Passive vs Active Bass Pickups Shoot Out & Overview | Better Music

Ever wondered which one you should choose? Why active? Why passive? Today, Alec and Noof team up to give you an in depth explanation of the difference between these two pickup variations.

[@tonyweekes7276]

will someone let me know when they get to the point

[@BS-te3mn]

This was about Active vs Passive BASSES Not Active vs Passive "PICKUPS" . Both these basses have Passive pickups but One has an Active Preamp.

[@jarednoll7291]

THANK YOU

[@SeverinoSE]

And an other thing is that the pickups on the active bass are hum-cancelling and not true single coil like on the passive bass. This was not mentioned as far as I know. But I found it good overall. They talked about all the details.

[@pstrokeslibsarctic]

Active pickups mean it has active circuit (basically preamp) within or wired to the pickups, so they are basically the same thing

[@Denver077804]

@@pstrokeslibsarctic active pickups typically have far fewer windings, which results in a higher resonant peak - that translates to more trebles and tighter lows. It's not the same as a typical passive pickup with attached preamp.

[@nicolashrv]

Just a suggestion: when you compare two sounds, DONT TALK 3 HOURS IN BETWEEN and then play a totally different tune.......play two damn scales or licks one after the other........

[@Calvert1212]

omfg PLAY THE DAMN THINGS!

[@ParthaSreenivas]

thank you guys! it was truly enlightening, I have a passive bass and planning to get changed to active, hence. . . the mystery about the hum is solved, hehe

[@michaelmenkes8085]

These guys sure love hearing themselves talk. Let the basses talk!

[@CameronOnTheBass]

Thanks for doing consistent bass comparison videos, and for being informative. This is great for people looking to upgrade to an active bass, or just buying a bass, for those of you who didn't figure out the obvious.

[@bettermusic]

+Maestro Thanks! Stay tuned for more!

[@soeffingwhat]

I've been a Bassist for over 20 years and I prefer to keep to passive. There are some great passive Pickups you can get to boost the output of a passive bass too. I'm thinking of purchasing either Bartolini or Seymour Duncan for mine. Do you have any Vids on that subject (Pickup comparison)?

[@soeffingwhat]

Just one other question, to prolong Battery life in an active you recommend unplugging your Bass. Could you not just switch it to passive and leave it plugged in? Doesn't the passive setting bypass the Battery altogether?

[@CameronOnTheBass]

+soeffingwhat yeah it'll bypass the battery. It's counter productive in my opinion, if people want a passive bass, just buy a fender American standard (or a fender in general) if they want active, buy a music man stingray. If I was to buy the American deluxe, I would plan on using the active pre amp exclusively, but I don't like the idea of a battery to power my instrument.

[@mbvglider]

Actually, no, you have to unplug it even if there's a bypass, unless you have a bypass that actually takes the battery out (which would be very unusual). There's always small current drain whenever anything is plugged in.

[@murrayneish4695]

Hi Guys, Thanks for the video. I think it would have been helpful for Alec to play the Active Bass in passive mode first to show the similarities between the two

[@reyamusiic]

Great video!

[@HarleyMace]

Where is the actual comparison we can hear? Was waiting the whole time for one guy to play and then the other play something similar and trade off :/

[@larryrivers6161]

Waaay tooooo muuuuuccch taaaaalkkkkking...

[@billytrance6893]

Great video and very informative. I play a passive Fender Jazz bass (4-string, American Professional I) into an Ampeg Rocket RB-115 with an Ampeg 115 (w/o horn). My tone, I keep my midrange and treble on 1 or .5 with the Ultra buttons always engaged. Rarely do I go above 2. So, I am concerned that if I went with a passive that there would be “too much” treble given the Ampeg’s are usually high on the midrange and treble to begin with. Any thoughts?

[@keeprocking3620]

Did they play once throughout the video?

