The TRUTH About Active Pickups

[@klaymeister]

This is probably the most explanation I have ever heard regarding active pickups. Please do more! Like for the x series etc

[@courtlandcreekmore1421]

^^^^ Ditto

[@rockereivanivan]

X series is only giving you extended range, that means more bass and more treble which again works by giving you even more ways to lower the Hertz you don't need.

[@ampthebassplayer]

I can agree that active pickups are technically better. They definitely afford you more options and flexibility in post. For me, that would probably bog me down because I get option paralysis when I have such a wide open field to play with. I prefer simple, and the fewer steps I need to get something done, the better.

[@Rik-Ahbece]

Agree. It is the reason why i do not like multi-fx. I get lost in playing with all the options and lose focus on practicing and playing.. Too distracting. Besides that, when you would tweak your on board pre-amp before certain songs.. it would be actually take more time setting everything exactly the same every time and slower then just having a pre-amp or EQ pedal you would turn on, like a preset... Multi-fx can be awesome for that too, if you got through the 3 - 12 months of experimenting with every sound option there is.. haha.

[@davejones3878]

💯

[@Patrick-857]

@@Rik-Ahbece Sound guys and engineers love actives. All you need to do is dial your tone in and forget about it. Active basses just sound better. There's no way around it imo.

[@Rik-Ahbece]

@@Patrick-857 Well.. It depends. I made the decision to have "the pre-amp' on my pedalboard and not in my bass. Besides that, a tube preamp adds saturation in a way an onboard build in preamp simply cant. But yeah, if you use an preamp-pedal, the signal basicly becomes active too.. I use a passive precision bass with a tube pre-amp. Never had trouble hearing myself in a recorded bandmix. I dont believe in "oh this is better for everything' because that is simply not true.

[@RyanDenley]

I've owned two basses with active pickups, one with passive pickups and an active preamp and one all passive bass. I sold both with active pickups because they didn't get along with most of my effects pedals, especially my drives and fuzzes. Both bases with passive pickups sounded way better with my effects so they stayed.

[@oldasrocks9121]

You do have to curate fuzzes and overdrives, the Big Muff circuit is generally friendly to active basses and drives with buffers like most Bosses and the OCD play best. The other distortion solution is just about anything Darkglass or the demonfx copies as well as preamps with a healthy drive circuit, I use the Russian AMT BC-1 jfet based preamp, other drives stacked after add color. A surprising winner is the Behringer bass overdrive. Ymmv

[@transcendkira]

This likely has a lot to do with how older dynamics processors (drives, fuzz, etc.) for bass were designed before the popularity of active pickups to add high end to the relatively treble deficient passive sound. With active pickups introduced you get too much of that high end for a drive sound crafted without it in mind and it ends up sounding harsh. Realistically, tone shaping through an EQ before the drive should help with this (and honestly dedicated EQs should be more or less a part of every signal chain for a variety of similar reasons.)

[@idiotburns]

this is just how fuzzes work, its true in guitar as well and it has to do with matchin the input impedence of the pedal, passives match and actives are often just to "hot" and the mismatch actually cause loss in signal

[@RyanDenley]

@@idiotburns But it's not just fuzzes and it's not just a volume or impedance issue either. My basses that have passive pickups with an active preamp sound just fine. They have a much hotter output and lower impedance than a passive bass. However, the basses that had active pickups and an active preamp sounded terrible even when I compensated for the volume increase on overdrives, choruses, envelope filters, and yes fuzzes. This is just my anecdotal experience with two basses that had active pickups, not a scientific testing of all active pickups or anything. They didn't work for me and my gear.

[@idiotburns]

@@RyanDenley Sure, alot of active pickups dont cut it for me either. I like passive with active module or passive as well.

[@peterdvideos]

Leland Sklar’s Frankenstein bass, which has been played on thousands of records through many genres, has two sets of active EMG P Bass pickups in it. Active pickups solve the noise problem and sound good.

[@stephenhookings1985]

I like that he had a tone switch ... it didn't do anything but he would ask the sound engineer if they preferred A or B :-)

[@prestachuck2867]

@@stephenhookings1985 And they always fall for it. Even after he had done an interview with Bass Player magazine in which he revealed the secret of his "producer switch".

[@WilliamSullivan-uv1ht]

@@stephenhookings1985 I love how his signature Warwick comes with a dummy switch, lol.

[@phipschi4255]

@@stephenhookings1985 not on the frankenstein bass though

[@Nick-jy4zf]

i honestly wasn't expecting this level of rigor in the explanations and arguments laid out here. so many discussions about what gear is "better" are poisoned from the start because no one bothers to define what they mean by that!

[@rockymoetuffy]

i built a Warmoth P J bass over 26 years ago with EMG's and it still sounds as great as it did 26 years ago, literally has not lost a single thing and is still one of my favorite basses to play out with!

[@Belabor92]

Yes, they might be objectively better. But I've learnt that I tend to get lost in the woods when I have a lot of tone sculpting options. I spend way too much time fiddling with my preamps, pedals or compression. And I'm never *quite* content. Take away most of the knobs and I'll quickly find a sound I'm very happy with. So my preference is straight and simple: passive all the way.

[@howler9171]

Yeah most of the time I think less is more. Having too many tonal options makes people indecisive and they spend way more time fiddling with knobs than actually playing. I've fallen into that trap before, where I focus too much on tone chasing and don't end up practicing any real songs. A passive p bass or j bass with a basic volume and tone knob setup is all anyone really needs. I've done my time with stingrays and spectors and I don't really get it. If you want to boost or cut your treble, bass, or mids, just do it on your amp head. Set it to a spot you like and forget about it. One less thing you have to buy batteries for

[@cd0u50c9]

Exactly this - simpler usually eliminates a lot of nonsense, and you can add to it if really needed.

