What are the benefits of active pickups?

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

Also, low noise.

On the down side:
-Cold, sterile tone (windings give PU's color and character, actives have less windings, hence the need for batteries).
-Made for heavy distortion and effects; not as good for cleaner tones.
-Can't change magnets in some (or all) actives.
-Periodic low battery level, and battery corrosion if you leave them in a guitar you haven't played in a while.

-Less windings has nothing to do with it - an EMG is wound to be as hot as a '59 or Jazz. The sterile tone is your opinion; I think it's really down to how the player responds to the pickup, since they do react differently.
-Matter of taste.
-Most people don't change magnets in passive pickups to begin with.
-9v's are designed to give constant voltage and then they die; there's a small "low battery level" period where tone will degrade, and that will last all of 10-20 seconds. Each 9v gives 3000 hours of 'plugged in' time. I change my batteries twice a year, and they always have current left in them.

 

[LReese]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

I don't know about as hot as a Jazz or '59 - they should be summed coils. Hotter than a 4.1K (per coil) parallel wired pickup but not as hot as one in series. There's some magic being done in the preamp too.

http://music-electronics-forum.com/t2145/#post14988

 

[SabbathFan0220]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

- Preamps can only have so much headroom when using a 9v power supply. A heavy-handed player can clip or max out the pickups unless supreme amounts of trickery are utilized. An 18v supply is the best bet.

From what I understand, this is a really an EMG problem. Blackouts are supposed to have addressed this issue. I think the EMG-X series was built for more headroom as well.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=118375

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

My old 60A was an amazing PU.
Perfect definition in the bridge position, even down-tuned to C on a short-scale.
Bendings sound even and well defined.
Perfect string to string definition
No lack in character ( Gilmore can say a thing or two about this)
Awesome output
I never had a clipping problem and I am a heavy hitter. The PU height plays a major role.
Creamy but well defined lead tone.
Rich Harmonics. For some too clinical, for some awesome.

Cons are limited on an active.
You have to adjust your amp differently
You might not profit from some funny side effects of passives, linke volume swell tone changes.
You might not use cable tricks to get a "santana" kind of sound
Your PUs will look boring

 

[108Dragon]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

Who is powering the coil? Certainly neither passives no EMGs.

"Who" isn't the word you were looking for, I assume. "what" or "from where" would be the term to put in its place. If you were trying to be funny, you failed.
To end my point, I will requalify my statements;

Using the Metal Live Wire pickups I use, I can back them WAY off the strings and get a decent tone and hellacious sustain. Or I can put them right on the strings and they don't kill my sustain. I like this. This is how they work on my installs. You can attribute this to "act of God if you like". Six of one and half dozen of the other to me.
My HMET sets and Mustaine sets run at 18 volts... which may account for the headroom. Certainly doesn't hurt.
If you want to believe that when you plug your electric guitar into your amplifier and turn it on, that no electrical current is present in the coils, fine by me. Believe whatever you like.

 

[108Dragon]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

A pickup (active or passive) is simply a generator. Flux in a magnetic field induces current into the diamagnetic copper copper windings. The current goes through the volume/tone network and out to the amp. The active pickup just has fewer windings than a comparable output pup because an onbaord preamp EQs and boosts the signal.

Immaterial. The device is still technically an electromagnet. If there is no current through the coils, what do you suppose brings the signal back to the amp?
"The active pickup just has fewer windings than a comparable output pup because an onbaord preamp EQs and boosts the signal." -ergo, a lower strength overall magnetic field.
...or you can simply believe it an act of God like uOpt

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

From what I understand, this is a really an EMG problem. Blackouts are supposed to have addressed this issue. I think the EMG-X series was built for more headroom as well.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=118375

I did quite a bit of research on preamps a while back and that was from my own understanding. Between the actual voltage you can count on from a 9v, the biasing for the input, the drain of the devices used, and other things slightly beyond my current understanding, the final possible voltage swing is pretty small. I don't know exactly what that is, but if the pickup is adjusted for more preamp gain there may or may not be enough headroom.

Also, I consider what Duncan is doing to be trickery. Good trickery.

 

[uOpt]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

"Who" isn't the word you were looking for, I assume. "what" or "from where" would be the term to put in its place. If you were trying to be funny, you failed.
To end my point, I will requalify my statements;

Using the Metal Live Wire pickups I use, I can back them WAY off the strings and get a decent tone and hellacious sustain. Or I can put them right on the strings and they don't kill my sustain. I like this. This is how they work on my installs. You can attribute this to "act of God if you like". Six of one and half dozen of the other to me.
My HMET sets and Mustaine sets run at 18 volts... which may account for the headroom. Certainly doesn't hurt.
If you want to believe that when you plug your electric guitar into your amplifier and turn it on, that no electrical current is present in the coils, fine by me. Believe whatever you like.

I am telling you again that the majority of the sound change from going close to the pickups isn't from magnet pull (electromagnetic or not). It's from the distorted vision that the pickup now has of the string's oscillations.

So you really think the amplifier is sending current into the pickups? Where can I get one of those?

 

[uOpt]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

Immaterial. The device is still technically an electromagnet.

The current induced by the strings isn't strong enough to create an electromagnetic field that is anywhere close to the strength of the ferromagnet that's already in there.

That's easy to test by reversing the scenario. You send in -say- 9V DC, which is more than you ever get from the string's induction, and measure the magnetic field with and without that current. You will see no difference.

Oh and you're an idiot with an attitude and I studied physics.

 

[108Dragon]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

You're trying to make a pickup a device which it is not. A pickup uses a permanent magnet. An electromagnet is not magnetic until a current is passed through it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnet If a pickup was a true electromagnet then it would not draw ferrous metal toward it when the guitar was not plugged in.

