Active Humbuckers with dynamic

[CarlosG]

Hi!
I'm searching active humbucker set
With passive humbuckers I was frustrated by the fact that the sound changes depending on the cable, and they has treble loss when volume is turning down and often has sloppy bass.
And yes, we have treble bleed but each of the 3 methods has its drawbacks.
As far as I know Active pickups sound identical regardless of the length or quality of the cable, and they still sounds the same when volume is turning down and usually have tight bass without boosters.
What always put me off about active pickups was compression, high power and lack of dynamics and no split coil.
From what I see, there are already a few models that have dynamics and split coil: EMG 57/66TW, Fishman Fluence Classic.
Are there any other models worth considering?
Cheers

[Mincer]

I'd think you'd want to stay away from high output ones which would hit the preamp of your amp too hard, causing compression. I minimize the issues with passive humbuckers by using shorter, low capacitance cable like George L's or Bill Lawrence (I use the same cable every time), and using a pickup/amp/pedal combination that will give a tighter bass. As far as the treble roll-off when you turn the volume down...I actually love that- it is a great feature to me, but it might not be if you don't usually play more dynamic styles.

[Rex_Rocker]

As far as I know Active pickups sound identical regardless of the length or quality of the cable,

That is not true.

They're less sensitive, but nicer and/or shorter cables still sound nicer.

[Rex_Rocker]

I feel like some overgeneralization.

Not all actives are tight in the lows. The regular AHB-1B is one of the most bloated, loosest pickups I've personally tried, even by passive standards. The Fishman Classics in the Hot Rod mode is kinda JB-ish, so that means slightly stuffy/spongy low-end as well. Not to say that's bad, though. But neither are as tight as Fishman Moderns on the active mode or EMG 81's.

Not all passives are super dynamic either. I'd say something like an X2N is way more compressed than something like a Fishman Classic in the PAF mode or even a Fishman Modern or KSE in the passive mode.

I also personally don't feel higher output means more compressed always necessarily. As long as your amp/pedal setup has headroom enough, sometimes A5 or even Ceramic feels more immediate and faster to react to picking dynamics over A2, which tends to get spongy and squishy at times, for example.

Also, a personal somewhat controversial opinion I have is the EMG 57/66 set is not as dynamic as people make them out to be. I've had them. I've tried tracking DI's with them. You can tell from the waveform they're actually more compressed than the plain old 81 because the 57 is hotter before the preamp, so the preamp clips more, and hence more compressed. The attack feels and sounds different because it has polepieces rather than blades, but strictly speaking, they're actually more compressed. Not to say that's bad, though. I love the 57, but I also love the EMG 81. But I do feel like the "OMGz moar dynamicz" hype on the 57 is caused by marketing and people not really analyzing what the 57's preamp is interacting with the pickup itself.

That being said, I'd say you'd like the Fisman Classics if you want the benefits of actives, but also want the feel and sound of a good set of vintage output passives.

[donaldr]

I have an EMG 60 in the bridge of a Godin Exit 22 and I would say it's pretty dynamic (from what I know about "dynamicity"!!!). I almost never have the volume knob on 10, except when I'm looking for that "pushed" sound. It's sounding more open until 9 and then I ear it compressing and losing dynamic. Depending on your amp, but on mine I can also go from very heavy distortion to edge of breaking up with only the volume knob. And as you said, lowering the volume knob it's keeping its clarity. It's having a bit of a single-coil clarity IMHO. I have an S in the neck and a S in the middle with a 3-way switch (as I don't like the 2-4 positions with those), it's a very versatile combo that I use for blues, classic rock, pop, hard rock and '80s metal. And that Godin with 23.75" scale length is so easy to play!!!!

I have a set of EMG Retroactive Fat 55 in an Ibanez SZ520. This set is also very dynamic and playing with the volume knob keeps also its clarity. The Fat 55 is a passive pickup with an active preamp, so a bit different than other EMG pickups, and it's lower output (PAF???). IMHO it's a mix between passive and active. I wanted a more vintage sound from this set and it's delivering that. If I wanted to have something heavier I would try the Super 77 in the bridge (and keep the Fat 55 in the neck as it's a very good neck sound).

I think the EMG pickups I have are different to what we are associating with EMG. I like them. And I also like the Seymour Duncan STK-S4/STK-S7 combo I have in another guitar.

[Chistopher]

Look into EMGs RetroActive line. They look and sound like passives but are fully active. The ones I tried didn't 100% feel like passives in terms of dynamics but they were close enough it didn't bother me.