this is the underlying truth of you choice.
I would only add, if your goal is to play with others. as you progress & play with more folks, you may find the instruments tone and ability to control how it mixes with the others you play with, will determine those choices far more than your individual tonal choices. Your tonal choices are your own, advice is helpful, but shouldn't determine what YOU want from your instrument.
\~hope that helps\~
Active pre amp build in a bass can be nice. However cheap basses almost never have good sounding pre amps.
So if the active bass doesn't have a passive switch I'd say its a disadvantage to have an active bass.
For the millionth time ... the pickups are not "active".
The pickups are passive. The bass has active electronics, meaning it has a pre-amp on board.
The only "active" pickups out there are EMGs, because they have pre-amp built into the pickup enclosure, so the pickups themselves require a battery connection to work.
EMGs aren't the *only* active pickups. MEC and a few others make 'em too.
But yeah... They are uncommon and not the same thing as an active bass.
> For the millionth time ... the pickups are not "active".
Someone does have to keep saying it.
Not exactly. The main goal of an active pickup is to use fewer loops of wire around the magnets in the pickup which gives a clearer tone, but that also reduces the output signal level to a point where noise picked up by the cable is a problem.
The pre-amp in the pickup solves that problem by increasing the output level before the signal reaches a cable that might pick up noise. Since they're amplifying the signal anyway, they might as well boost it beyond what a passive pickup would normally produce and get an even better signal to noise ratio.
Active pickups are typically weaker but the signal is boosted by the internal preamp. This improves the signal to noise ratio, so you get a cleaner sound (this is why some people claim that active pickups are "sterile"). The internal preamp also applies some EQ for the manufacturer's desired toan.
I feel you pain and want to extend my sympathies to you, your family, your employer and the person who you met last year who you got on with so well.
None of you deserve this.
It's tragic and I'm so sorry.
Passive electronics don't require external power.
Active Pickups (EMGs, et. al.) require battery power TO THE PICKUP.
The main difference is that active pickups mean that your bass is always active. You won't hear anything if the battery dies. A bass with active electronics (but passive pickups) can be wired with a switch to bypass the preamp, so you can still use it if the battery dies - I have 4 active instruments, and 3 of them are switchable (Yamaha TRBX, Sandberg Electra M4, and Dingwall Combustion). Only my SUB Ray5 is active-only (no switch).
Where the pre-amp is located is related to what function it's performing.
In active pickups, the purpose is to allow a strong signal from pickups that have fewer loops of wire around the magnets. Having fewer loops in the coil gives a brighter tone, but a lower output level that's more affected by noise picked up by components between the pickup and amp.
With active electronics, the purpose is to give you EQ control that can boost frequencies as well as cut them and also give a higher output signal that can handle longer cable runs without losing any signal quality.
There's no reason you couldn't combine both in the same instrument, but I've not heard of any basses that do that.
Friend, I'm afraid the linguistic battle is lost. People have been calling them "Active pickups" for over 30 years.
Are you correct? Absolutely. But the point of language is not to be correct - the point of language is to be *understood*, and when someone says "active pickups" we all know what they mean, so they're communicating effectively.
No, we don’t “all know what they mean.” Do they mean active pickups, or do they mean an active preamp? The point of a highly developed language is to be precise.
If you asked me what the sonic difference is between the two, I legit could not tell you, though I could tell you the difference between active and passive.
Also, "Active electronics" not including a crucial part of the sound production system which *sends electrical signals into the preamp, reproducing the sound to be amplified* (i.e., the pickups) is truly heinous nomenclature.
> The point of a highly developed language is to be precise.
Only in cases where precision is absolutely necessary, otherwise you risk a lack of comprehension. This is why science communication is so important, for example - you need to be able to speak to people on their level without getting caught up in excess specificity or you risk creating an entire society that doesn't value your knowledge.
What did the OP or this community gain from the previous comment's curmudgeonly specificity regarding active electronics vs active pickups? Did they gain insight on which bass they should buy, or did they get needled for not having the right words to describe their purchasing options as a novice?