More windings on bobbins mean more current can be induced from flux in the magnetic field. I think the confusion arises from many high output pickups having ceramic magnets which DO make a larger magnetic field.

All electronic circuits have positive and negative "sides" but a guitar lead does not supply power to a pickup.

BTW there's no need to get personal uOpt was just trying to figure out what you meant.

If you say so.

BTW I wasn't personal with uOpt. I said to him basically what I said to you. "If you say so". If you took that personally, well... walk it off, brother.

 

[108Dragon]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

The current induced by the strings isn't strong enough to create an electromagnetic field that is anywhere close to the strength of the ferromagnet that's already in there.

That's easy to test by reversing the scenario. You send in -say- 9V DC, which is more than you ever get from the string's induction, and measure the magnetic field with and without that current. You will see no difference.

Oh and you're an idiot with an attitude and I studied physics.

The 9 volt battery is for the pre amp in the pickup, not the pickup coil. You're the idiot. I have no attitude. You're only a study of "emo", and if my disagreeing with you hurt your feelings, ...well, again, go outside and walk it off, professor. :biglaugh:

BTW I had intended to test the pickups in question, as you may be right - "I would have to run tests to tell you for sure. I have SD and EMG actives as well as SD and Dimarzio passives I could test. I also have an old Jackson DK2 sitting around. Hmmm. This could be fun."- (and I would have said so here), but since you want to get all :baby: over disagreement, both you & LD can eat a d***. :biglaugh:

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

Wow, I think that's the fastest anyone's ever graduated to my ignore list.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

If you say so.

BTW I wasn't personal with uOpt. I said to him basically what I said to you. "If you say so". If you took that personally, well... walk it off, brother.

So....from your response I'm guessing you have your mind made up and no amount of definitions, science, or real world experience is going to change your mind? In other words "don't confuse me with the facts". That's the tone your post has.

I took no offense, I was merely pointing out that you were acting childish by lashing out uOpt and that you don't have carte blanche to say "walk it off" or "rub some dirt on it" if others don't like your attitude.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

The 9 volt battery is for the pre amp in the pickup, not the pickup coil. You're the idiot. I have no attitude. You're only a study of "emo", and if my disagreeing with you hurt your feelings, ...well, again, go outside and walk it off, professor. :biglaugh:

BTW I had intended to test the pickups in question, as you may be right - "I would have to run tests to tell you for sure. I have SD and EMG actives as well as SD and Dimarzio passives I could test. I also have an old Jackson DK2 sitting around. Hmmm. This could be fun."- (and I would have said so here), but since you want to get all :baby: over disagreement, both you & LD can eat a d***. :biglaugh:

buzz off, thats the wrong attitude.

 

[108Dragon]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

So....from your response I'm guessing you have your mind made up and no amount of definitions, science, or real world experience is going to change your mind? In other words "don't confuse me with the facts". That's the tone your post has.

I took no offense, I was merely pointing out that you were acting childish by lashing out uOpt and that you don't have carte blanche to say "walk it off" or "rub some dirt on it" if others don't like your attitude.

No. You pointed out something about me that was not true. If you knew me, you would know that I do not take offense easily. Especially over something like an engineering disagreement. I do not "lash out". Calling someone an "idiot" is lashing out. If I see a "teaming up on" coming on, then I'll shiine you on over it. Still.. I'm not all emo.
I install/program/repair digital drives and build/repair military/law enforcement small arms for a living... among other things. If I was to get upset about anything it would be having been called an idiot. ..but I'm not upset.
I said in a much earlier post that I would test the pickups. Then, you guys get all emo because I didn't agree with you before I conducted my testing to see. My response was; requalify statement -this is my experience with said pickups- believe what you want.
I always post my findings, most often with pics (check my postings). If you were right, I would have said so.
So then, and now, I get teamed up on. I still don't have an attitude. The problem is, you guys are reading me wrong. Want to start over? We'll begin with my apology to you for any misunderstandings on my part. I can't be any more adult than that, can I?

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

The problem is, you guys are reading me wrong. Want to start over? We'll begin with my apology to you for any misunderstandings on my part. I can't be any more adult than that, can I?

I apologize for appearing to team up on you. That's the problem with forums. No voice inflection, no facial expressions...only the written word.





Hi, I'm Luke. Nice to have you on the forum.

 

[108Dragon]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

Strike this, as I had posted this before I saw Luke's response.

 

[108Dragon]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

I apologize for appearing to team up on you. That's the problem with forums. No voice inflection, no facial expressions...only the written word.





Hi, I'm Luke. Nice to have you on the forum.

Agreed. I reflected on what you said. I just came from another (very Republican) forum where I was called a "commie" for stating that unions are a good thing for some circumstances and jobs sets. It is possible that I may have come here with a tilt over that. But I hope it didn't bleed through the typing. I harbor no ill intent nor attitude towards anyone here. I love my music and I love guitar. Thats why I'm here.
Hello, my name is Corey. Thanks, this is a great forum.

 

[uOpt]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

The 9 volt battery is for the pre amp in the pickup, not the pickup coil.

Exactly. Then where do you think the energy for turning the coil into an electromagnet comes from?

So did you do the test?

 

[108Dragon]

Re: What are the benefits of active pickups?

Exactly. Then where do you think the energy for turning the coil into an electromagnet comes from?

So did you do the test?

Relent, brother. I apologized to you. You should reciprocate as well. I work. I will do as I said I would. I know there is current in the coils when the amp is on and the guitar is plugged in. I just don't know the quality & if there is enough to bolster the magnet. If you are right and I am wrong, I will say so.