Active pickups VS. Passive

[humphreybear]

My question is simple:

Why do so many people dislike active pickups?

 

[Davey]

usually active pickups lack character, sound too sterile and you got to have a big rig that you can drive the guitar with

 

[humphreybear]

Ok, the lack of character and sterile sound is true in many cases, but why the need for a big rig when using Active PUs?

 

[Davey]

because they lack sound.. i mean.. character, dont get me wrong, they're powerfull and have punch, but they lack the warmth that gives a passive fitted axe its sound.. an EMG will sound pretty much the same in a mahagony les paul and a maple fender.. to get the character you want out of them, you need a pretty fancy rig, or you'll just end up sounding the same as everyone who uses them..

but, the Live Wire Metal pup .. thats something i'd have. the only active humbucker that has character.. a very evil character hehe

 

[stratogato]

Hiya, I would like to know if there-s any way I can put a Seymour Duncan hot rails in the bridge along with a emg/s in the neck using different pots or something.

Thanks
Please answer asap.

 

[Davey]

from what i know you would need some special switching to make that work, as you're still using only one output jack and that is diferent in passive and active pups, but i'd ask the other gurus here and check the EMG site how to make that work

 

[fenderiarhs]

i don't agree with all these misconceptions about active pickups.I use both active in some of my guitars as i use passive in others and i must say each one has it's own voice.....but definately active are not sterile.....infact the emg 85 is one of my favorite pickups(along with the jeff beck).....they are just different......try to be open minded......i sometimes wonder how many of the people who say over the internet that actives are sterile, useless e.t.c have actually tried one or know how to use them correctly.

 

[Davey]

i played a guitar with a set of EMG's (h/s/h setup.. no idea which EMG's that were though) and it lacked character, the fullness and sweetness of a passive pup. granted i didnt play for long so i couldnt tinker around with the eq and effects much but i dont quite like it.. i'm still struggling to get even a sounds sample of the LW Metal apart of the one on the SD site.

 

[MontyGaah]

what's the difference between an active and a passive pickup? I'm new to this, by the way...

 

[Duke of Metal]

Here you go, i got this from the www.warmoth.com website:
http://www.warmoth.com/Bass/Gecko/ActivePassive.htm

I actully woundered, can Active Electronics be mixed with Passive pickups??


Duke

 

[Neoclassic]

Actives require a 9V battery to operate, passives dont. I think a lot of people hear the EMG81 in the bridge of some guitars as very harsh and trebley and hate it. I was in that camp until I tried the 85 in the brige and an 81 in the neck of one of my Robin Medleys(swamp ash body, rosewood FB), and run it at 18volts(2 9V batteries in series) and let me tell you, I'm converted! This guitar bleeds tone and character now thru any of my setups! I got this tip from the guys over at the Jackson/Charvel Forum. The 85(alnico mag.) in the bridge is fat, chunky and very articulate. The 81(ceramic mag.) in the neck is a shredders dream...sweeping up the floor!

 

[jeremy]

active pups can be mixed with passive pups, no problems in most cases.

an active pup is powered by a battery, thats the difference. usually they use a very, very low output traditional pup with a batterry powered preamp built into the pup.

i used to use emgs and they work fine, especially with high gain. i dont use em anymore cause i think they are somewhat sterile sounding. will you hear the difference between a lp and a strat both with an emg 81 in the bridge? yeah, but not as much as if you had a jb in there. will you hear the difference between an alder strat and an ash one? probably not, while with a pearly gates youd hear quite a bit of difference.

there is nothing wrong with emgs or any active pups, its just not a sound that i need for the tone i want

 

[humphreybear]

I prefer the EMG 85 and 60 combination.

My custom Jackson will have an EMG 60 in the neck and an EMG 85 in the bridge.
My active custom made Seymour Duncans are still my favorite pickups though.