[@ileutur6863]

In an active bass, the preamp really makes or breaks the tone. I always thought I hated active basses because I had only played ones with boomy preamps that were basically useless at cutting or boosting anything. Now I have a MM Stingray and I see what it means to have a truly versatile active setup

[@RyanDenley]

A Music Man Stingray is a bit different than what they're talking about in this video though because it has a Passive pickup with an Active preamp. So you can take the pickup out of your music man and plug it into a passive bass with just a traditional passive volume and tone and it would work. But with active pickups like a lot of the ones from EMG the pickup itself needs power, like a 9-volt battery, to operate. I do agree with you though about the preamp, and I think music man makes one of the best and the business. I've never gotten along with Ibanez preamps, at least their stock ones.

[@cacadordorio]

True history i have a fender Marcus Miller jazz bass, and i really prefer use it on passive mode, but my music man sterling has a hell of tone the lows and highs really works pretty well on every frequencie i dont need to equalizer the amplifier mm sterling preamp do the job i just need the amplifier flat

[@danzemacabre8899]

A lot of the tone of a player resides in the hands, everything else is window dressing or clutter depending on which way you look at it

[@TheAudivisioner]

@@RyanDenley Bartolini pickups are passive. You can use them with, or without a preamp, although using them with one is recommended.

[@adamrushka8096]

This is why I love the Darkglass preamp. The bass is centered at 80hz and yoi can crank it without it getting boony. On my Spector with am 18V Haz, I have to slightly cut the lowend.

[@Jawesome1Shazam]

Classical bassist here, I played in wind ensembles a lot, too. We want that rich sound, strong lows, and shimmering highs. So yeah, treble is wanted in bass tone. If I didn't produce the overtones in a wind ensemble I wouldn't have been as effective at blending with the tuba section and changing their sound completely. Tubas are dumpy sounding, throw a single upright bassist and give them a tuba part tell them to play all notes with as long string lengths as possible, so you're dropping notes down octaves. The fundamental of the upright will never overpower the tuba player's or tuba section's fundamental, it's just not going to happen and that's not why the bass is there. Those overtones mix with the tuba sound, making them sound lush and beautiful on top of that fundamental. Upright bass is literally in the wind ensemble to add treble frequencies to the tuba section. And if you are locked in with the tubas, the audience can be fooled into thinking you're the one balancing that whole ensemble's sound, and in a roundabout way, you are. It's a different setting, but think of the tuba section and the bassist as rolled up into being the bass player of the ensemble. Having those overtones creates a very rich bass sound and the rest of the ensemble's sound changes as the other musicians adapt and blend with it. So there's a good argument for bass and having access to the treble tones in the sound you can cut to your liking.

[@Aio-Project]

eloquent point, but passive pups can still create plenty of high end. i find passive pups roll off the really brittle and harsh string clanks and scratchy shifting noises, while retaining those overtones you're talking about. And the beauty of that is you can then boost the highs on your amp to get an appropriate blend of those frequencies. also string bass gang. on the orchestral side of thing fundamental is key, but yep those overtones are what allow you to project and send your sound out into the hall.

[@4deuce31]

I've had active basses, my MM Sterling was a monster that never let me down. They sound great in many rooms. But my rig has changed completely over the years and I only play Fender P basses now with passive pickups. I found I prefer to punch through the mix now. I work with 2 bands and get hired to fill in for a couple others. The majority of the time I'm dueling with 2 guitar players. If you can't cut through you may as well park your bass and go out front, grab a beer and watch. And no I'm not under powered at 800 watts and 2x2-10. I'm old school and set mids & highs at 12 o'clock. My eq is set to push any room inside and outside. Pickups are the last thing I consider. If a bass goes down on me I want to grab the next one and not have to adjust anything.

[@peadookie]

No issue with your tonal preference, but just a point of contention, the sterling has passive pickups. You could wire it straight to a jack and it would be a passive bass at that point. Active pickups are different - the pickups themselves have preamps in them, so even if you wire them straight to the jack, it’s still active and won’t even run without a battery.

[@TheAT5000]

Quick tip, use a high pass filter. Yes, even on your bass track. It will help clean up the muddyness that covers up so much of your mix, allowing you to turn the bass up more without it sounding overpowering. Remember, loud sounds cover quiet sounds, but at an equal volume, low frequency sounds cover higher frequency sounds. It will also make your harmonics louder in comparison to your fundamental frequency, giving you a more saturated sound without adding too much gain/compression.

[@peadookie]

That’s a cool trick, gonna have to mess with that. May I ask though - you mentioned that at an equal volume low frequencies will cover up higher frequencies - you mean that low frequencies are perceived as louder than high frequencies at any given volume level? Haven’t heard that before, but not an engineer - where’d you pick that up?

[@TheAT5000]

@@peadookie perceived is kinda the opposite of true, because we actually perceive low frequency sounds as quieter. Especially as sounds get quieter and the Fletcher Munson curve starts happening. (Boosting the perceived midrange) Think of low frequencies covering high frequencies as more of a blanket covering. They "muddy" higher frequencies would probably have been a better word to use.

[@peadookie]

@@TheAT5000 gotcha gotcha. So, not to be snarky, just trying to understand - wouldn’t you want a low pass on the bass and a high pass on the other instruments?

[@TheAT5000]

@@peadookie it's a good question. The Lowest frequency on a 4 string bass in standard tuning is 44.5Hz on the E string, 36.75Hz if it's in drop D. So any noise below that is bad and just eats up headroom. Sometimes people call this high pass filter an "LLC" (low low cut) to avoid the confusion. However, that is just the fundamental frequency. Unless you recorded with your bass tone knob on 0, most of what you are hearing is actually the low mids (especially if you are on a cellphone, which that, and in a car are the 2 golden standards of mixing these days) you probably don't hear anything in the lowest parts of the bass. And we don't low pass/high cut the bass because we need that information to be able to hear the baseline on a phone. (Similar to boosting 8kHz on the kick drum) My best advice though is to just get out there and try stuff. Understanding will come with time. I can't write my years of learning and experience in one comment. Try building a mix with just the faders, then, with everything playing, start turning up the high pass filter on each track till you hear part of it disappear, then turn it back just a touch, and move to the next track. You should be able to get a good sounding mix with only good sources, and a high pass filter, no other processing. If it sounds right, it is! Everything after that is just the icing on the cake. Oh, and I generally don't use a low pass filter on anything except the drum toms. Higher frequencies take less power/headroom than lower ones, so you are only doing it to remove unwanted noises.

