Anna87 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 been wanting to find out the answer to this question for a while now, so i'm hoping you bassists will be able to answer it for me. Whats the difference between an active and a passive bass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Gollihur Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Active has a preamp either within the pickup (like some EMG) or in the control cavity. A passive bass does not, basic mag pickup and the usual controls. 1000 Upright Bass Links, Luthier Directory, Teacher Directory - http://www.gollihurmusic.com/links.cfm [highlight] - Life is too short for bad tone - [/highlight] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottomgottem Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 An active bass has a small onboard pre-amp which shapes the signal before it leaves the bass. The pre-amp is powered by either one or two 9-volt batteries. A passive bass has no powered on-board tone shaping system. Welcome to the LowDown. My whole trick is to keep the tune well out in front. If I play Tchaikovsky, I play his melodies and skip his spiritual struggle. ~Liberace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLroomtempJ Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 An active bass is one that seizes the day everyday. A passive bass is just one that lets life pass him by. jason 2cor5:21 Soli Deo Gloria "it's the beauty of a community. it takes a village to raise a[n] [LLroomtempJ]." -robb My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Ouch, some days I feel active and some days passive ... "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 What's the difference between this and the other thread just below named What's the Difference? {Well... ; } . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Brown Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Sorry to make your post moot, greenboy. But the thread will likely re-appear in some future search, so I edited the title. Yep. I'm the other voice in the head of davebrownbass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Naw, that did the trick. The other problem is not as easily fixed. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Originally posted by greenboy: Naw, that did the trick. The other problem is not as easily fixed. Not easy, but most likely a bit of lithium and some counseling would be in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 An true active pickup has a small internal preamp and is powered. An active bass can have these or have passive pickups going to a preamp in the cavity that is powered. You can also run a passive bass (no power/battery) to a external outboard preamp such as an Aguilar DB924 or Sadowsky before your amp and achieve about the same thing. You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMan99 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Two separate issues... *** Pickups ***Active (least common): smaller magnet so it has less "pull" on the strings, has built-in preamp, requires batteryPassive (most common): bigger magnet, no power required *** Electronics (EQ) ***Can be used with both "active" or "passive" pickups.Can have "boost", "gain" or both in various frequency-ranges, as well as overall volume Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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