Do not buy if you want a true active and MORE INPORTANT passive bass for the Cort A4 Plus bass. This bass requires a battery in passive mode for it to work. If the 9 volt battery is removed or dies on you mid performance or mid recording, the bass does not not work at all if you switch the toggle to passive mode. This bass is described on this Thomann site as an active / passive bass and no where does it say, battery required in PASSIVE to function. This is one of the main reasons for purchasing this bass, to have that passive security, back up if you will, in case your battery dies and of course, to give you an added classic tone in passive mode. I found no distinctive sound difference in sound in either mode , so called active/ passive mode. I contacted Thomann through several emails and several phone calls regarding this issue. They said they needed to contact the Cort manufacturer before making any decisions on what steps to take next. And, just like I said, they confirmed a battery is needed to work in either mode, saying the active mode is bypassed in passive mode, but still needs a battery for the bass to function.
In the 18 years of playing basses, active, passive or active/ passive basses, I have never seen or heard of a passive bass that requires a battery to function at all. There are several other negative reviews regarding this passive mode issue for this Cort bass. Now I'm stuck with this bass.