[@peadookie]

@@TheAT5000 haha I’m on board. Yeah, then you’ll be pleased with my - I run a mesa TT800 and one of the reason I went with it was the high pass - which actually says “high pass” on the amp smh. I also mess around with synths, so I never thing “low shelf” when I think high pass 🤦‍♂️ But yeah, 100% with you - the high pass makes a world of difference, even in amplification too. Definitely worth incorporating

[@bigbass421]

I am a long time pro bassist. 57 years playing the instrument. My background until 1993- was ALL passive pickups- some basses in my arsenal began to have active preamps around 1980. Then, I build my first five string- completed it in 1994. All Alembic circuitry, 3- single coils, and the full Stanley Clarke circuit. Does it sound great? Ah, yeah, it does, and it still does. MOST of my basses have active circuits now, predominately EMG's. The thing about EMGs now, is they are far superior to their original offerings, that had muted highs and transparency. I LOVE all my EMG equipped basses. I have some passive P-basses, and they pick up noise in some venues. a fully shielded Rick clone with all Audere electronics, is literally unusable in one particular venue. I feel that when the pickup itself is shielded, and the electronics are designed to work with that pickup- nothing can compare. Alison at EMG, is also extremely cool to us small shop repairmen and Luthiers. EMG, also offers their great pickups and circuits at prices that literally make me wonder why anyone would consider any other active circuit. P.S., yes, all our heroes had only passive bass pickups. But now... think of what Jimi Hendrix could've done with a Floyd Rose tremolo.

[@maciejbrusio8321]

The analysis in the video is really informative, thanks for preparing and posting it. However I wouldn't say, that one option is better than another. The active pickups have more highs, have flatter frequency response and can be shaped to sound like passives, I agree, but it requires very precise eq (3 or 4 point eq in an amp will not ve enough) and some knowledge to do it. And if our goal is the sound, that the passives have baked in, it doesn't make sense to go around and make the tone shaping process more complicated. For years I was playing an Ibanez ATK (passive pickup, active preamp) and in a band setting I always had problems with fitting in. I bought a Jazz Bass and now I sit perfectly in the mix with other instruments. I love experimenting, but it's a hard job to get the right sound. I was finally able to sound ok with my Ibanez with flats that tamed the hi end and the HPF that cut the low bass.

[@justinc246]

Excellent explanation to someone who far prefers getting more than buzzword descriptions (even if I doubt I'll ever be in a position where I'd apply any of this to any serious recording scenario). I play both active and passive basses (admittedly none use active pickups and opt for passive pups into an onboard preamp) and I love both. My passive bass is a classic Fender P with "that" tone and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's my plug and play jam bass that's often by my desk for a quick session and is my ol faithful. That being said my active basses more than earn their keep with excellent tone and flexible/full sounds that just sound great. When I want my classic P tone, I reach for my Fender P, otherwise I get versatility and fullness from my active bass. Best of both worlds is to just enjoy both

[@bobbyzig3879]

Alot of comments are talking about active pickups and reference the MM. MM basses are passive pickups with relatively low resistance with active preamp. Most People think active pickups when referencing active tone but in reality you mean passive pickups with active preamp. 90% of active basses are passive pickups and an active preamp.

[@tylerwmbass]

EMG active Ps are wired in parallel too while passive ones are typically in series and how it’s wired has an effect

[@chrissinclair1776]

a massive effect ., . good point

[@Eugensson]

Well, all active EMGs are neither series nor parallel in the sense of passive pickups, each coil runs separatelly to the opamp in the comparator mode.

[@giuliocarmassi]

After decades of passive P basses, I've switched to EMGs with 18v power and I'm SO happy. The X preamp series actually feels more dynamic than passive pups, the batteries last for months, and with the mid sweep and active trable/bass controls you can shape virtually any sound you could think of. No hum. Crystal clear notes. Total control. And I don't find them cold or sterile at all. But I spent years being a snob about it, until I really tried them. There's so many options too. The alnico 5 EMG can sound super boomy on the wrong bass, and the regular ceramic can be very compressed. But if you find the right one that complements your bass/strings/neck etc, it really is a winning package.

[@pelm3293]

sold a Sterling with active pickups because of that. Sooo boomy I didn't like it. RIght now I'll stick to my P-Bass but someday I'll find something with active once more.

[@aprilkurtz1589]

Great video! It was thorough, but easily understood explanation of how pickups work. I'd always been told that ceramic pickups were to be avoided because they're usually found on cheap(not good)guitars and basses. I have a '92 Guild Pilot that I bought new, and it came with passive EMG pickups. It's my main bass and it was gigged hard for around 20 years and it still has the original pickups. My main six string is a players grade '67 SG that still has the original P-90s. That guitar has survived: Being thrown out a second floor window, an apartment fire, and having a car parked on it. If passive pickups are dainty, you couldn't prove it by me! I have a used Sterling bass that's active. I find that I do have to remove some treble, if I want a nice, punchy kind of sound. It sounds great with a distortion pedal, too. The main reason I don't buy more instruments with active electronics is because batteries are just one more thing that could go wrong at a gig. I know it's rare, but I've seen and heard straight out of the package batteries fail during a show. I'm risk adverse. Kind of.

[@H0kram]

This is by far the most in depth and well put together video I've seen on this topic. Thank you so much, this is very helpful.

[@jlunartstudio]

I strongly resonate with most of the benefits you've highlighted. As a bass player, however, I've found that recording with an active bass isn't as straightforward for me. There's always this inclination to tweak, edit, and apply EQ adjustments to get the sound just right. With passive basses, it's different - the sound is raw and unfiltered, capturing the essence as intended, complete with its inherent noise and darker tone. If you're after more control and enjoy fine-tuning every aspect, then an active bass is the way to go. It offers a plethora of options for customization. However, for those chasing a classic sound with minimal fuss, the passive bass seems to lend itself more naturally. It effortlessly delivers that timeless, vintage tone that many players, including myself, appreciate. In essence, it boils down to the balance between the desire for control and customization (offered by active basses) versus the simplicity and classic sound (offered by passive basses). Each has its merits, and the choice depends on personal preference, musical context, and the specific sonic qualities sought for a given project or performance. Having the flexibility to choose the instrument that aligns with your playing style and the desired sound is truly invaluable.

