Does this bass have "active electronics?"

[ap]

From the description:

"For electronics,the SR400 bass features the DX series passive bass pickups with the Ibanez EQB3 3 band EQ.

ELECTRONICS

POTS 1B,1V,3EQ
P.C.B. EQB-3
KNOB: BLACK DOME
OUTPUT JACK: SIDE
BATTERY: 9V
CONTROL FUNCTION: 1V,1BL,TRB,BAS,MID "

How much advantage is "active electronics" anyway?

What would be difference in sound and overall quality between this and one of the cheaper Fenders, like Standard Jazz Bass which mail orders for around $350

[Wil Davis]

From your description it looks as if the bass has active electronics. The advantages are that a higher-level signal is output, increasing the sig/noise ratio, and also the signal can be shaped with filters etc. Often (although I'm not sure in the case of the SR400) there will be a by-pass switch so that you can use the pickups in "passive" mode if for instance the battery fails.

Hope this helps -

- Wil

[ap]

Seems like all pickups are passive when you get right down to it. I understand how normal pickups work. I'm just confused as to why they actually make a point of calling them "passive pickups." This implies that there is such a thing as "active pickups." Is there? Is that what true "active electronics" means? I think it's strange that they never say "active electronics" in the description when this is a buzz word when listing a bass's features.

[Queue]

Ibanez does seem to dance around the wording on those specs. Same for my Ergodyne EDB400. Maybe if this thread hangs around long enough, someone with a good answer will chime in.

Queue

[OneLouder]

Yes you can have active pickups in a bass (or a guitar for that matter) and these are a different thing from active electronics.

Basically (as far as i understand it) active pickups have a built in preamp to give you a much higher output from the instrument. They need to be powered by a battery and are LOUD.

Active EQ works on a different premise. On passive tone controls all you are really doing is cutting frequencies. You cant actually boost them although it may sound like you are doing so. Active EQ can cut OR boost frequencies. Dont ask me to be more technical cos im not sure how it all works. In the end it means you have more control. I have a 3 band EQ in my bass that gives me a bass and treble boost/cut and also a sweepable mid that lets me pull out a frequency band in the midrange and boost/cut that.

Obviously different combinations of active/passive pickups/electronics give you different tonal variations. A lot of people find the tone of active pickups a little sterile compared to passives so the passive pickup/active eq combination seems to be getting quite common.

I dont think i would part with my active electronics. Ever. They are way too much fun.

[Scooter B]

ap,

This can be a confusing issue and I have to second Onelouder. You can have active EQ with passive pickups or active pickups. Usually if both are active they will draw from the same power supply/batteries. Two other benefits of active pickups are they are internally shielded so they have the potential to be very low noise if made properly.

Secondly the magnets can use much lower "magnetic strength" than with their passive counterparts wich lets you set your action lower with out the magnets killing sustain by pulling the strings down toward the pickups.

But then again some passive pickups are known for a "warmer sound". Most of the bass guitar from the mid sixties back were all passive everything untill Alembic and a couple specialty custom projects were done. Same with the Mowtown bass sound, Jaco Pasorious....

Some top end manufacture's are offering passive systems designed for a different sound than the actives and they are not necessarily any cheaper.

Probably more than you wanted to know.....

Scooter B

[Opus]

Gidday, I'm the in-house guitar technician for Ibanez in New Zealand, I hope I can answer your questions without being ridiculed by our "expert" members.

How much difference does active make? Well if it's done properly it makes a world of difference, you can get advantages in tonal properties due to more control over frequencies. You also get more output, not necessarily a good thing but as long as you have a high gain input in your amp then sweet! Cheaper active circuitry can be quite noisy but you shouldn't suffer from too much of that with the SR400DX, it's a pretty cool bass man, especially if you're into heavey rock or funk. I play an SR1200 which uses the Vari-mid system, this has a mid sweep and boost as well as the lo-mid-hi stuff.

What's the difference between this and Fenders? Fenders tend to have a mallower tone, I've never actually played any of the cheaper ones (I wouldn't degrade myself like that) but if you're into modern music then stick with the active idea, it doesn't necessarily have to be an Ibanez though. But I've worked with a few different brands in my life and Ibanez make some awesome gear, check out the EDA900 when you get a chance, it's got a magnetic pickup and in-bridge piezo. Wicked!

[Queue]

Opus,
Thanks for shedding some light on the topic. (If you know...)What's the story on my EDB400's pickups? (I bought it used, no specs, and they don't make that model anymore...)

Queue

[seamus]

They're stock Ibanez passive humbuckers.

[OneLouder]

A good way to find out would be to take off the cover plate for the control/pickup cavity and see if there are any batteries in there. If not then everythings passive. If there is a battery see where the wires go... to the controls then its active eq, to the pickups active pickups.

[Queue]

Yes there is a battery, and I think I can now safely say (based on the wording of old specs... and comments here) that what I have is Passive Pickups and Active Electronics...

Queue

[seamus]

Yep

[Opus]

Queue,

They're not just a "standard" pickup, they're Ibanez DXH's! They're a ceramic magnet pickup and designed specifically to work with "luthite body" synthetic basses. They've got a little boost in the mid-range which makes them quite popular with a lot of the metal bands in New Zealand.

And in answer to whoever wrote "stock standard Ibanez pickup", well they don't really have a stock standard pickup for basses. There's roughly 16 or so bass pickups that Ibanez have made for them but they also use Bartolini's on certain models. And there's nearly 30 guitar pickups, not including the 13 or so Dimarzio guitar pickups they use on high end models.