OK- all of the electric guitars I own have passive pickups. Every electric guitar I've ever tried has passive pickups. Most of the electric guitars on my G.A.S. list have passive pickups.

But tonight I was looking at Fernandes Ravelles- something on my G.A.S. list- and noticed that the new spalted maple version is equipped with active pickups.

So, other than a bigger battery bill, what do you get from active pickups?

Very low noise, higher than normal output. and often more switching capability....

The battery bill is nill...you can change them about once a year even if they don't need to be changed...the EMG's sound great, have little or no noise and you may hear a difference in maintaing a steady volume when bending strings...

Make sure to test the active pickups extensively on clean (assuming a good clean tone is important to you). Some active pickups have such high output that you'll get a dirty tone even when you don't want it to be dirty.

Some, like EMG SA's and 85's, have much lower magnet-strength than passive pickups, coupled with the active preamp power; which translates into less magnet pull on the strings and more sustain.

They also often seem to have a perceived rounded attack compared to the passive pickups they somewhat model, as they seem compressed and limited what with their boosted, buffered output and sustain.

I tried EMG actives once on my Les Paul Custom. I took them out a few days later, and put in Seymour Duncan Distortions. There was something about them I did not like, (Which I can't recall) and never revisited the active line again.....

Caevan's comment on magnet strength and string pull is spot-on. Be sure to differentiate active pickups vs active preamp - 2 different things. A preamp gives you gain control as well as more comprehensive EQ. Active pickups are able to be more sensitive and cover a tailored frequency response without excessive magnet strength, which can result in better sustain. Batteries should last a very long time, especially if you unplug the cable when you aren't playing. A year is about right.

I had a set of reflex reds - HSS - in my frankenstrat for a long time. Ditto on the low noise and high output. They had a mid boost/cut that was really useful. I put some passives in a couple of years back for a less 'hyped' tone and have been happy with them. That said I liked the actives and still have them hanging around...might put them in something one day.

Oh yeah, battery life is great...however a battery dying mid gig was rather awful . The headroom slowly diminishes and your tone sucks. Because you haven't changed a battery in your guitar for maybe 18 months you check everything else first. Start unplugging pedals, changing leads, looking quizzically at your power tubes, scratching your head, blah blah blah!!!! Good times!

The reflexes had no option to switch to a passive battery less mode....do other actives allow this?

By the way, good active pickups like the better offerings from EMG and SD (can't comment on others, no experience with 'em) are EXCELLENT for use through long runs of effects and processing; on of the reasons that they were popular with rack-users of the '80s and '90s. They're also pretty good for plugging in direct; with a mono plug-adapter, you can even plug headphones directly onto the guitar's output-jack if you want.


For those that use a 9v battery, I recommend trying wiring two 9v batteries as long as they're wired in parallel and NOT series, unless the manufacturer states that 18v is safe for the given pickups. This can give you an even greater dynamic range and a little better attack.