Tell me about Bass pickups

[JakeAC5253]

What's the deal? If someone were looking for a b-axe to lay down some metal oriented bass lines in a computer DAW via DI box, what kind should he look at? Passive vs. Active? Coil config? Brands that make good bass pickups? Good pickups?

 

[Digital Jams]

Active, no doubt.

More punch, more range, more tone choices, etc.

 

[Tawlks]

Active.

Actives dominate the bass pickup market for a few reasons

Active EQ/preamp in the bass means better tone shaping options on the guitar, many basses have 3 band EQs unlike guitars which just have a tone knob.

They handle low end alot better, and if you're down tuning a bass you do need that extra tightness.

The harmonic content is richer, they just hit harder as well. For anything but jazz I'd reccomend active, though there's a couple jazz bassists who use EMGs actually.

 

[JakeAC5253]

Good news, I was between two basses and now I can settle on one. So I was looking at this bass. Do you think these pickups would be decent, and if I needed to switch them out with EMG's or something, do you think it would be possible (cavity dimensions and all that)?

http://www.rondomusic.com/z4nat35.html

 

[mboogman]

Picking nits a little here, but I'd go with passive pickups with an on-board active preamp. Especially for heavier sounds. My wife's warwick and her Ibanez BTB 5 string are both set up that way, and the BTB has one of the richest, growliest sounds I've heard.

 

[JakeAC5253]

Picking nits a little here, but I'd go with passive pickups with an on-board active preamp. Especially for heavier sounds. My wife's warwick and her Ibanez BTB 5 string are both set up that way, and the BTB has one of the richest, growliest sounds I've heard.

Thanks for the insight. What are the pickups on those bad boys? And what do you mean by onboard active preamp, active EQ?

 

[jonny toetags]

I've always preferred passive pickups (but I only play Fender P-basses and Jazz-basses)
I love Duncan Quarter Pounds in my P-Basses.

 

[mboogman]

Picking nits a little here, but I'd go with passive pickups with an on-board active preamp. Especially for heavier sounds. My wife's warwick and her Ibanez BTB 5 string are both set up that way, and the BTB has one of the richest, growliest sounds I've heard.

Thanks for the insight. What are the pickups on those bad boys? And what do you mean by onboard active preamp, active EQ?

Both basses are totally stock. The warwick has their MEC pickups and preamp and the Ibanez has some Single coils with a really great three band active EQ with sweepable mid shift. I've wanted to get one of the Aguilar onboard pre's (OB3 probably) for a while, but just haven't had the time to devote to it lately.