty of warning. When the bass starts to sound "farty" and distorted, it's time to change the battery, but you can still play "farty" and distorted for around 50 hours before it dies completely. That's plenty of time to pop in another 9 volt.