[@jkf9167]

I'm a huge fan of EMG active pickups, although I don't currently have them in a bass, and I do have GZRs. I like all-black pickup covers too. However I think it's telling that most of the music we listen to is performed on "objectively inferior" passive pickups. That's because it's music. Musicians and audiences want to hear what they want to hear. Think of all the other "objectively inferior" things about a P-Bass, or whatever people are playing. Also, active pickups can sound weird on really loud transients. It's not like the compression of a pickup preamp is particularly refined, especially at its margin.

[@Ogbassist182]

You can go even further and say most of the music we hear is performed on a fender precision bass.

[@LionAndALamb]

I believe that pedal pre-amps have made internal active electronic obsolete.

[@18JR78]

*PASSIVE:* -low output -remove volume or high frequency -dynamic -no battery *ACTIVE:* -higher output -add/remove eq (tone shaping) -balanced sound -need 9v battery

[@wrongfuture]

It's a taste thing. I prefer the passive sound. You obviously have a different taste. Those of us who have dealt with producing music a lot know that there's no better or worse in sound, just different.

[@iliasliakos6692]

ofcousrse its up to taste, this video is just an EMG shill - sciense has nothing to do with it, and of course they are only demoed on metal songs.

[@ileutur6863]

@@iliasliakos6692 If you did your research, you'd know that the pickups were sent to them for free. They asked for them

[@davedixon2167]

@@iliasliakos6692 I'm just seeing this comment here several months later, and wanted to clarify something here: 1. Pay very close attention, but Chris does not anywhere say that active pickups SOUND better. That is not the point of the video. Chris is identifying the very specific qualities of actives that are better than passives, in a factual manner. I personally still like passives better myself, but in terms of sheer facts, "actives have X feature and passives do not" is just what it is, and not a matter of opinion. Example: Lower noise from lower impedance? That's just how it works. and 2. EMG provided pickups for this video, yes, and Chris mentioned exactly why he chose EMG. They did not initiate this video topic, nor did they pay for us to choose their brand of pickups for the tests. They also make passive pickups like the GZRs, so they wouldn't want to shoot themselves in the foot by trying to get their active pups shilled.

[@TyrannusEtImperium]

Jimmies are about to be rustled

[@VoxMax-dl3yx]

For me and my style, EMG pickups are amazing .. Active or passive? It depends on which genre you play .. Nothing more or less ..

[@j.juarez9526]

I've never owned a bass with active pickups, but I love the way they sound on a spectre. I'm going to switch out my Fender PJ Bartolini's/Kubicki Active Pre with a set of Frank Bello EMGs. They have a Ceramic P pickup and an Alnico J pickup. Thank you for this video. It was well-don, comprehensive and super informative.

[@chronic_johnson_a.r.a.b]

Always been satisfied with passive pickups. Sounds good, simple and doesn't require a battery. But it's not my place to say whether it's better or not when compared to active.

[@dalrok]

100% agree! I use EMGs in my old Ibanez 2369 Jazzbass since the 80s, when they came available in Germany. The housings are worn and a little 'carved' by fingernails after about 40 years and several hundreds of gigs. They still sound great and will probably withstand another 20 years or more. Sound engineers always liked them because of the extremely low noise and clean signal all the time in studio and live situations. I use them on most of my other basses too (J, P, DC, TW, 35J, JX & PX). One of the best things about them besides low nois is the low impedancy, so I don't have to worry about cable length changing my tone like with passive PU basses.

[@MrEcted]

I agree with much of what you're saying and I have/currently owned plenty of both active as well as passive basses , but I just prefer the simplicity of passive and my favorite bass I currently gig with is passive. I do boost the highs a little bit like you said, but I can't even perceive any additional noise when I'm n a few feet away from the amp when it's turned way up and I'm in a quiet room, much less when I'm actually gigging so the added noise from bumping the highs a click or two is completely negligible. Personally I've never had a pickup go out on me from grime, beer, etc, and I've played this thing for many thousands of hours, but in any case even if that did happen I would use my spare bass (which we should all have while gigging anyway) and replace the pickup at my earliest convenience. In any case, love the channel, you're a beast no matter which bass you play! Just sharing my own perspective.

[@PM-oq6ku]

I put some EMG's in my PJ and i'm very happy with it. With active pickups the sound is way more clear and adjustable.

[@thomasfioriglio]

Wow, very thorough and informative look at active pickups. I've always been a passive player until about 8 months ago when I got my first active bass, a Lakland 44-02. Wow, does that pack some punch over my passive Lakland basses. I've found it most effective when recording at home. I can tailor my sound right from the bass. I also like how you described eq'ing by subtraction. I've heard others discuss that philosophy and it makes total sense. When I first got my active bass, I would start adding tone with all the knobs. That just made the signal hotter and muddier. Take away bass, or treble and it acts more like a tone knob on a passive bass. Thanks for sharing this.

[@DoomOfConviction]

One of the most recorded basses in history from Leland Sklar has EMG prototypes on it… he burns trough battery’s but never bothered to change the pickups since the beginning of EMG!

[@MikoAsuke]

I have loved my passive bass for 8 years. But as soon as I got my active bass last year, it was a game changer for me. Personally, I loooove how the active bass sounds.

[@tysmith6925]

To the point within ten seconds. Thank you, sir.

