Squier V.M. '70s Jazz Bass vs American Ultra Jazz Bass

Gear
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UPDATE #2: I originally had a negative first impression about the Ultra bass, thinking it wasn’t much better tonewise than my $400 Squier. . . It turns out that I misunderstood the tonal controls and got one or two correct only by accident . . . :roll_eyes:

Anyway, using a more methodical approach, I determined how these settings work. All the EQ settings on my amp were set at noon, and all effects on the amp were turned off.

Referring back to the earlier pic of the control panel:

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There are four knobs, left to right: volume and pan which are single, and two “stacked” knobs which control the tones, depending on whether ‘passive’ or ‘active’ is chosen with the small toggle switch.

The ‘volume’ knob controls the overall volume. (This used to be the volume control of the regular Jazz Bass neck pickup). The ‘pan’ control (which used to be the volume control of the regular Jazz Bass bridge pickup) allows the user to choose which pickups to use. If it’s turned all the way CW, it’s 100% neck pickup. If it’s turned all the way CCW, it’s 100% bridge pickup. In the photo, it’s set at 50%-50% so BOTH pickups are used equally.

The third and fourth knobs control the tones. If the selector switch is set to passive, as in the photo, the third knob (bass on the outer ring and treble on the inner knob) does nothing at all.

The forth knob (tone on the outer ring and midrange on the inner knob) works two ways:

If the selector switch is set to passive, the outer ring (tone) is operable (just like the tone control on the regular Jazz bass), and the inner knob (midrange) does nothing.

If the selector switch is set to active, the outer ring (tone) does nothing, and the inner knob (midrange) is operable. Further, both the ring and the inner knob on the third knob are also operable. Thus, the tone controls only work when the active mode is chosen.

There doesn’t seem to be any instructions anywhere on how all these settings work, so I had to determine them myself. If anyone else gets an Ultra Jazz bass, I hope this helps them . . . :slight_smile:

I take back my original negative impression about the Ultra bass. It really is fantastic and fun to play, now that I know what I’m doing with it.

Next step is to determine what effect different amplifier settings will have.

But that’s for another day.

Cheers
Joe

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42

Do you notice getting any extra upper harmonics when using the active electronics?

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What I did notice was an increase in volume, Eric @eric.kiser . . . :thinking:

No question about it.

@howard and @Krescht both indicated earlier that the volume should be the same in both passive and active modes, but I was very careful in my determinations of how the settings work. I have no issues with a little extra volume, though! :slight_smile:

Cheers
Joe

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It doesn’t mean the bass is broken or anything if the volumes are different! it’s just a little inconvenient. No big deal though.

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Thanks, @howard . . . :slight_smile:

As I mentioned earlier, this is my first active bass, so I didn’t know what to expect. Do you think it has anything to do with being 18v instead of 9v?

And yes, it’s easy to adjust the volume with the knob. It does sound a lot better on active though! :wink:

Appreciate your input,
Joe

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I’m a bit surprised that the active sounds that much better. I don’t think it should be that much of a difference. The preamp has a boost/cut control so that’s why you get more volume on active if you boost. You can add (boost) or subtract (cut) 10 DB.

You can run a test on passive and set a matching EQ on your amp/preamp pedal/daw and hear if that sounds somewhat similar. I assume in studio context you most likely want to use the passive mode. But if you are just playing at home without anything between your bass and amp and your amp EQ is set to flat then the active will most likely sound better. For passive you need to tweak the amp for a better tone since you can only play with the tone knob (which is typical for passive Fender basses).

The 18v will give you more headroom and maybe you will hear some frequencies better. Dunno about the frequencies but that’s what people say.

I’m not sure if my input is 100% legit but this is what I think :wink:

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This is a really good point. Joe, does this bass have the common thing where the active EQ treble knob doubles as the tone knob when in passive?

If so, the tone knob wide open is roughly equivalent to the preamp being all at noon. If you have the tone knob wide open and switch to active, you’re boosting the treble by 10dB in that case :slight_smile:

Basically the volume you should compare is tone knob wide open in passive versus EQ all at noon (±0dB) in active.

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@howard there is a separate pot for the passive tone. It’s stacked with the mid.

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Ahh, ok.

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Good to hear you’ve done some experimenting with your control panel and it’s positive.
I reckon you’re on to a winner there @Jazzbass19

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Thank you, @Paul . . . that’s what I’m doing :slight_smile:

I’m not sure what you mean . . . where is this boost/cut control?

Cheers
Joe

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No, it does not, @howard . . . the ‘tone’ ring on the forth knob is operable only when in passive mode. It does nothing when in active mode.

Cheers
Joe

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That is your stacked tone control knobs. Do you see the +10 Decibel label? In this case you are boosting your treble and bass. If you keep them at 6 o’clock they will be neutral and sound most likely like the passive.

If you go toward the -10 DB you will be cutting.

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OK, @Paul . . . I thought you meant something else.

To me, it’s the “EQ settings” : bass , treble, and midrange. . . . :slight_smile:

Thanks,
Joe

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Yes, thank you @Mac . . . :slight_smile:

I definitely DO like this bass, and it helps when I know what I’m doing! :grin:

Cheers,
Joe

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Yes, this is your EQ but you are also boosting or cutting your bass, mid and/or treble signal. Hence why the volume goes up or down (I thought this was your initial question). So in case of a boost it also acts as a boost pedal which is quite cool imo.

Boost pedals are great. Everything I put in between distortion, chorus, etc. just sound better with a little bit of boost. I got one where I can only shape my bass and treble but your preamp also does mids. It’s especially useful when you have a passive bass.

On a different note I don’t think you switch between passive/active that much anyway. At least I just pick between one setting when I play my bass. There are so many ways to do tone shaping. :wink:

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Hey, @Paul . . . I see what you’re saying now; this was just a terminology problem on my part, then.

That’s probably what’s going on . . . :slight_smile:

I haven’t used any pedals, or effects, or active electronics until now, so I’m still learning.

Thanks again,
Joe

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Or my part tbf. :wink: Just keep calling it your EQ settings tho. I think this boost/cut concept is also adding a layer of complexity.

Also I’m not 100% sure if what I’m saying is correct since I don’t own the Ultra bass but I’m thinking that you actually have to pick a side when you use your EQ. I think 0 (so knob at 6) is actually your starting point for either going boost or cut. That means you have two different ways of setting your EQ for your bass, mid and treble. Mind blowing lol.

Hope this makes sense… I will stop my guessing game now and let someone who actually know correct my thinking :wink:

That said I think both are beautiful basses.

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For sure. You have a couple real keepers there Joe :slight_smile:

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You’re BOTH right @howard and @Paul . . . I was getting confused reading through your responses until I realized that it depended on which direction you’re looking at the knobs on the bass . . . :slight_smile:

The point you were making was that the “0” point (whether you consider it 6 o’clock or noon) on the third and forth knobs is the starting point . . . I can add or subtract treble and bass on the third and add or subtract midrange on the fourth knob when in active mode.

All these years, I’ve been used to treating ALL the knobs on any bass I’ve ever had as going from 0 to 100% turning clockwise. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it :blush:).

And sure enough . . . when I set the third and forth knobs to “0” (midpoint), the volume was almost exactly the same whether in passive or in active mode. Another mystery cleared up, thanks to you guys!

Talk about your “Bass Ah-Hah! Moments” . . . :wink:

I got my bass on Friday 4-9-21, and today is Wednesday 4-14-21. I think I learned more in the last 5 days than in the last entire year of reading through all the hundreds of posts about pedals, etc.

Thanks again and all best,
Joe

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