[@ChadHargis]

I always hate to hear someone say "active pickups" when they mean "passive pickups with a preamp" (aka "active bass"). Both of these basses (which I have owned) have passive pickups. The American Deluxe has humcanceling pickups and a VERY noisy preamp (which is why I had to get rid of mine). The American Standard has passive single coils (which I replaced with Nordstrand humcanceling in mine). The other thing (from reading the comments) is people who argue which is better...active or passive....and then you ask them, "What are you plugging your bass in to?". If you're plugging into an amp with a variety of knobs (bass, treble, mid, etc) then you're amp has a preamp...basically "activating" your tone there. So whether you are active at the output jack of the bass or not, you're active when you hit the amplification stage. Having a preamp onboard allows you to EQ on the fly without having to walk to your amp, or for those of us who go direct, we can EQ without having to bend over and adjust at the pedalboard. It also lets you switch between basses on a gig and leave your amp alone. Tweak each bass separately using the onboard preamp.

[@yomommaiscalling]

Thanks, I learned stuff from your comment.

[@richardkelley8493]

I like this stuff

[@kolbola]

Active bass or active pickup? I have a fully passive bass (passive circuit with passive pickup), an active bass with passive pickup and a passive bass with active pickup. The active EQ is different than the active pickup itself, where the battery drives the pickup or pickups to increase the dynamic range. It is good for a humcancelling pickup, where the midrange is normally missing. The most of the active pickups are recognizable with the covered magnet poles. The opened poles mostly for the passive pickups.

[@jeffparryncc1701]

Can you do a review of the Peavey Headliner 410 Bass Cabinet please with a Hartke TX600 600-Watt driving it please? :) Thanks heaps.

[@TheyCallMeNoName34]

Good video!

[@churchbass3]

Is it me or do pbass have a more delay than active bass? Most noticed when playing fast runs and etc

[@fightinandirish]

At 7:38 , did he say swamp-hash? I need me a swamp-hash guitar, gotta try that.

[@richardthayer9146]

excellent.

[@smith_grind5269]

Demonstration fell short on many points. In broad strokes, advantages to active basses? Onboard EQ convenience, rather than having to adjust amp EQ with passive basses. Active circuits often make the bass respond and feel quicker and easier to play as they tend to even out dynamic range. Good for light or fast players. Active circuit gain may help with longer cable runs also. Advantages to passive basses? Tone. Heft. Notes typically have a bit more 'weight' and the organic sound and feel of the instrument may be more present. Great for recording if in the right hands.

[@smunguia83]

It would be helpful if active bass guy would pluck over the neck pickup instead of by the bridge. It doesn't matter how the pre-amp is setup, if he only plucks only the bridge, it's going to get that thin twangy sound.

[@KeithWhittingham]

Also good advert for Fender stools

[@amoblahblah]

What kind of wattage do I need for my stool?

[@shawnhuff3597]

my fender American deluxe edition jazz bass V is Active and passive pick up's switch with a Togo switch 18vintage bass booster and pot tuners 21 fret neck made in corona California fender N3 pick up's

[@mzg1237]

I don't understand the hate about them talking so much. It's actually very informative and interesting. :/ Only problem I have with this video is the Jazz basses. I personally favor P basses but that's just me

[@BillyTheKidder]

A battery that lasts an entire year!? Inconceivable!

[@bassbutter4767]

LLLLess talkin, more grooves and sound samples! The sounds are great, but need to hear more of them in a Groove

[@cyborgchimpy]

did he just say extra headroom with extra batteries? I dunno if it means something else in the bass world but in audio engineering/production it means there's more dynamic room. higher output does not result in more headroom...

[@MeshuggahDave.]

Active all the way!

[@18JR78]

Ahh the classic just look at these props and hear us talk about everything we already understand about bass video. If we could just listen to the comparison’s that be nice thx.

[@ChezzOnBass]

Active for me, but I have both.

[@richmatelski8230]

wow, 19 minutes of jabbering , 2 minutes of bass playing

[@KevinCoblerOfficial]

play...

[@mikeharnett2410]

"MAY-suh" not "Mess-uh".

[@zeroxhungerx7150]

the fender bass amp is soo good that they are only sitting on them xD lmao

[@bettermusic]

They are actually some rather comfy little stools!