[@adriancorralero5239]

Great video guys!! Long live The Bass Channel!! 😁 I have a set of EMG JAX on my Jazz Bass and kept the on-board preamp, so I'm one of the 1% who plays active pickups on an active bass 🤣 I'm a bit OCD about my tone. I love the versatility of a good Jazz Bass, but I also hate 60hz hum, hiss and ground noise. Despite this, I ended up buying a Deluxe MIM Jazz Bass with a on-board active 3-way preamp and Vintage Noiseless pickups. The noiseless pickups were a deal-breaker. They are anything but noiseless though! Loved the tone, but they can't handle distortion well in a recording situation...or just a loud situation, really...! I used to practice through an Orange Crush 100 and I remember the hiss was so bad, that we couldn't have chats in between songs if i didn't step on my tuner to cut the signal. Not even after a shielding job done by a professional. Now that I have the JAX with alnico magnets, I'm always able to dial in the tone that's in my head without worrying about a dirty signal. Even vintage tones...my jazz bass can get a better P tone than my Yamaha BB434. I think the sound of active pickups is anything but sterile. They have depth and bite on tap, and, more importantly, a flexibility when it comes to find the right tone for the ocassion, that passive pickups just don't have. Not without the right gear, a clean power source for your amp and a good sound engineer.

[@stephenhookings1985]

On the Orange, I twisted the internal speaker wires between amp head and internal speaker. Made the Orange almost silent at rest even at high volume and reasonable gain. My garage / practice area has florescent lamps and without EMGs or P bass the noise is nasty. Sure I can shield - with the EMGs I sent need to.

[@thomascordery7951]

I put Dimarzio passive hum canceling pickups in one of my Jazz basses. Fender did a good job with wiring the originals so that the front and back pickups cancel hum if the volumes are set identically, but to me that was too limiting. Dimarzio has done a superb job of recreating the sound of those original Fender single coils, and now I don't have to worry about which direction I have to face to avoid the hum. I also have one less battery to fuss about and worry about failing - dealing with the AAs in my in-ear receiver is about as much of that as I want. At least with an active preamp on passive pickups, many allow you to switch to all-passive if a battery starts to fail mid-set.

[@kingfisher7960]

I used EMGs only for about 10 years. Its all in the resistance and tone pot. I learned over time. I use what i want and mod them now i learned what the difference is.

[@Bobby-wn5yr]

This was one of the best videos I’ve seen on the topic. Although that amp does quite clearly say it’s DI out is post EQ.

[@matthewhoppe27]

Subtractive EQ is a really solid element to bring up. That said, I don't mind a little noise in my mix for what I play. Passive pickups through a sansamp DI gets the job done for me. I'm tired of 9 volt battery issues. And J bass passive pickups usually have the high end that I'm looking for. Cool video. Love the expert you brought in.

[@jaxonvictoria4345]

It’s great to note that passive controls does not exclusively mean ‘cut only.’ Some active systems have cut only parameters, but what makes it active is the coloration and the fact that it is more than just a potentiometer redirecting current to ground. I’m not by any means an expert on circuits, but it may be misleading to tell the general audience that a cut only circuit is exclusively passive.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

I know I'm a bit late but you're completely right. When you come across an amplifier with an EQ that can boost as well as cut you tend to notice because the range of the controls is enormous. I have a sound city 120 mark 4 sitting in storage and the EQ on that can literally silence the whole amp. Conversely I've come across some equipment with controls where everything needs to be set at full and then reduced down in order to get a decent sound because the 12:00 setting sounds like there's a blanket over everything

[@Phodie56]

Yep, the Gibson Ripper had a mid-cut/roll-off and the regular tone we all get on any standard passive bass. I love that it has the ability to actually cut a frequency, as opposed to re-introducing the treble highs with the standard tone rolled up. I personally love having selector switches for series/parallel, in/out-phase, and pickup (coil/position) more than EQ. I feel like you get more tonal range which feels natural to the instrument that way, as opposed to a basic EQ rig where you can sound the same (effectively) across different, active basses. Those EMGs definitely sound great in this video! I've never had truly active pickups outside a set of Bartonlini's I bought cheap years ago for a project bass--love those things, but I ran them passive.

[@petesangimino]

I’m at 17:27 and I can’t take it anymore, so maybe he addresses some of this later. Adding gain may add minute amounts of noise, but it also adds small amounts of harmonic distortion which, as any sound engineer who works with vocals or guitar will tell you, is the antidote to that “sterile, cold” sound. More importantly, the very premise of this whole thing, including the demo of two different cab mics against DI tone, is that situational variables have a huge impact. Passive or active is a drop in the ocean compared to room acoustics, string type, string condition, how you use your fingers or pick, magnet material, pickup configuration, pickup location, and about 20 other variables. Plus, an active setup introduces a single point of failure: the battery. Murphy’s Law is real; that sucker will fail you in the middle of a gig, or at least in the middle of a $100/hr recording session. Why expose yourself to that kind of risk for negligible “on paper” benefits? IMHO, playing better is the only upgrade you need, and the only cost is your effort. All the other theories are the real noise.

[@cd0u50c9]

Precisely, and that's my main argument - reliability, and having one less thing to worry about while you're nervous enough already to go on stage.

[@treblenomore1357]

Thanks for your input I decided to not modify my passive p bass. I already have an active bartolini on my washburn. Leave well enough alone.

[@HobbesTamThanh]

This was exactly the unpopular subversive explanation I needed to rinse away all the “traditional” nonsense I’ve been subjected to over the last 20 years. Thank you

[@HomeGuitarMods]

I love my EMG Geezer Butler pickups. Swapped out my Quarter pounder as they were too muddy through my bass terror and obc15 cabs. Thanks for this video, great explanation of pickup types.

[@jonathanjensen9147]

This can be pretty misleading/easily misinterpreted... active sure ain’t the end all beat all... in fact, I find it can be more of an obscurity to players who have a refined technique... the point being, that the player should be most concerned with refining his or her technique, not twiddle some knobs in avoidance of doing so. To a well refined player, none of those electronics are necessary - providing most novice players ‘with enough rope’..

[@KimHogeling]

Thank you for showing this in such detail! Really easy to follow and understand! 👍

[@badassbassist]

I wanted to upgrade the pickups on my j bass earlier this year and I came across this video. Since then I have got two more basses with Active emgs.

[@Headtube]

A lot of great points are made but I also like having my passive bass for practice....I can leave it plugged in all the time without burning through batteries.

[@stephenhookings1985]

Two of my active basses have a passive switch. The others - batteries last for a long time.

