"Passive Vs Active Basses" - In Conversation with Master Luthier Chris May of Overwater basses

Last month I was lucky enough to get a great friend (who happens to be the most
talented luthier I know) to come along to the SBL headquarters and talk "Bass".
One of the most interesting things we discussed was the old "passive vs active bass"
question. I thought his thoughts on it were really interesting, and I definitely learned
a lot of new stuff...
If you're like me and are interested in having a deeper understanding of the bass
and the inner workings of it, you're going to want to watch this brand new interview.
As always, see you in the shed,
Scott.
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[@gary9816]

The only disadvantage of active basses is, it doesn't sound good

[@kevinisaacgarcia6384]

passive with a pre amp pedal 👍

[@d0u6la5m]

constantly replacing a battery is a deal breaker for me.

[@ernestochang1744]

Now i know this comment is gonna be long but it does put the reason behind why passives are just as equally as awesome as actives. This guy is really really really biased in active electronics (i'am biased in passive) never in my life have i ever needed to use an active EQ in a bass, it's just not needed, guitar... Maybe just maybe, but in bass??? man all you need is 1 pickup 1 volume 1 tone you're set, active is just a little bit of a hassle, i mean you got like 6 knobs and sometimes not even labelled so really easy to forget, and also there is the problems of batteries, i hate having to replace batteries by the time the bass is 10 years old you would have spent more then $15 in just 9v batteries, is just not needed, leo fender got it right the first time when he had 1 volume 1 tone and a single coil in a fender telecaster bass ( back then it was popular to call it the telecaster bass) and guess what, more then 60 years of innovation and 1 pickup is still all you need!!!, i mean i can obviously get very growly punchy tones from a P bass, i can also get very rounded smooth bassy tones out of it, and all i need to do is roll off 1 tone, meanwhile in a jazz bass, if i want to go from bright to bassier sounding i have to cut off the back pickup get the front pickup on and if i need more bass i need to roll off the tone, that takes way too much time in music terms, i say GET ON WITH IT!!!!!! why do you think the precision bass has become so legendary throughout its time? is because is very simplistic in the sense that it feels like a bus but inside it feels like a high end sports car, if it were not for this little neat feature, many artists would have simply ditched the simplistic idea, but they din't it's like ferrarri and lamborghinni, both are very fast both are very exiting but the exhaust in every single one of them models is not the same. Its like asking a Humbucker to go single coil, it simply won't do it and there is a reason for that... but i think my comment is already long enough... Bye

[@petshop7248]

I wish Chris wasn't so interrupty

[@kaganozmeric9822]

Gazillions of masterpieces were recorded on passive basses. Do you hear the hum in them? Would you care if you do? Music making has turned into something quite questionable that has nothing to do with the music. Musicians spend more time discussing equipment, hardware, software etc. than musical substance. Then they drool over the great bass recordings played by the vintage legends like Jamerson who hardly had changed a string unless it broke :)

[@bochafish]

I use a passive bass with off-board preamps. Best of both worlds.

[@jerrymcg3199]

"Master Luthier Chris May of Overwater basses gets talked over"

[@personalfreedom2700]

Fuzz pedals are better on passive

[@ssvman100]

As a bass player and someone who has done sound it does not matter what you sound like on stage the front of house mix will put you where you fit in with the drums, guitars etc.......Dont get caught up with your sound because that is not how you sound front of stage!..............

[@GVike]

Passive=classic sound

[@devinebass]

Heads up bass players...

[@davegiard2221]

“I don’t like carrying batteries everywhere”

[@stmierden]

I, too, have both active and passive basses. And same as with Scott, I usually prefer passive mainly because I don't want to rely on batteries which can die. There is enoguh sound editing that can be done with pedals, the amp eq and by the soundguy that I don't need another EQ on my bass too.

[@IanOfHimself7654342]

This is why I love my G&L L-2500. I have the option of going between active and passive. When I am looking for the right sound, On the fly I can switch between the two. One of the best basses out there in my opinion, especially with a solid set of Rotosound flatwounds :)

[@dubby13]

With this vid and the "3 things you need to know when buying a Bass"... Great chemistry between you and Chris. I really learned loads on crucial technicalities... More of this type of video... Good job...

[@PedroMariz88]

Your Channel is the best on YT Scott, you're awesome!

[@bassdroppointsource]

I have to clarify that noise such as 60 cycle hum has nothing to do with whether a bass is active or passive. I think actives sometimes get a bad rep because a lot of active players overboost and get that ultra hyped zingy sound. My personal opinion is that with a well setup passive bass, you can get a brighter tone to start, and bringing your tone control down a little bit will give you a natural resonance at that position of the tone knob. Then if you plug straight into a pedal with a quality buffer you get all of the benefits of an active bass and a passive bass without having to deal with batteries. If that pedal has an active EQ, you now have all of the important elements taken care of.

[@StevenMorris]

Great video!

[@SamSkarab121]

I have just started working with Chris and everyone at Overwater, learning every day ❤