[@larryrivers6161]

I agree..to much talk..this is all self served..i'm quite sure those basses have some thing to say if given a chance...looks like that's not going to happen...😢

[@saiyanultrainstinct551]

Me scrolling the video to see when they actually play and getting to the end not hearing them play 😂

[@nicolashrv]

12:29 "and now will move to the neck position...........that will give us just the neck pickup"...........EINSTEIN

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

Dude, soooooooooo much talking. Some of this stuff belongs in another video. Just get to the comparison. Being concise is so important in this format.

[@CristianMartinez-fi8nk]

Cresta los tipos buenos pa conversar, y tocaron nada, me dormí enseguida.

[@booboo7064]

Way too much jibber jabber. Play the damn thing.

[@bhayes1912]

talk talk talk talk talk.

[@TheSteveSteele]

I don't mean to be disrespectful but this is an awful comparison. What about direct boxes for each type? What about styles of music? What about the variety of frequencies of active tone circuitries? What about the fretboard wood and the influences of the types of electronics? What about the recording challenges between the two? Why do some active players prefer to record with passive basses? Why do engineers sometimes prefer passive basses? No mention of passive being subtractive EQs and active being additive? The importance of impedance matching, etc etc...

[@disorder_go]

Get yourself a bass that can do both. Like my Fender P Bass deluxe.

[@petougao]

incredible mix of useful and mis information, starting with the title

[@lee_parker]

Thanks for continuing to mix up saying Bridge and Neck pickup though out the video. That's not at all stupid.

[@jeffenoble9117]

I can't believe you made an american jazz sound so bad; you could'nt sell a lifebelt to a drowning man!

[@Lion_ofJudah]

All you need is love and...a P Bass.

[@keyosuke]

How the HELL do you go 6 minutes without plucking a string? Holy shit!

[@aliensexist15]

JUST PLAY THE BASS FOR GOD SAKE!!!!

[@nicolashrv]

this knob............this know is for the buzz..............and another thing to be noticed.....is 10db more than the normal bass...............and also, it does make the BLA BLA BLA BLA **shotgun on the forehead noise***

[@jakoblindekilde5832]

God video. But there is no such thing as tonewood in an electrical instument. Nobody can hear what kind of wood the bass is made of.

[@TheSteveSteele]

Jakob Lindekilde Not true. A heavy Ash wood will have a slightly scooped sound. A light Alder wood will have a mellow tone. Basswood with a maple top is articulate. Mahogany with a maple top has a cutting midrange top. This can all be heard unplugged Granted, in the hands of an amateur it can be almost undetectable. Session players know how to take advantage of these instruments.

[@jakoblindekilde5832]

Hi Steve. We will probably never agree. I do belive that the neck will affect the sound somewhat: It can vibrate so it will damp or exhance certain frequecies. The density of the neck could affect the sound. Different materials have different densities so different woodspices will color the sound different. But the amount is nothing (not audiable) compared to the coloring of pickup, amp, speaker, effects and most import playing style. I think the tone is made 50% by the player and 50% by the rig. And 0.1 % by the wood... Last sentence just to piss you off... hehe... ;o)

[@maxpuppy96]

What the fuck do they play at all?

[@tomgalarno2819]

Am I watching Waynes World? . don't think it's the original guys though . and I think they're married to each other . yep, think so . hey, I've got an idea, maybe they should demo passive vs active vibrators!

[@IBmusic_vector]

активный бас звучит как 50 долларовое полено

[@jamesrockford2626]

Fender? High end? lol

[@BillyBlaze7]

not true, my squier bass has NO hum at all

[@freeblowjobforall2697]

Cause ur pickups have same polarity. U cannot change “tone” . One must be nort to the strings other must be south. If it has no hum it means both are south or nort. Sounds different. I guess it is second hand bass isnt it

[@freeblowjobforall2697]

Or someone “re-wire” pickup. Works same . No hum. Different tone. Never gonna sounds like singlecoil anymore 😩

[@2wfit]

Painful to watch, too much talking, take a leaf out of Anderson's book and make the videos interesting, no one is going to watch a 20 minute video of shittalk

[@soeffingwhat]

Some People like very detailed explanations, which is what is on here. You don't like it? Then don't watch it, simple.

