bass pickups active or passive?

[nepalnt21]

ok we all know there is a group which loves actives in guitars, and a group that hates them. the question i am wondering is which ones do you guys prefer for bass and why? ive never compared either on a bass guitar. what are pros and cons of each? ive heard that actives are more versatile for bass. is this true? any other comments?

 

[saladin]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

I prefer passive, but I like old-school tones. I recently picked up a MIM P-Bass from another forum member and it already had a Dimarzio Model P replacement and it sounds wonderful. I guess it depends on the tone you are going for. I also like the sound of our bass player's Carvin 5-string and it's active, but there's a certain frequency response, especially on a PBass with the tone rolled down a little that just does it for me!

 

[John Wymore]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

I also prefer a passive tone for 4-String bass but when moving to 5 or 6 strings I think it's more important to have an active pre-amp .... but not necessarily active pickups. I have used SD pre-amps with passive pickups with good results on many occasions.

 

[clint_41]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

active. its just more versitile.

 

[pablohg]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

i was looking for emgs, but when i went to the store they were out of stock, so that night after thinking all my chanceas, i realized that sd's lines has a lot more to give, and that they will be worth the chance, and got the dimebucker and the 59, great combo

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

bump.... more opinions?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

I too prefer old school tones.

Our bassplayer plays a 5 string with EMG's (active pickups) and gets a great modern tone.

But the other day another bass player sat in with us and brought along his old Fender P-Bass with the stock Fender pickup. As soon as we started playing it felt totally familiar to me and his tones reminded me of James Jamerson (the Motown guy) or Duck Dunn (the Stax/Booker T guy).

I have to say that as much as I respect the modern/active EMG type tone, I feel more comfortable with a player who uses a stock P-Bass or Jazz Bass...

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

I love the sound of actives on 5's. 6's and fretless basses, but my bass player gets ripping tones when he plays either his P-Bass or my Ric.

 

[Loserchief]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

passive with active eq are imo the most versetaille combo for bass. Actives also sound cool but they can lack some character you only get from passives.

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

passive with active eq are imo the most versetaille combo for bass.

how does an active eq work? can it be done with any guitar?

 

[John Wymore]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

Yes, as long as you have a place to put the circuit board and the battery.

 

[Loserchief]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

Yes, as long as you have a place to put the circuit board and the battery.

yep,room is the most important factor for active EQs. They work like any EQ in pedal-form,just built into the instrument itself. You can actively cut and boost frequencies what can give you some very cool tonesl.

 

[Pluck-U]

Re: bass pickups active or passive?

Passive..i'd rather let the amp and all the controls of it manipulate my sounds. Besides i dont want some 50 cent, 9 volt battery compromising my sound if it happens to fail,,Ok i'm a cheap luzy sob ..But the amp works fine for me. Hell they do anything but wash the dishes these days