Active vs passive bass?

[bassred]

I play my active bass through most any amp or PA and it sounds great. I would not be as confident if I didn't have the preamp built-in.

 

It is a Schecter Stiletto Studio 5. Say what you will about the EMG's. I like them a lot. That's the joy of not only listening to others when making my decisions. I go with what feels good in my hands and sounds good to my ears.

[ezstep]

 

I play my active bass through most any amp or PA and it sounds great. I would not be as confident if I didn't have the preamp built-in.

 

 

 

 

I play both active and passive basses through p.a.'s, and I run sound pretty regularly. I am confident with either active or passive. I (or any decent soundman) will get a very good sound with either, with or without a preamp.

[maveric_manic]

I have a Vintage British design great nickel hardware. Passive and simple with (1) P pickup (1) Volume and (1) Tone. Very simple. It is a Road Worn finish which I like. You do not have to worry about scratches and dings. Tone is average only one pickup very noise free. Playability is great for Slap Pop. And my background is Electronics and Guitar Tech and this thread is interesting because if you are plugged into a Pro-Audio EQ you can have both passive or active with a passive Bass. I use a Acoustic Head 6 Band EQ and sweepable notch filter very good setup. EQs (even dbx) are usually noisy because of the +12 dB gain but if you drive an EQ with a good S/N ratio it will be a lot quieter. Nady is pretty quiet and you can defeat the EQ and now you are "passive". Enable the EQ you are "active" and no battery that might run down on you in a middle of a Gig. You could do a A/B switch box and go between "active" and "passive" while playing. You can do this with an "active" Bass and switch between Bass "active" and EQ "active" but be careful of not using to much +dB high end because it will be additive.

[AlexMC]

I forgot to check back in to this thread after going ahead anyway and buying the Vintage V1004.

 

I LOVE IT! Compared to the RBX270, the Vintage:

 

- has thicker, deeper lows; I am hearing more fundamental and fewer overtones

- crisper highs; dialling in more treble gives a wonderful edge to the sound; only at its most extreme setting can I hear more noise coming through the amp

- sounds much better in the higher register; I can play up to the 24th fret with great tone and sustain, whereas the passive RBX loses a lot of its tone above the 12ft fret

- more consistency to each note; I pluck the open E whilst watching the needle on my tuner, and the needle barely flickers. No wavering of the frequency at all; if I do the same thing on the RBX the tuner's needle wobbles slightly for the duration of the note

- better volume balance between the bridge HB and the neck SC and a lovely hollow sounding tone in the mid blend position.

 

The RBX is now a 'spare' and has been untouched since I got the Vintage.

[tommorichards]

Fun. You cant really tell what a bass will be like for you when reading other

peoples opinions. I too like the look, but im saving for one of these:

 

 

Its gonna be a while though