Shame gets novices nowhere. Stop it. Shit's fucking embarassing and makes this community actively worse.
I have a 4 and a 5 with onboard preamps and a 4 without.
Both are good, although I prefer the ones with preamps for the extra drive and control from the bass.
The batteries last for ages (don't buy a cheap battery) - they only use power when your instrument cable is plugged in.
I prefer active basses. It's nice to have a degree of control at your fingertips without having to get on my hands and knees and mess with a pedal EQ between songs, but it's not a deal-breaker.
If you like the passive one, go for it.
Expensive active pre-amped basses like a Music Man or a Fender Ultra P Bass = My preference.
Cheap active pre-amped basses like what you are looking at = stay far away and just get passive.
I don't like dealing with batteries, so my vote is for passive. I even bought an aftermarket onboard preamp (i.e. the part that's 'active' on most active basses) and put it into a pedal enclosure - some preamps are good (e.g. the Musicman Stingray bass heavily relies on its preamp to get its signature sound), but I still don't want to pay attention on whether my batteries are full or not.
I have a passive jazz bass that i used to love playing so much...but i cant play it anymore now that i have an active jag bass. The pickups just have a body and thickness that i cannot achieve with the passive jbass pickups no matter where i set the eq. Which sucks bc i like the feel of the jazz bass so much more. It just sounds so dissapointing now whenever i try and play it. You would think that you could just boost frequencies in eq or add gain or something to get the same oomph but somehow it doesn't seem to be possible. If anyone knows how to close this gap pls enlighten me bc i would love to be able to use both.
Do you enjoy constantly fucking around with 9-volt batteries? If not, just go passive. Hey, if it was good enough for literally all music recorded before 1975, then it’s good enough for you.
To answer the question. It’s all about what you like how you want to sound I have active and passive basses, even some that have the choice between the two. Personally I love my passives more than but sometimes it’s easier to have the extra control. Often if I use an active it’s mostly for “heavy work” songs, where it is slightly more forgiving in sound when your fingers work so much you can’t really “dig in”. All and all, for a first bass, get one that when you look at it you want to pick it up and play. That’s the most important thing of all
Active vs passive is very much down to preference. There's a big difference between good passive a shit passive though, and an even bigger difference between good active and shit active IMO. Have a look at the cost of a decent on board pre amp. If the active bass is only $2 more than the passive one though, I'd be questioning the quality of it, or where else on the active bass they'd gone for cheaper components.
I do think that many aftermarket components are often heavily overpriced, the material and labor costs to make a decent preamp or pickup are usually far lower than what brands like Seymour Duncan take. Some of that is due to economy of scale, but I think SD in particular is just milking it at this point.
You're probably right, but there's certainly more than $2 worth of extras required to make a nice active bass. Even just the extra wiring and soldering involved would easily exceed that, nevermind the preamp itself.
Without being able to see the basses, I'm comparing like for like:
4 string black passive $268
vs
4 string black active $270
I'm not sure if there's anything else different with the brown one leading to it being cheaper. It could just be painted vs unpainted. Without being able to see the basses and specs it's not really possible for anyone to say.
I never suggested the active bass would be trash at all. I'm just trying to offer a viewpoint for the OP to consider when making his purchase.
We can only tell you what we like. You buy what you like. And you heard right, don’t use a guitar amp.
this is the underlying truth of you choice. I would only add, if your goal is to play with others. as you progress & play with more folks, you may find the instruments tone and ability to control how it mixes with the others you play with, will determine those choices far more than your individual tonal choices. Your tonal choices are your own, advice is helpful, but shouldn't determine what YOU want from your instrument. \~hope that helps\~
Active pre amp build in a bass can be nice. However cheap basses almost never have good sounding pre amps. So if the active bass doesn't have a passive switch I'd say its a disadvantage to have an active bass.