[@dancassidy7471]

So much to learn for me...I have only one passive a Jazz fretless..all others except for Fender Vibe are active. My fav sounds are the Spector and Warwick...most confusing is the P7 Sire and Ibanez SR 600

[@Rik-Ahbece]

One point in the comparison got over looked: Genre. When you are playing in a genre with heavy guitar riffs and grunting vocals, the mids and low mids are crowded.. People like to feel the guitars and the grunting vocals... The treble adds clarity in those genres. But if you are doing a pop gig or jazz playing in a band with keys, many singers and maybe a saxophone.. then the treble bit will be taken by the keys and the singers.. The sound engineer will cut treble from your bass to make it sit well in the mix. I agree that compression added because of the active circuit, can be a good thing. I am curious in what frequency regions the compression is noticeable compared to a passive circuit, if it is full spectrum or not. It wouldn't be a good thing to compress the treble, because that would give more finger-noise. Besides that, there are multiple ways to get a good sound.. If you add a compressor to a passive bass.. or an active pre-amp pedal, while having a fully shielded bass and decent cables, then you might get there too.. 😉

[@edesbalazs]

As a guitarist, I was trying to understand for a long time bassists fascination with active electronics. This was helpful.

[@KoffyGG]

I think it'd be fair to also mention that if you use any tipe of modeler (I use a HX Stomp) active would give you a larger frequency spectrum to work with.

[@peadookie]

Good point, thanks for mentioning.

[@paulsmith1807]

Excellent video with really comprehensive information and sound tests - can really see how much time and effort you've put into it. Keep up the great work 🙂

[@benchambers1173]

Generally speaking, your pedals behave better when they aren't trying to fight your pickups for who is top dog. If you are a bassist who shys away from using pedals and just plugs directly into the amp, active pickups will be better for you. But if you have a tuner, compressor, wah, overdrive, e.q., chorus, delay, cab sim, you're gonna feel the bass fighting your pedals a little bit.

[@champ6436]

finally someone who agree with me. i've been playing on standart jazz bass for a few years and i always had problem with those. the single coil hum meant that i couldn't solo my neck pickup ( my prefered one to do walking bass line ), so it suck for my jazz band and big band. i also have really sweaty hand and it didn't work well with the open pole piece, in 6 month, they were oxidized a lot and the bass looked like it was a relic or something. for the tone for sure i wasn't a fan of all those active pickup electronic thingy. especially MTD bass that each time i would hear a demo ( DI too ), i found the sound to be super bright and super harsh. but i ofen stumble upon those same mtd bass going throught a cab and directly they sounded a lot better. it was the same for ken smith that i found to have too much high mid and treble. but now i play on bartolini humbucker so really bright one and i see the benefit, i never boost the treble. its good because for one i don't need to change my string as often ( i have a vintage 70s jazz bass that really dark sounding and if i want that marcus sound, i need to change string every month, with bartolini i change every 6 month.) , and not needing to boost the high mean that i dont' get that hiss that's introduced and can be a pain in the ass.

[@steveschu]

EMG is the industry standard. I have EMG’s in the 18 volt setup and to put it simple, it works flawlessly and I get everything I need and don’t need in my signal.

[@franklulatowskijr.6974]

I play both actives and passives on country, hip hop, RnB, funk, and standard rock cover gigs and have been doing so almost twenty five years. And to be honest, I have the active circuit off at almost all times on both my actives basses (Dingwall ABZ6 and NG3). And if I had a choice of running the ABZ with the Glockenlang or the NG3 with the Dark Glass, I’m going with the Glock as there is very little tone coloring, so my bass sounds like a boosted passive bass. Actives are a good option, but I’m not taking them over passive at this point. And you don’t have to worry about batteries either. 😂

[@rl-ub9hx]

I'm rediscovering actives. I have blackouts in a schecter that honestly is kinda harsh and not very versatile. But I just picked up an LTD AP-4 with an active EMG PJ set up and Holy CRAP I love it!

[@fredericcalvet4650]

I have an American active PB Deluxe V (active only), I got it modified active/passive, changed the preamp, and finally always play it passive because you can hear the real bass sound . What about your fingers? Active or passive?

[@inkling5192]

Really good and really honest video 👍🏻 👍🏻👍🏻 It’s actually logic . My taste actually change over the years. If I like to just plug it in and play I prefer sometimes my Yamaha Bp 1024x Or for heavy stuff my cheap Ibanez STD-M passive surprise so often. But if I’m hunting for a specific tone then a Sr 505 is the real deal for me . Thank for the vid that give me more understanding and i learn a little bit more

[@4deuce31]

Probably one of the best vids on pickups and tone, outstanding.

[@boomboxxhero9362]

I used to own nicer basses and all of them were a mix of passive and active. As I’ve gotten older and my rig smallish, I’ve been satisfied with passive pickups. I just got rid of my G&L Kiloton Tribute as I bought a classic vibe jazz bass for $100 and sold the tribby for bills and to buy a darkglass harmonic booster pedal. With my amp(Fender Super Bassman) and my Genzler 410-3, this $100 sounds better than most $1200 active or passive setups I’ve had. I love both, but the passive is more plug and play since I use it wide open.

[@SurcoTheWise]

Active pickups with a passive tone control are quite rare on stock basses. Only one I know is the FGN Mighty Jazz, which is a great instrument.

[@gagslovedotcom]

A lot of the G&L basses have passive tone knobs. I feel that makes a tremendous difference. Changes to the tone knobs don't seem as artificial. I'll leave my G&L L2000 on passive for Classic, Old-School tunes. I'll flip the active switch for more modern stuff. I've also got a switch to run the pickups series or parallel. Also people whine about battery life with active. I usually gig weekly and only need to change the battery every 2-3 years

[@trhon1]

I have Schecter SLS Elite bass equipped with inovative Fishman Fluence active pickups in combination with passive knobs and voicing switch. I'm very satisfied with its colorful and bright tone, but I have to change the battery very often, ca every 50 hours of playing . So, I think FF pickups are the most energy consuming pickups on the market. And the number of basses equipped with FF pickups still increase.

[@kevmac1230]

@@trhon1 I've read people saying they don't like the Fluence pups but I don't get that.I put a set in a parts bass build and I'm sold on them.I get more great and usable tones from them than any of my 31 other basses.

