What are Active Pickups?
Active pickups may not be as mainstream as passives, but over the last thirty years they have seen a steady rise in popularity. Innovated by EMG in the ’80s, most active pickups share the fundamental wire-wrapped magnet design that passives are based on, but the approach to their construction is slightly different.
EMG’s products, for example, feature far less wire coils than most passive pickups. This means that their natural output is actually very low, resulting in a much quieter and almost noise-free sound. In order to bring their output up to a usable level though, most active pickups rely on a built-in preamp to boost their signal. That is why active pickups are operated via a 9V battery; in order to provide power for the preamp.
Whereas passive pickup technology has stagnated, active pickups have evolved and been developed specifically for modern players. Fishman‘s Fluence pickups are a testament to this, acclaimed for their fidelity, quietness and multi-voice capabilities. Instead of using a traditional wire-wrapped magnet, Fluence pickups are made using modern circuit board manufacturing processes, and feature a layered pickup core with multiple coils. With the likes of Tosin Abasi, Greg Koch and Devin Townsend making the switch to Fishman, it proves they’re pretty good!
Pros of Active Pickups
As most active pickups do not boast as many wire wraps around their magnets, this results in a weaker magnetic pull on the guitar’s strings. Although this sounds like a negative, the lower force allows the strings to vibrate much more freely, which results in better sustain. Some also argue that active pickup-equipped guitars will have more accurate intonation for the same reason.
With their built-in preamp, active pickups usually have a greater overall output when compared to their passive counterparts. This makes them excellent for high-gain sounds, while the comparably lower noise-floor helps to reduce unwanted hiss. This is why EMG and Fishman pickups are generally more synonymous with metal players, but like passive pickups, these companies do produce single-coils too. For example, David Gilmour has used EMG pickups in his Stratocasters for many years.
Active pickup users will also find that the volume and tone pots on their guitar are more responsive. As actives have a lower impedance, this helps to prevent the well-known ‘volume roll’ issue – whereby the tone is affected rather than just the volume. Some players like the way that a passive volume circuit behaves, as it darkens the guitar’s sound. But with active pickups, the volume pot will actually work as expected without influencing your base tone as drastically.
As their impedance is lower than their passive counterparts, active pickup-equipped guitars are also better at handling long cable runs. If you’re unsure what this refers to, a long length of cable from your guitar to your amp will typically result in a loss of treble, as excessive capacitance is built up. To combat this issue, guitarists rely on buffers to transform a high impedance signal to a lower and more friendly one. With active pickups, their low-impedance design thus allows them to retain more high-end, eliminating the need for a buffer.
Cons of Active Pickups
Batteries are needed for active pickups, which may put off some players. Not only is there no warning of when they’re about to run out, but sufficient space inside of your guitar’s electronics cavity will be needed to accommodate the clip and the 9V battery itself. Although battery life can be a concern, EMGs last for hundreds of hours before needing a battery change. Fishman also produces electronics that feature micro-USB connectors for easy recharging, made specifically for their Fluence range.
On the subject of electronics, if you’re intending to change your pickups from passive to active, all of the other circuitry in your guitar will need to be swapped out in order for them to be compatible. This is due to the impedance of the pickups, and of course, their need for a preamp.
Therefore, the replacement parts needed not only requires some extra research, but when the prices of all of the necessary components are added up, it can make the switch to active pickups an expensive undertaking. For some people though, it’s worth it.