[@2wfit]

+soeffingwhat so do I, but I just don't like the way this was done, I spent 20 minutes finding out that it wasn't for me is what I'm saying. .

[@soeffingwhat]

AJDB I guess that's understandable, but I think doing it this way they answer pretty much every question that could be asked.

[@dukeofpearl]

AJDB AnderTON'S.

[@Hungry_Hunter]

Its simple if you want to fiddle around with your Bass guitar controls and have your guitar preamp go flat right when you need it get an active. If you want reliability and tone every time. Get a passive.

[@AndreasR86]

This is an unfair comparison. The passive bass has tort. It will obviously sound better.

[@BillyTheKidder]

Alec talks like he is at .75x

[@clr20]

play!!!!!!!!!! not talk all time please!!!!!!!

[@TH-bk5hj]

Jesus h play already

[@diegotonkin1472]

too much talk horrible video

[@CamiloPefaur]

There's a difference between active circuit (preamp) and active pickup. Active pickups are what I'm looking for and your title misled me into wasting 20 minutes for a crap performance of about 2 minutes of actual bass sound. Take it as constructive criticism, otherwise I wouldn't waste another minute in this review. "If you don't like it, don't watch it". Well, there's got to be a first time for us and this is also my last with you. Hope you improve your reviews and may your subscriptors multiply over time. Bye

[@jarednoll7291]

please reconsider if you haven't already :p active pickups have no business in a bass... just me, butt yeah.

[@thetaokan]

Yes, no active pickups in the video. :-/

[@arfanrai835]

to much talking, waste time

[@petougao]

tone computer, f* me....

[@tedbrookins]

Lol!

[@theresametcalf7066]

stop yapping

[@richardkelley937]

damn to much talking for my taste

[@nicesniper]

too much talking...

[@indianpatful]

Too long drawn!

[@jamesrockford2626]

fender basses are such crap

[@derrickrussell1496]

agreed.

[@jamesrockford2626]

8un3zz Rush never used fenders on any classic material, maybe one album moving pictures? JPJ was great but his sound was muddy.

[@bustabass9025]

Have 3 Fender basses. Each one in a different configuration and number of strings. While there are a lot of options available to the bass player these days, Fender has set the standard and continues to provide an excellent quality instrument with great sound and terrific playability. Of the stock variety of bases available, and I have several of them, as well as a couple high end, boutique models, I always wind up going back to the Fenders for the bulk of my music, study, and performing. By the way a Fender bass was good enough for Stax (Duck Dunn's bass lines will be played until the end of time), Motown, (Jamerson, et. al.) and Elvis ( cue Aloha From Hawaii, circa 1973) it's certainly good enough for me. 👑🎸🎵

[@AdamRiggBadDay]

Jaco? Jamerson?

[@karlrush5085]

Crikey that was painful to watch

[@kennethnavalotajr3113]

The dislikes are just guitarists who didn’t give a fuck

[@nicolashrv]

This video is supposed to compare the two bass guitars, not to hear two guys talking about the story of the universe..........just play the two things and THEN talk all what you want......

[@RonnKilby]

Why spend so much time telling us what you're gonna be telling us - just tell us and get it over with.

[@dennismallory1172]

Definitely too much "jibber jabbering" about something most bass players already knows. Just like buying a car. I don;t want to "test hear" it, I want to "Test DRIVE" it. PLAY THE BASS SO I CAN "HEAR" THE DIFFERENCE!!! WHEW!

[@nicolashrv]

SHUT UP AND PLAY THE DAMN THING!!..........OH GOSH!! NO!! DON'T PLAY ANYMORE!!.......

[@user-jp6bm6nf9e]

Amateurs

[@The_Eldest_Millenial]

Save your time and click off now. At NO POINT do these people play either instrument comparatively, back-to-back. The few notes that ARE played are over ten minutes apart. This is not a "shoot-out", it is a pointless waste of time.