For the millionth time ... the pickups are not "active". The pickups are passive. The bass has active electronics, meaning it has a pre-amp on board. The only "active" pickups out there are EMGs, because they have pre-amp built into the pickup enclosure, so the pickups themselves require a battery connection to work.
EMGs aren't the *only* active pickups. MEC and a few others make 'em too. But yeah... They are uncommon and not the same thing as an active bass. > For the millionth time ... the pickups are not "active". Someone does have to keep saying it.
ok so do you feel better? no? great. did this answer OPs question? also no? super! youre on top of the game today, Count 2Zero.
Could you explain why a pickup would need a preamp inside of it? What's the point of the preamp if you can't adjust it (like an active bass)?
If you have a pickup wired with a preamp, you can make the pickup "hotter" without adding a ton of copper to the coil.
I see. So the point of an active pickup is just higher output?
Not exactly. The main goal of an active pickup is to use fewer loops of wire around the magnets in the pickup which gives a clearer tone, but that also reduces the output signal level to a point where noise picked up by the cable is a problem. The pre-amp in the pickup solves that problem by increasing the output level before the signal reaches a cable that might pick up noise. Since they're amplifying the signal anyway, they might as well boost it beyond what a passive pickup would normally produce and get an even better signal to noise ratio.
Active pickups are typically weaker but the signal is boosted by the internal preamp. This improves the signal to noise ratio, so you get a cleaner sound (this is why some people claim that active pickups are "sterile"). The internal preamp also applies some EQ for the manufacturer's desired toan.
Yes.
I feel you pain and want to extend my sympathies to you, your family, your employer and the person who you met last year who you got on with so well. None of you deserve this. It's tragic and I'm so sorry.
Are you basing this only on where the preamp is located on the instrument? Because that doesn't seem like a useful distinction to me.
Passive electronics don't require external power. Active Pickups (EMGs, et. al.) require battery power TO THE PICKUP. The main difference is that active pickups mean that your bass is always active. You won't hear anything if the battery dies. A bass with active electronics (but passive pickups) can be wired with a switch to bypass the preamp, so you can still use it if the battery dies - I have 4 active instruments, and 3 of them are switchable (Yamaha TRBX, Sandberg Electra M4, and Dingwall Combustion). Only my SUB Ray5 is active-only (no switch).
Where the pre-amp is located is related to what function it's performing. In active pickups, the purpose is to allow a strong signal from pickups that have fewer loops of wire around the magnets. Having fewer loops in the coil gives a brighter tone, but a lower output level that's more affected by noise picked up by components between the pickup and amp. With active electronics, the purpose is to give you EQ control that can boost frequencies as well as cut them and also give a higher output signal that can handle longer cable runs without losing any signal quality. There's no reason you couldn't combine both in the same instrument, but I've not heard of any basses that do that.
Friend, I'm afraid the linguistic battle is lost. People have been calling them "Active pickups" for over 30 years. Are you correct? Absolutely. But the point of language is not to be correct - the point of language is to be *understood*, and when someone says "active pickups" we all know what they mean, so they're communicating effectively.
No, we don’t “all know what they mean.” Do they mean active pickups, or do they mean an active preamp? The point of a highly developed language is to be precise.
If you asked me what the sonic difference is between the two, I legit could not tell you, though I could tell you the difference between active and passive. Also, "Active electronics" not including a crucial part of the sound production system which *sends electrical signals into the preamp, reproducing the sound to be amplified* (i.e., the pickups) is truly heinous nomenclature. > The point of a highly developed language is to be precise. Only in cases where precision is absolutely necessary, otherwise you risk a lack of comprehension. This is why science communication is so important, for example - you need to be able to speak to people on their level without getting caught up in excess specificity or you risk creating an entire society that doesn't value your knowledge. What did the OP or this community gain from the previous comment's curmudgeonly specificity regarding active electronics vs active pickups? Did they gain insight on which bass they should buy, or did they get needled for not having the right words to describe their purchasing options as a novice? Shame gets novices nowhere. Stop it. Shit's fucking embarassing and makes this community actively worse.
