Bongo/Stingray --> wired to passive

[Stereo_Monkey]

I love my Big Al playing it almost exclusively in passive mode.

So I am wondering how a Stingray or Bongo would sound in passive mode? Are there any tips or wiring diagrams for wiring them with an active/passive switch?

And yes, I know that I will loose warranty

 

[Big Poppa]

please dont do it.

 

[Bean]

please dont do it.

+1, What the big man said!

 

[bovinehost]

For once, I am extra special happy that I have no idea how to do such a thing.

 

[Stereo_Monkey]

please dont do it.

Why not? Is the Stingray PU sounding that worse without the eq? My 25th H-PU sounded great in passive mode!?

 

[Stereo_Monkey]

+1, What the big man said!

Have you tried or already heard one in passive mode? What was so bad?

 

[adouglas]

 

[DTG]

please dont do it.

LOL....i do love a simple answer

 

[bovinehost]

Have you tried or already heard one in passive mode? What was so bad?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say BP has probably heard all kinds of combinations. Of course, it's YOUR bass and you can do whatever you want to it (I'm a fan of this) but I'd just say to keep in mind that Bongos and Stingrays are designed to have an active preamp. It's part and parcel of the tone package, if you will.

 

[Stereo_Monkey]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say BP has probably heard all kinds of combinations. Of course, it's YOUR bass and you can do whatever you want to it (I'm a fan of this) but I'd just say to keep in mind that Bongos and Stingrays are designed to have an active preamp. It's part and parcel of the tone package, if you will.

Yes, I understand what you mean. But, what I am not wanting is a sound that can be called 'the sound'. I love to hear bass players that are recognizable and have recognizable sound. So, loving my Big Al's passive tone and loving the not amplified wood tone of my Bongo I would like to hear it in passive mode...

 

[oli@bass]

Answers for the StingRay:
1.) The pickup sounds fine, just pretty low output in passive mode
2.) The SUB was available as passive only bass
3.) Remove the battery from a 'Ray and you get a passive bass (without a working preamp, naturally)
4.) Check out my http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/42214-stingray-sound-examples.html

All that said, it just sounds not much different but better with a battery inserted...

 

[Stereo_Monkey]

Answers for the StingRay:
1.) The pickup sounds fine, just pretty low output in passive mode
2.) The SUB was available as passive only bass
3.) Remove the battery from a 'Ray and you get a passive bass (without a working preamp, naturally)
4.) Check out my http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/42214-stingray-sound-examples.html[/B]

All that said, it just sounds not much different but better with a battery inserted...

Oli, great!!! That is what I am looking for - passive sound samples...

 

[kevins]

it sounds very very very very very quiet. you have to crank the gain all the way up on the amp to get marginal ammounts of sound and all those knobs become useless. otherwise it sounds fine just doesnt have the things that make the bass sound great instead of just good.

 

[CFA]

Hmm... I tend to be a bit of an idiot, but isn't "passive" mode (At least on the Stingray) basically a low out put version of everything set flat? And logically, wouldn't this be the same for the Bongo?

 

[oli@bass]

Hmm... I tend to be a bit of an idiot, but isn't "passive" mode (At least on the Stingray) basically a low out put version of everything set flat? And logically, wouldn't this be the same for the Bongo?

Theoretically, yes, practically, no preamp is completely linear and transparent. IMO, the EBMM preamps sound a bit "aggressive" and "compressed"* but in a very nice, ballsy way that makes the bass cut better through the mix.


*even the 18V preamp on the 25th.

 

[niceguy]

I've pulled the battery out of my Stingray and fiddled around with it as a passive instrument and still loved the tone, but I definitely feel that the way EBMM basses have evolved with their preamps (as opposed to it being an afterthought) is one of their greatest strengths. I consider the preamp, the pickup, and the wood to all be equal parts of the equation with these basses. Fender active basses, for instance, seem like you could just as easily pull the preamp out of those and have basically the same bass. Not so with EB's designs - they were built to be together.