Passive vs. Active Bass Recording

J

jndietz

The Way It Moves
Does an active bass sound better recorded than a passive bass?

Guy in my band is using a passive bass, and running the thing direct into the Firepod sounds like garbage.
 
A passive bass needs a DI with a very high input impedance. Plugging in to a standard line level input rarely gives good results.

--Ethan
 
If my bass has a battery in it then it is active, correct?

so if my bass amp has a passive input and an active input I should use the active one ,correct?

sorry to hijack
 
Like Ethan said, you need a DI box. An active one will be best because it will have high enough impedance.

It has nothing to do with active vs. passive. It's more about quality vs. crap and having the right tools for the job.

First thing to check: How old are the strings? Two year old strings are going to sound lifeless.

Active basses are more forgiving about what you plug them in to, but passive basses can sound great as well. A Fender P or J-bass are great sounding passive basses. (assuming the classic version of each)

stupidfatnugly: Yes, if it has a battery, it's active. The main difference between the active and passive inputs on your amp is gain. Passive pickups are quieter, so they need more gain to get the volume up. Active pickups don't need as much. Just use whichever one sounds better to you.
 
although the DI box is a good option, another is running your passive bass through a tube preamp. Not only will you have the necessary gain, but the added warmth and fatness of the tone is incredible. I own several basses, all of them passive, and would recommend trying this. You can find decent middle of the road preamps for about $200.00. It is well worth the investment and I will not record without one.
 
Firepods have "instrument inputs" and "line inputs." Wouldn't the bass into the "instrument in" be fine, passive or otherwise? That's what I do, anyway, and it seems fine....
 
andyhix said:
Firepods have "instrument inputs" and "line inputs." Wouldn't the bass into the "instrument in" be fine, passive or otherwise? That's what I do, anyway, and it seems fine....
Click to expand...
YOu are correct. If the bass still sounds like crap, it's the bass, strings, etc... The pickups being passive isn't the problem.
 
Johnny Rojo said:
although the DI box is a good option, another is running your passive bass through a tube preamp. Not only will you have the necessary gain, but the added warmth and fatness of the tone is incredible. I own several basses, all of them passive, and would recommend trying this. You can find decent middle of the road preamps for about $200.00. It is well worth the investment and I will not record without one.
Click to expand...
If the preamp only has a line input, you still have the same impedance problem...
 
Yeah, I ran the bass into the firepod's instrument preamps and it still sounds pretty janky. The strings are new.

I think its a combination of my bassist and the bass :rolleyes: ...

Thanks guys.
 
Those things sound pretty good. However, they do have a 'vintage' sound. It's kind of dark and growly. If you are looking for a bright 'piano string'-type sound, that's the wrong bass.

I've recorded a bunch of these direct, I like them for the sound they make.
 
jndietz said:
Does an active bass sound better recorded than a passive bass?

Guy in my band is using a passive bass, and running the thing direct into the Firepod sounds like garbage.
Click to expand...

My Gibson Ripper is a passive bass and it sounds great when I record direct through a simple, clean DI. It's extraordinarily versatile, too. I especially like the sound of the single coil pickups, the four way selector switch and the fact that it has both a standard LPF tone control and a midrange cut tone control that can cut out the "bite" when needed to get a deeper, bassier more "acoustic" tone.

Cheers,

Otto
 
Farview said:
Those things sound pretty good. However, they do have a 'vintage' sound. It's kind of dark and growly. If you are looking for a bright 'piano string'-type sound, that's the wrong bass.

I've recorded a bunch of these direct, I like them for the sound they make.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was always dark sounding, very mellow. I was trying to achieve that piano string type of sound. At least now I know the problem. I'll work with it :)

Thanks guys :)
 
I have a passive stingray that seems to be quite hot when I compare it to my active Sterling. Are all passive basses created equal?
 
Just to clarify the battery is active statement,

While nearly always true, it is not always the case, The Ibanez BTB has batteries but this is for the active cut/boost EQ section, the output of the base is passive.

Yes, to get a good sound for base, use a DI or use a sound card with an instrument input.

Another approach is use a small (good sounding) bass amp and mic it up. St it up in another room if need be, it does not have to be loud just sound good.

Cheers

Alan.
 
For years I achieved a good recorded sound running my passive bass into a Yamaha FX500 multi FX unit & using it's EQ & gain section.
These days I use the Behri BDI21 which is really quite good,
I often do a split & mic it too so I can blend.
Passive can very easily sound superb & if recorded dry you can tweak to your heart's content.
 
I've recorded and played both passive and active basses. Neither have posed any problems. The basses themselves are quite different in character, so, of course, they sound different . . . and it's a matter of picking the one that suits the material the best, but both do the job just fine.
 
witzendoz said:
Just to clarify the battery is active statement,

While nearly always true, it is not always the case, The Ibanez BTB has batteries but this is for the active cut/boost EQ section, the output of the base is passive.
Click to expand...
If the signal from the pickup goes through active ciruitry, it's an active bass. The EQ circuitry buffers the signal from the pickups so the impedance of the input of the next stage doesn't matter.

You have an active bass.
 
lomky said:
I have a passive stingray that seems to be quite hot when I compare it to my active Sterling. Are all passive basses created equal?
Click to expand...
No. An active bass doesn't necessarily mean the output will be hotter than any passive bass. It depends on the design of each.
 
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