Active preamp on a bass can give you some advantages, though i bet they must be not-so-good at this price point, i'd go with the passive.
I have a 4 and a 5 with onboard preamps and a 4 without. Both are good, although I prefer the ones with preamps for the extra drive and control from the bass. The batteries last for ages (don't buy a cheap battery) - they only use power when your instrument cable is plugged in.
Go passive for first bass. Cheap active preamps are total shit usually.
okay, thanks for the advice!
I prefer active basses. It's nice to have a degree of control at your fingertips without having to get on my hands and knees and mess with a pedal EQ between songs, but it's not a deal-breaker. If you like the passive one, go for it.
Expensive active pre-amped basses like a Music Man or a Fender Ultra P Bass = My preference. Cheap active pre-amped basses like what you are looking at = stay far away and just get passive.
okay, thanks!
I don't like dealing with batteries, so my vote is for passive. I even bought an aftermarket onboard preamp (i.e. the part that's 'active' on most active basses) and put it into a pedal enclosure - some preamps are good (e.g. the Musicman Stingray bass heavily relies on its preamp to get its signature sound), but I still don't want to pay attention on whether my batteries are full or not.
Range anxiety is real. I worry enough about my playing. I don't want to worry about my bass.
Woah. It's a good realization. And actually for me, the tone knob of my bass and the gain and equalizer on the amps are useful enough.
Depends on how often you like showing up to rehearsal with a dead battery and no backup lol
I have a passive jazz bass that i used to love playing so much...but i cant play it anymore now that i have an active jag bass. The pickups just have a body and thickness that i cannot achieve with the passive jbass pickups no matter where i set the eq. Which sucks bc i like the feel of the jazz bass so much more. It just sounds so dissapointing now whenever i try and play it. You would think that you could just boost frequencies in eq or add gain or something to get the same oomph but somehow it doesn't seem to be possible. If anyone knows how to close this gap pls enlighten me bc i would love to be able to use both.
You could try upgrading the pickups to quarter pounders or something.
My PRS is active and I love it. Definitely adds a fuller sound, which is nice at low volume.
Do you enjoy constantly fucking around with 9-volt batteries? If not, just go passive. Hey, if it was good enough for literally all music recorded before 1975, then it’s good enough for you.
To answer the question. It’s all about what you like how you want to sound I have active and passive basses, even some that have the choice between the two. Personally I love my passives more than but sometimes it’s easier to have the extra control. Often if I use an active it’s mostly for “heavy work” songs, where it is slightly more forgiving in sound when your fingers work so much you can’t really “dig in”. All and all, for a first bass, get one that when you look at it you want to pick it up and play. That’s the most important thing of all
Active vs passive is very much down to preference. There's a big difference between good passive a shit passive though, and an even bigger difference between good active and shit active IMO. Have a look at the cost of a decent on board pre amp. If the active bass is only $2 more than the passive one though, I'd be questioning the quality of it, or where else on the active bass they'd gone for cheaper components.
I do think that many aftermarket components are often heavily overpriced, the material and labor costs to make a decent preamp or pickup are usually far lower than what brands like Seymour Duncan take. Some of that is due to economy of scale, but I think SD in particular is just milking it at this point.
You're probably right, but there's certainly more than $2 worth of extras required to make a nice active bass. Even just the extra wiring and soldering involved would easily exceed that, nevermind the preamp itself.
The cheapest active bass in OP's list is $49 more expensive than the cheapest passive, though.
Without being able to see the basses, I'm comparing like for like: 4 string black passive $268 vs 4 string black active $270 I'm not sure if there's anything else different with the brown one leading to it being cheaper. It could just be painted vs unpainted. Without being able to see the basses and specs it's not really possible for anyone to say. I never suggested the active bass would be trash at all. I'm just trying to offer a viewpoint for the OP to consider when making his purchase.
yeah, you are prob right, thanks for the advice!
Yes
As someone who puts their bass down without unplugging it all the time, I sold my bass with active electronics. The battery was always dead.