Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

Gibson 1964

Gibson 1964

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I have never gotten along with them. I have had batteries drain way too fast and go out in a gig. (New batteries installed that day) In fact, I have issues with batteries pretty much across the board in my life. Its a bit of a thorn in my side. I have debated using a 9v power supply connected by stereo cable to power an active guitar, like the emg es-18(which is very doable.) I am aware the emg sound is a staple in metal, but frankly, I can get plenty of awesome metal sounds with passives. I also generally don't play metal.

However, while I get what I want from passive pickups for the most part, I am wondering if I am missing out. So what I am interested in is quite simple, What about passives do you find more appealing than passives? Why did you make the jump to active? Is it tone? Output? Feel?

FTR, I am not interested in trolling or trying to disprove anything. I just want to know why people like actives to determine if it is something I want to try again.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

I like actives myself; however, I stopped using them. I love the tone I get with them, but I couldn't stand the feel. For me it's like using even the most expensive modeling technology. The tone is there, but it doesn't feel right. It's like there's a separation between me playing and what I'm hearing.
But a few reasons they are useful:
-Depending on model, you generally get a nice, tight tone without the harshness of high-output passives
-There is less magnetic pull on the strings because the pickup itself is extremely low output without the preamp
-Consistency, you can take that guitar anywhere and find a usable tone
-They are very quiet, especially in front of a computer screen.

I find, however, that I prefer low to medium output pickups for metal. So now I just have one guitar with Blackouts that doesn't leave the house.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

If you had a battery drain the same day you installed (assuming that was the true issue) you either had a nearly dead battery to begin with or a short somewhere in your wiring. Not trying to argue with anybody but I've never had a dead battery be the actual problem.

I used nothing but actives for years, then in the last 5 or so I started to really get into passives. I'd say active pickups are more consistent and neutral in terms of tone whereas passives tend to have a lot more "character" to them. Even with all of the actives available these days there's still not a truly wide variety of tones. Passives on the other hand have had ever flavor you could think of plus a few you didn't not long after the first electric guitar pickups were invented.

Passive pickups are a thing of beauty but dare I say the right active with the proper setup can be more versatile? If I could afford 100 guitars I'd want it all but since I've only got a few and like each to be capable of covering a lot of ground I find myself gravitating back to actives.

All of that said there's two more factors for me personally:
•So many passives that I often get hung up trying to decide on just one.
•At the end of the day I've got to be able to get that percussive thwack when I kick in the high gain, preferably without having to redial everything on my amp.
 
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Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

Twelve of my thirty-year career as a pro was on a Valley Arts Standard Pro with a SA/SA/89 set.

Never had a battery problem.

Last year a recording project leader asked for an active strat, so I've assembled one on the cheap and it was like riding a bike again!



I sold the one used on the project, but I got the active bug again, so I'm putting a SA/SA/89 in a Pacifica, installed upside-down, so the 89 will act as it was a 89R.

If everything goes well, I'll be finished assembling the pickguard this weekend. I'm looking forward to experience the 18V mod in a guitar for the first time! ;)
 
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Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

The 89 is my new favorite (as far as actives). If I end up going active with my new Warmoth build I'm going to do an 89X + 89XR with a 4-pole 5-way. Got an 89XR in my one-pickup RR24 with a push-pull volume now, love it.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

Actually, I forgot about the new 57 and 66 models that just came out. Those sound amazing.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

Re: battery life

some people's natural electrical field kills batteries. i knew a lady who could not wear a watch because the electricity in her body just killed the batteries in no time. perhaps you are one of those people.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

I like them for the pure power.... the main thing that has me favoring passives though is, actives seem to be a bit too compressed with a clean tone IMO. they do have a lot of headroom though
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

There's a video on Youtube where a guy tries to explain how to get the best metal tone rather than the super saturated heavy bass sound. EMG's can push the amp as an overdrive and saturate the sound a little more. My only problem with actives is that they sound pretty sterile which seems to be a common complaint about actives.
 
Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

I have the het set and the emg 57/66 in my #1 and #2 guitars. They give me everything I need: high output, dead silent and they are more versatile than people give them credit for (especially the het set). Just use volume knob and tactical picking. :)

I do have two passive guitars also, one with JB/Jazz and one with the BW set. But batteries never bothered me, so why change? Between those 4 guitars I can do everything I want to do with my guitars, playing and sound wise.

What I do love with passives though, is the ability to split/phase/series and paralell.
 
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Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

post toastie said:
Re: battery life

some people's natural electrical field kills batteries. i knew a lady who could not wear a watch because the electricity in her body just killed the batteries in no time. perhaps you are one of those people.
Click to expand...

I didn't want to go there, but I seem to be one of those people. It is all electronics with batteries seem to die around me quickly. Watches, phones, tablets, etc. My brother can use the same guitar for months with actives, I borrow it and the battery lasts seemingly no time with a brand new battery.

Hence, I have gravitated away from actives.

Just wondering if that is foolish.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

I choose active guitar and bass guitar pickups whenever they make the sound that I want. Equally, I use passive when that is the sound I want. No bias towards either type over the other.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

I've used EMG actives for over ten years now. I've tried 81, 85, 89, 60, SA, 85X, 60X and 707. I've also tried the EXG and SPC preamps.

The only pickup I really didn't care for was the 81 - although it was perfect for certain thrash tones, for example. Just not what I like to play.

To me the 85/89s have been consistently awesome. The 89 is probably the most versatile pickup that I know of. No split passive pickup comes close to the SC side of the 89. I don't really need the output. I just like the tone and the feel. I also like the volume pot acting really as a volume pot and not losing any highs.

I've never had a battery run out. I just always the cable out of the guitar. I replace the battery every year or two. IIRC a single battery can run a pickup for 3000 hours which is a lot of playtime from a single guitar for me.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

I like both actives and passives. I have the mick Thomson in the bridge of my rhoads and a standard blackout in the neck. The clarity of the sound helps alot in live situations; it also works well for chunky rhythm stuff on recordings. I also thinks the shimmering cleans of active pickups are underrated.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

The AHB-3's are awesome, trying to find out if I can get a "classic" nickel set for my LP now!
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

Gibson 1964 said:
I didn't want to go there, but I seem to be one of those people. It is all electronics with batteries seem to die around me quickly. Watches, phones, tablets, etc. My brother can use the same guitar for months with actives, I borrow it and the battery lasts seemingly no time with a brand new battery.

Hence, I have gravitated away from actives.

Just wondering if that is foolish.
Click to expand...


Have you contemplated your existence? Paranormal entities supposedly are huge battery drains when they try to manifest themselves.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

The only active pickups I've ever gotten along with are these late 70's EMG-Overland mini-humbuckers I threw in my Gibson Firebird 70's Tribute. I absolutely hate EMG pickups, but these have a character nothing like any EMG you'd purchase today.

 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

LtKojak said:
One man's "sterile" is another man's "articulated".

Don't judge before you've actually spend some "quality time" wit an active set.

HTH,
Click to expand...

I got a "live-and-let-live" policy myself...
With that said...I prefer passives, if I want more balance and articulation, I'll use a compressor pedal(That can be turned off if desired).

Active pickups are the "perceived" bad-boyz of the Metal world. My time with them runs parallel to my memories of my teen-age mentality...by which I mean...you gotta experience them for yourself to learn not to trust them with your daughter.
 
Re: Active pickups - Why do you choose them?

Some of the best guitar recordings are made using an EMG 81, an AxeFX, and ProTools.

Some of the worst guitar recordings are made using an EMG 81, an AxeFX, and Protools.

It's all in how you use it, but yeah, I have 34 guitars and 33 have passive pickups.
 
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