[@trhon1]

@@kevmac1230 I also know several bassists who don't like Fluences (most of them without personal experience), it's a question of individual taste. But I'm a fan of an innovation and that's why I'm not e.g. Fender admirer. But yes, Fluences are specific in construction and tone and not everyone likes that.

[@chrysr7773]

I'm a fan of EMG pickups, I have two basses with the EMG GZR P passive pickups in them that sound great. My Guild Pilot has an original active EMG P pickup in it that also sounds great ...and it is 36 years old!

[@kevmac1230]

I also own a very early Pilot and it's a thing of beauty in every aspect.Totally underrated basses.

[@Hndsmstrngr1]

I had A Guild Pilot i got in 86.great sound, lightweight a d good sustain. It was stolen 😢

[@kevmac1230]

@@Hndsmstrngr1 that sucks, it's a good one

[@justinvandyke7781]

Is it true that EMG stands for electromagnetic generator?

[@wilhelmtheconquerer6214]

I don't like active electronics (pickups or EQ) because the addition of a battery is a liability (+ there's more control knobs with an active EQ, which I find unnecessarily confusing since I already have an EQ on the Amp). I use Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickups (PJ config.) with a vol, vol, tbx, toggle control layout. No batteries, no extra control knobs and still massive amounts of versatility. The tbx (treble/bass expander), for those who don't know, is a tone potentiometer that boosts either the treble or the bass frequencies depending on whichever way you turn it. It also "locks" in place in the middle position so that you know when it's on 0

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

The active pickup isn’t necessarily giving you ‘much more of everything’... A passive pick up through passive controls can have a fat low end peak, that’s actually resonant, as a passive pick up/volume/tone create an LCR filter. The active setup with less winds and no interaction between the pick ups and controls won’t have this resonance to the low end... Sure it’s less accurate, and not as good if there’s lots of fast muting, but it’s generally perceived as warm sounding.

[@Pesso86]

I owned both active and passive basses. To me, the advantage of active pickups is clear but small. On the other hand, that one time that the battery failed me during a gig was more than enough to steer me away from anything active 🤣 Besides, I have more than enough pedals to shape my sound anyway I want and I find it easier to do so with passive pickups

[@RobVespa]

I enjoyed this explanation. It was informative, thorough and entertaining, although a bit heavy-handed (pardon the pun of sorts). This was nice. I actually learned a lot, including a number of things outside of pickups. Appreciate it. All the best.

[@bassimprovjams3772]

I had a Warwick $$ with the switches like that one it was a beast!!! I actually prefer a solid pickup I actually put black electric tape on me coils just to black out my pickups lol also helps the string hitting the poles with low action and a aggressive hand

[@eisenyeo]

Spectors are active EMGs w/Active preamp, been using this PJ Spector since 1988, it's going strong. Back in the days, we just plug it into a studio direct box and record, no fuss no buss, sounds great, especially for slaps.

[@peadookie]

Do you find it flexible enough? Has that compression factor ever been something you didn’t want? Looking at dropping some EMGs in my Modulus.

[@eisenyeo]

very versatile bass, no problem.@@peadookie

[@peadookie]

@@eisenyeo hey man, appreciate the comment and it helped me decide. Did the swap and couldn’t be happier. Great stuff.

[@SiliconBassist]

I honestly love both active and passive electronics. Passives tend to be less fussy with effects and stuff, in my experience, but the versatility of active electronics is great. One of my two active basses has a passive mode (which should be ubiquitous imo), but I wish the passive mode had a tone control. This would make it easier for it to more quickly and reliably get along with pedals, if the actives are being finicky, while still having some sound shaping ability. Additionally it would also benefit from the active electronics when I want them. My favorite passive bass has a very particular character that I’m reluctant to mess with. Also I sometimes just enjoy the simplicity of it. More options isn’t always the best for me. If I need all those additional tonal options, I play something else, but sometimes some limitation can prevent ‘blank page syndrome’. I also just have to say that I’m really digging your sound regardless of pickup choice

[@dancassidy7471]

Hearing the background bass is enticing me to PLAY NOW!

[@roadtonever]

A big reason why EMGs sound different is that dual coils use active mixing circuitry. Think of a Split-P or a JJ set where each coil goes to its own output jack, next in the chain is a mix-blender pedal and you are basically doing what EMG pickups do internally. This means you aren't strictly limited to EMG for that general sound. To EMGs credit they're products are well made and very plug and play. Even the EMG ABC control can be used to convert a passive bass without changing the pickups.

[@borhksalduero9259]

I have owned two basses, first one with active pickups and second one with passive ones. I sold the one with active ones, it didn’t work for the pins I was after at all, I prefer and really like the sound of passive pickups way more in my opinion.

[@richardrichard5409]

Had over 50 basses.....Spector with EMG Hz and BTS nails it for me. 😎

[@Gorazd1974]

Ofc they are. I have super expiriences with MEC, EMG and Bartolini pups. 👍💪

[@toelife2112]

Active and passive pickups have their place in the world. I personally use a sire Marcus Miller V7 vintage jazz bass it uses passive pickups with an active preamp section. For my application I prefer the sound of passive bass pickups with an active preamp. However, when I'm in the studio I go completely passive for the most flat response possible. For what I do a passive pickup with an active preamp works for my application it may not work for your application. My suggestion is find what works for you and go with what you like.

[@TheAudivisioner]

Most of my basses have active electronics. Bought a Kiesel Osiris five string fretless bass last year. More than plenty of tone on that one. It has an internal level on the inside if which you can raise or lower the output. When you turn it all the way up, more than plenty of tone, but you start to get a lot of squeal from the single coil pickup! I might change it with EMGs. I have them in some of my basses. They are easy to install.

[@johnmclaughlin2392]

It was my understanding that onboard active circuitry was created to reduce the effects of the cable capacitance in longer cables used during large stage performances. In my opinion there's going to be preamp somewhere in the chain. I just prefer it to be from my di pedal or from my amp. If possible I like one preamp. They're all different. It's hard to organize what's being boosted and attenuated when you stack several preamps. If I had to play and active bass I would plug into the effects return jack of my amp to bypass its preamp.

