m1 active or passive with para...does it matter?

[brettryantalley]

hey guys...i just bought a taylor 415 rare jumbo acoustic (beautiful) which i love and i'm looking for a way to amplify. I've decided to go with the para di and a baggs m1 to match it, and i've done a lot of reading and i know i dont NEED an active m1 with the baggs, but will it sound better? will passive sound better with the para? or does it not matter whatsoever? thanks guys!

[Terry Allan Hall]

Passive/PADI will give you better options for shaping the sound and controlling feedback!

[Bernie P.]

I've found with active elecs they tend to take away the organic tone qualities.They have their place but I prefer passive in most cases.

[sdelsolray]

The only difference between the active and passive M-1 is a small preamp is builit into the active, adding a small amount of gain to the M-1's signal before it leaves the guitar. The PADI has adjustable gain and it will be able to handle that slightly "hotter" signal from the active M-1. Assuming the M-1 active preamp is fairly colorless, there should be no impact on tone whatsoever, provided you do proper gain staging. The eq control on the PADI will adjust the tone in either situation. If the preamp in the M-1 is cheesy, that could effect things.

[sdelsolray]

 

I've found with active elecs they tend to take away the organic tone qualities.They have their place but I prefer passive in most cases.

 

 

That's nonsense. All pickups need preamplification and thus become "active", eventually. What are "organic tone qualities"? I need to learn something new today.

[Bernie P.]

I have a Sans Amp Bass driver.I've used it with two bass's and an acoustic Washburn.No matter what i do with the controls most all the natural, "woody" character of the tone goes away.There are times I like using it sometimes as it adds some warmth and makes my solid state Ampeg BA 115 sound more like my old Earth tube amp.