Ty for this clear explanation, I felt like I was getting contradictory information from same sources before. My biggest takeaway is the passive system being in a relationship with everything that can change the sound. The amp interaction is greater in a passive system, whereas the active system isn't effected as deeply by changing amp, the sound is more the sound as it comes out the bass. Ty!
Wow... Thank you for this! I've been playing guitar for 24 years, really only endeavoring to understand the technical aspects within the last 5, but I picked up my first bass at a pawn shop last week and when I opened it up I realized that while the general idea was the same, the specifics were very different. There might be 5 bass troubleshooting videos on YT, and 4 of them begin and end with "Replace the battery". Thanks... I'm still not getting any sound, so I guess... get a new bass would be their recommendation? Anyway, I really appreciate the education given here, and I'm hoping I can apply it when I try to fix this newfangled contraption that the kids nowadays call an active electric bass.
Thank you! They're not necessarily for the same purposes - DIs and preamps. If you need to have a balanced signal, a DI will give you that. It's also makes your signal low impedance, but if you're playing through a preamp, onboard or otherwise, you've already got that. Passive vs active is a subjective choice for preamps if you're already active. Thanks for watching!
What if any is the diff in output or tone between a) a passive bass and b) an active bass with EQs at neutral? I have an Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling bass. It's active. Is there a way to make it passive in case battery dies? It has no output if you take the battery out.
Most preamps work at unity gain when not boosting or cutting, so the output level likely won't change. Some preamps are an exception. The main difference you'll hear is the lack of greater capacitance (ie, you'll hear more treble and a higher resonant frequency from the pickups) when the preamp is engaged, since the first active stage is coming before many feet of cable instead of happening at an amp input. You can bypass preamps to have a true passive signal, but there's not much of a reason to. If you can get used to needing to change the oil in your car every few months, changing the battery once to twice a year at the most if you don't leave your cable plugged in shouldn't be a major issue, and the battery will slowly die giving you potentially weeks of notice before it poops out. You'll hear that as distortion and weaker output that gradually gets worse.
@@mattfoley6082 a number of reasons, mostly consumer interest at this point as many folks prefer (or think they might) passive outputs with higher impedance and greater capacitance, at least part time. And active/passive does often provide a best of both worlds scenario if pickups weren't specifically engineered to be mated to specific preamps, as they are in StingRays, MTDs, Wals, Alembics and others.
I don’t understand what you mean by “an active buffer freezes your signal.” Do you mean that the amp treble and bass controls won’t work in that case? They doesn’t seem correct
No, what I mean is that an active stage in your signal chain, before your amp, isolates your pickups' signals/tonality and doesn't allow things past that point to change their response. So preserves would be a better word than freezes!
@@CombinatorMusicOhhhhh that makes sense! Thanks. It’s hard to find info on this. I spent a lot of time making a passive->active diagram, but idk if I did it right. Do you think could take a look to see if it seems right?
The easiest way is to see if there's a power wire running to the pickup. There should be at least one hot and one ground/shield - a 3rd wire, sometimes red, but any wire traceable back to the battery is a giveaway. You can't always tell actives from the outside or by listening.
Thank you for this informative video.
Love from India ❤️
Best explanation of active/passive systems ever.
Agreed
Wow sir you just gave me a brilliant lesson on active and passive pick ups system
Thank you, glad it helped!
Great information Sean. It helped me have a better understanding of passive vs active.
Glad to hear it, K!
Ty for this clear explanation, I felt like I was getting contradictory information from same sources before. My biggest takeaway is the passive system being in a relationship with everything that can change the sound. The amp interaction is greater in a passive system, whereas the active system isn't effected as deeply by changing amp, the sound is more the sound as it comes out the bass.
Ty!
That all sounds right to me, and you're very welcome!
Great overview solid informaton.
Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it!
@@CombinatorMusic Good stuff brother. I actually learned a lot about impedance which I had some lingering questions which you answered!
Well said,Sir.
Good stuff!
Wow... Thank you for this! I've been playing guitar for 24 years, really only endeavoring to understand the technical aspects within the last 5, but I picked up my first bass at a pawn shop last week and when I opened it up I realized that while the general idea was the same, the specifics were very different. There might be 5 bass troubleshooting videos on YT, and 4 of them begin and end with "Replace the battery". Thanks... I'm still not getting any sound, so I guess... get a new bass would be their recommendation? Anyway, I really appreciate the education given here, and I'm hoping I can apply it when I try to fix this newfangled contraption that the kids nowadays call an active electric bass.
You're very welcome! No one knows without being taught. Try taking the bass to a repair person that will help you understand what is happening!
Great Video! A question, so if i have active preamp, do i need to use a DI box? and should it be an active or passive DI box? or does that matter?
Thank you! They're not necessarily for the same purposes - DIs and preamps. If you need to have a balanced signal, a DI will give you that. It's also makes your signal low impedance, but if you're playing through a preamp, onboard or otherwise, you've already got that. Passive vs active is a subjective choice for preamps if you're already active. Thanks for watching!
What if any is the diff in output or tone between a) a passive bass and b) an active bass with EQs at neutral?
I have an Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling bass. It's active. Is there a way to make it passive in case battery dies? It has no output if you take the battery out.
Most preamps work at unity gain when not boosting or cutting, so the output level likely won't change. Some preamps are an exception. The main difference you'll hear is the lack of greater capacitance (ie, you'll hear more treble and a higher resonant frequency from the pickups) when the preamp is engaged, since the first active stage is coming before many feet of cable instead of happening at an amp input. You can bypass preamps to have a true passive signal, but there's not much of a reason to. If you can get used to needing to change the oil in your car every few months, changing the battery once to twice a year at the most if you don't leave your cable plugged in shouldn't be a major issue, and the battery will slowly die giving you potentially weeks of notice before it poops out. You'll hear that as distortion and weaker output that gradually gets worse.
@@CombinatorMusic So why do some basses have an active/passive switch?
@@mattfoley6082 a number of reasons, mostly consumer interest at this point as many folks prefer (or think they might) passive outputs with higher impedance and greater capacitance, at least part time. And active/passive does often provide a best of both worlds scenario if pickups weren't specifically engineered to be mated to specific preamps, as they are in StingRays, MTDs, Wals, Alembics and others.
I don’t understand what you mean by “an active buffer freezes your signal.” Do you mean that the amp treble and bass controls won’t work in that case? They doesn’t seem correct
No, what I mean is that an active stage in your signal chain, before your amp, isolates your pickups' signals/tonality and doesn't allow things past that point to change their response. So preserves would be a better word than freezes!
@@CombinatorMusicOhhhhh that makes sense! Thanks. It’s hard to find info on this. I spent a lot of time making a passive->active diagram, but idk if I did it right. Do you think could take a look to see if it seems right?
How can you tell the difference from active and passive bass pick ups
The easiest way is to see if there's a power wire running to the pickup. There should be at least one hot and one ground/shield - a 3rd wire, sometimes red, but any wire traceable back to the battery is a giveaway. You can't always tell actives from the outside or by listening.
@@CombinatorMusic thanks a million, you are a amazing teacher.im so glad i ran across your channel