[@luckyjinxer]

Yes they are. If I had to buy 1 bass, it would be an active bass with on board EQ. But I'd need a p-bass to cover most of the sounds out there. All that means is that the sound is so ubiquitous you kind of need it in your tool kit.

[@nathanvleugels1]

most of the ponts talked about in this video I can somewhat understand, however, the one thing I could never go without is a passive tone controll. Higher end basses with active/passive switching sometimes have the active treble control convert to a passive tone control. I can work with that. but a passive tone control works differently then active treble cut, and for me personally, the sound and coltrol of the passive tone is an absolute necessity for. Also, I hate batteries.

[@valeriotagliaferri2125]

Since I played my old pj bass with active pups and a pick, my bandmates keep on asking me to use them because of their fuller sound...what else do I have to say? 🤷🏻‍♂️ If these pups work better for the band, then they work better for me! I like that they keep the low ends even when your using a pick but if I would play with fingers then I would choose passive pups instead otherwise the sound would be too low for me.

[@DanielSmith-yk4ds]

Dimarzio passive pickups are sealed. FYI. Superior is subjective. Cool vid.

[@tramer76]

My original Fender 66 Jazz bass strongly disagrees, but happy trolling.

[@alanwadey2848]

Check out Guy Pratt's Betsy; it's a vintage ('60's) Jazz he bought from John Entwistle, that his tech in Pink Floyd put EMG's in. He was horrified 'till he played it.

[@johnnysguitarcorner5510]

Great video, really detailed information awesome. I also agree on the love for EMG's, until Fishman came a long I have limited spector that came stock with a Fishman set and was floored by its clarity/versatility and overall sound

[@tedtownsend8933]

Everything regarding music is subjective. Geezer Butler prefers EMGs passive pickup over their active. Active does nothing for me, but I'm glad people like them.

[@ryangoodrow8829]

I have 3 basses, a P bass with EMG GZRs, fully passive, a stock stingray with a passive pickup active preamp, and a Warwick corvette with active pickups and preamp. Out of all 3, I’d say the Warwick with active pickups sounds the best, with the p bass just behind

[@cmenacez8748]

Question; I have an all passive Peavy 4 string that I like the sound of the bridge pickup but would like to replace the neck pick up with the CS. Is it a problem to have one passive and one active? Can they share the same input jack? Thanks in advance for any help.

[@davidsolano9363]

To me everything technical you said is completely right, but being a guitar teche and having playing A LOT of different instruments and pickups, active pickups because of their internal preamp, it definitely color the sound and make that every single bass with EMG I’ve played, sounds almost the same, while playing different basses with passive pickups, they sound different, predictable, for the wood combination and construction of the instrument

[@ninovalenti96]

Great video. Most of my personal basses have Active EMG usually with a BTC/BTS, Aguilar or Sadowsky preamp.

[@TenFalconsMusic]

I have 2 visually identical basses (1active & 1 passive). My band, sound engineer & audiences don't hear an audible deference between the two. I notice a difference in sound & output, but everyone else doesn't seem to.

[@maibanez]

I totally agree, I change to active for 10 years ago, because i needed to have the flexibility of a more flexible tone, because i never knew what kind of amp i get in the small venue i needed to play or in the studio running almost mostly DI so i didnt needed to take my Ampeg Vst :)

[@d.s.9692]

Re Active Preamps: There are a lot of variables in a preamp, and a manufacturer makes a lot of choices in the design phase. What should the center frequency of the bass EQ be? How about the center frequency of the treble? How wide is the bandwidth of the boost/cut (the "Q")? Is it a notch or a shelf EQ? Do we use a 9 volt system or an 18 volt system? What parts are available in time for us to meet our release date? If we use cheaper parts can we meet a better price point for the customer? And so on. To my ears a lot of the active preamps don't sound very good, including the ones you get standard on the Music Man bass. But that doesn't mean active preamps can't sound good, it's just that the manufacturer made different choices than I would. And in this case, it's that the treble frequency range they've chosen to control is too low and too narrow. If you like that sound, there's nothing wrong with you, you just like different things - and lucky you! Music Man is making an instrument that pleases your ears.

[@TheBassChannel]

That’s a great point but that’s not really what this video is about. We’re talking specifically about the pickups, not the onboard preamp.

[@pjmtry7]

Awesome info and examples, thank you!!!

[@bryanabelbassist]

Great video! Very thorough and clear.

[@BeesWaxMinder]

W E I R D question I know but can I use EMG GUITAR pick ups on my BASS? I just got a lot of Guitar pups dumped on me which include some active types from EMG & others but I am more than happy with my Guitar so don't want to mess with that but I thought before Ebay beckons I Should ask for others experience/advice..?

[@ukulele666]

thank you man

[@prism223]

Probably the main downside of active pickups is the power supply and secondly translation from active to passive sound. If bass guitars came with XLR output, phantom power support with all major amps providing support as well as a "legacy" EQ switch to cut highs, I think the debate would be less severe.

[@Bassmeister_Jay]

Great Video Chris. I like How you mentioned the treble argument. In my opinion, it has an important role to play. Especially if you want to sound good in a mix live or studio. A little or alot can go a long way in whatever genre of music you're playing. No treble elitists should probably just stick to playing uprights! HAHAHA!

[@carlucho1012]

Been playing bass for a year. I have a very simple Fender Squier PJ and an Ibanez SR505E with 2 pick ups Bartolini BH2 (neck and bridge). Can be passive and active. When I switch it to active I don’t like the sound. Can’t use other gears pedal and so on. Probably because Ibanez electronic is not so good? Instead I love the Squier PJ with the SansAmp DI and compressor. Passive basses all the way!!!

[@braddietzmusic2429]

I love passive basses but I have no extended range passive ones. All of my 5-strings are active, and I find I use the 3-band eq a LOT as the room, the song variety, and moment demands in a way that’s much less possible with a passive bass. I’ll keep some of my passive 4- strings, but increasingly they are not capable instruments in sound flexibility and range for the kind of gigs and variety that I tend to play.