Studio pre with passive pickups

[Gatelyne]

Do anyone else feel that the studio pre hates passive pickups?

Im a passive pup player but they just sound loose and muddy through the studio(I do have the preamp eq correct). Actives on the other hand, sound HUGE! It loves active pups. Tight and defined. The D activator pup does alright but still not quite there.

 

[elvis]

I don't think the studio pre hates passives. I just think that you need actives to get the tone you want. 99% of people who have ever played with that preamp have used passives. Also remember that most metal players are using actives, regardless of their amp of choice.

I get your point, though. When I go for super metal tone, I have to tweek the EQ pretty hard. For other stuff, though, I find the studio pre pretty forgiving.

 

[silentrage]

Did you try super high output pickups?
I think dimarzio blazes, X2Ns, bareknuckle warpigs, and possibly a few others are high enough output that they can compete with actives while still bein gorganic.

Also, try boosting it with a OD pedal? I like every amp I've played through with a OD.

 

[tonefreak25]

I don't think the studio pre hates passives. I just think that you need actives to get the tone you want. 99% of people who have ever played with that preamp have used passives. Also remember that most metal players are using actives, regardless of their amp of choice.

I get your point, though. When I go for super metal tone, I have to tweek the EQ pretty hard. For other stuff, though, I find the studio pre pretty forgiving.

Well said here!!! Mirrors my own experience to a "T"!!!

 

[edgecrusher]

I find I need to boost my Studio pre with a Tubescreamer to get a really tight metal tone out of it. I have a Xiphos with D-Activators, and other guitars with D-Sonic's. My Mark III is much tighter, but both benefit from the Tubescreamer quite a bit for tight metal tones. I highly recommend picking one up.

 

[pathos45]

any amp will sound diffrent when it comes to passive and actives. This being becuase actives usualy have a preamp inside of them that will give you the same distict tone always. Wheres passives are compleatly on the player. I have emgs in my 2 6 strings and i have a x2n and a paf pro in my 7 string and when i switch to my 7 string my settings HAVE to be changed no matter what. Im useing a mark v and my other guitarist is useing the stuido pre, so i have had the chance to look at things and test **** out. With the actives you can def get away with some sloppy playing because the preamp inside the pickups will make sure it all comes out in the same pitch and vol. Wheres passives if you even pick the wrong way it will sometimes sound so compleatly diffrent. I find passives make me play like an actual guitar player u know make sure every picking is true, every pinch hermonic is true so on and so forth. Wheres when i swtich to my 6 strings i can ease up on focusing so much on my base teaching and just have fun with it. My x2n has the same output as my emgs and they sound so diffrent hell even my jim root tele compaired to my ec1000 is so diffrent and they have the same pickups. When it c omes to guitars and pickups and that **** one change will change your tone, may it be wood, strings, neck through or bolt on, string through or floyd bridge so on and so forth. Hope this helps a little. I also find with the stuido pre with passives get a agood base with the dials before you go into the eq, i use the eq to pretty much bring the noise and **** to a min and trying to boost the mids at the same time. Mids=huge in the stuido pre in my other guitarist pre may be diffrent for others but yeah.