is it possible to turn a passive bass to active

[confused]

is it possible to change a passive bass to an active?my bass is passive an when playing gigs,its usually not that loud and clear.the sound is like boom boom boom,if you understand.its not bright or clear like when playing alone.is it the amp or should i use an active bass.tanx

 

[exin]

is it possible to change a passive bass to an active?my bass is passive an when playing gigs,its usually not that loud and clear.the sound is like boom boom boom,if you understand.its not bright or clear like when playing alone.is it the amp or should i use an active bass.tanx

could be your EQ ... could be the acoustics of the room .. very hard to say .. making it active may not solve your problems ... the only reason you should go active is when you want a hotter output or more control over your sound ...

it's possible to change a passive bass to an active one .. it's only a matter of electronics ... that's all ... go read up more about EQing and room acoustics and i think that MAY solve your problem ..

 

[confused]

tanx but what do you mean by making it hotter?how much is it to change the electronics?tanx

 

[Guest]

i tink he means hotter output = higher output..

 

[alka1987]

you can try adjusting your pickup higher, this will make output hotter...

can also eq you amp by cutting the bass and boosting the highs and high mids

 

[reyrey]

it should be you that set the amp wrongly,last time i also dunno how to set and got that boomy sound,like make me headache sial,huahuahua,so try to find a good sound by meddling with the eq yea

 

[CrispyEgg]

i'm not so sure about it all being just the amp and EQing...

what bass do you own?

cuz i've come across certain basses where the tone is *warning, singlish term here* "buang" right from the start - the construction of the bass is such that punch and midrange cannot resonate (bad fretwork->neck->body) and the output and quality of the pickups are wayy to cheap.

an example of a horrible bass @ a gig i've heard would be some dude using the ibanez gio starter bass. i've tried that bass before, it makes a good beginner bass and all, but it picks up wayyy too much treble (fret clicking noises can be heard) and the punch is near dead due to a lack of midrange. furthermore, i noticed that the bassist used a flat EQ.

 

[bassics]

basket, Chris "buang" is my word!! haha.. anyway to ur topic. Yes it is possible to change a passive bass to active.

In a live setting using an active bass will give u control over ur sound while ur playing but u shouldnt rely on it to much. Try to dial a decent tone using the amp provided first. learn about eq'n ur bass and what different stuff on the amp does. A Big fat boomy sound might be cause of ur strings. what strings do u use? are they dead? alot of factors come into play when ur talking abt changin the tone of ur bass. sometimes its a simple as changing strings or changing the way u pick, sometimes u might have to change ur whole bass.

Another thing about live sound in Singapore, most of the time u will get an under powered bass amp. which might explain the very soft bass. Live sound settings and getting ur sound from any amp comes from experience not just changing from passive to active. But i do recommend changing the pickups of your bass if its stock and lousy quality pickups.

 

[Guest]

maebe..it might juz help..if sumone takes a look at his bass..and try to see if the problem actually lies with his bass..

 

[exin]

gotta agree with andrew about the under powered amp ... cones .. once they are pushed ... can start to rattle .. kinda depends .. some cones can't really take it .. from my experience .. usually the max i'd go is halfway up the amp volume ... or a little more .. i may be wrong .. =)

any more .. there'll be noise and my tone starts to get a little distorted .. maybe it's just the amp i'm using .. but happens both on the live amp .. (in church) and my practice amp at home also ..

 

[bassics]

ya that happens cause the cone can't take the low end vibration of the sound waves. A 100 watt amp is nvr a 10 watt amp, max is 70 watts cause any thing above that and ur whole amp will jump. lol

 

[exin]

ya that happens cause the cone can't take the low end vibration of the sound waves. A 100 watt amp is nvr a 10 watt amp, max is 70 watts cause any thing above that and ur whole amp will jump. lol

that's why they invented cabs ... that's the problem with bass frequencies lah ... so always x3 of the power rating of the amp your guitarist is using for a safe measure .. and you roughly will know how much wattage you need for the rig ...

 

[warwickw]

is it possible to change a passive bass to an active?my bass is passive an when playing gigs,its usually not that loud and clear.the sound is like boom boom boom,if you understand.its not bright or clear like when playing alone.is it the amp or should i use an active bass.tanx

An active DI might do the job if output is too soft.

From past experiences, I find that the ' boom boom' sounds is most probably caused by worn out strings. Even low end basses with new strings sound good, and the type of strings also matter too.

Roundwounds give a brighter tone, flat wounds give a more mellow and bassy tone (less defined tone as well).