I don't have any experience with active basses. I think I only played a couple of active basses when I was buying my bass the last year.
There are active and passive pick ups and there also are active or passive electronics in the bass (with or without pre-amp).
I guess that there is a difference between active and passive picks because there is a difference, for example, between single coil and humbucker pick ups but could a passive bass sound like an active bass by using an external pre-amp (or by adjusting the eq in the amplifier) or really the electronics in the bass makes the difference?
Thanks!
could a passive bass sound like an active bass by using an external pre-amp (
First define what you mean by "sound like an active bass." Hotter output? Flatter sound? Modern/Hi-Fi? Less rolloff of highs and lows?
The outboard preamp will buffer the signal to low impedance, and may or may not boost the signal and offer some EQing ability, but the passive pickup "sound" is still what you're starting with.
Keep in mind that many active basses (Stingrays, for example) use PASSIVE PICKUPS (albeit with very low impedance) into active circuitry, so it's similar to using a passive bass into an outboard preamp. Others, like some of the EMGs, have actual ACTIVE PICKUPS with the preamp built in ... and are then run through passive circuitry for tone shaping!
Also, some active systems are designed to sound very much like classic passive tones, just with more headroom. And some passive pickups can produce very high output like an active preamp.
So, what are you really trying to achieve?
Here's an example I found with a nice Sadowsky preamp and a passive bass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mY3DhOsBHI
Is that what you're going for?
Thanks for the answer and the video, it is very cool!
Really it was a general question. I was reading on active and passive basses these days and there are many different opinions. I got the doubt while reading so I'd want to comment here.
There are the four possible combinations with pick ups and pro-amps (active and passive). As I said it could be a difference between active and passive pick ups in basses, in fact there is a difference between active and passive pick ups in guitars. The "technology" is different so the sound, obviously, can be different as well.
Now, when the pick ups are passives, I think the difference is just the cable: you can put the pre-amp onboard or outboard and I guess you can achieve more or less the same sound. I think the video could confirm this hypothesis.
