Originally Posted by: spanky10940can anyone give me an example of a song that would use active and one that has passive so we can hear it... sorry. I don't understand the difference.
A buddy of mine got a bass off of this gadget dude that setup the thing with active pickups and it sounds almost the same to me as his Ibanez... Maybe the battery is dead? do they work that way?
It'd be like comparing the tone of Muddy Waters or Jimi Hendrix to Zakk Wylde or Kerry King. All are excellent players, but the hot shredding sound is more likely to be active pickups (although a good effects pedal can do a great deal). To me (as a contrast) the Fender sound epitomizes the sound of passive pickups, sure it'll hum, but isn't the old 50 cycle hum what it's all about Strat players?
Incidentally if the batteries in active pickups die, there is no signal from the instrument- my boy used to leave the plug in his instrument (which is a pet peeve of mine) and it killed the battery for his pickups and the thing was dead as a rock until he replaced the battery. Being a lousy friend, I was cracking up watching him freak out because I knew what had happened. I filled him in before he got too freaked out.
peace
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