Recommended active pickups

Hello. I'm uki, and I play the lead guitar for a rock band called “ALTEiD".

To begin with, most of my guitars are equipped with active pickups.
I love active pickups.

This article is about active pickups, and I would like to introduce the merits and demerits of active pickups, although I am still learning.

What is an active pickup?

Active pickups have a built-in preamplifier in the circuit, unlike the normal internal circuit. In other words, guitars with active pickups need batteries.

EMG is a well-known manufacturer of active pickups, and the power of the pickup itself is extremely small compared to passive pickups (= pickups that do not use batteries). The basic structure is to amplify the small input signal and then output the signal.

Active pickups have been preferred by many guitarists including Zakk Wylde and James Hetfield since the metal boom in the 90's.

Are active pickups suitable for metal?

Because they are used mostly by the metal guitarists mentioned above, there is a preconceived notion that "active pickups = for heavy metal".

Certainly, for the metal-derived genre where you need heavy distortion and a high-gain amp, noiseless and clear-sounding active pickups are suitable.

However, metal is not the only the only genre that needs a high gain sound.

I often hear negative opinions that active pickups have a "breathless sound" and the "same sound on any guitar", but I think this can be improved by sound adjustment.

Do they sound the same on any guitar?

Each pickup has a different structure and different magnets, and many manufacturers besides EMG also produce active pickups.

As mentioned above, although the input signal from the guitar is small, the character of the guitar itself is reflected to a certain extent.

Therefore, it can be said that not all guitars will sound the same. I think that active pickups are good because they have a strong character depending on the product, so it may be good to try various models and enjoy the difference.

An abundant of types

Various manufacturers produce active pickups, and the major brands are as follows.

☆ EMG

EMG is the most standard active pickup manufacturer as introduced above,

and it is a pioneer in the active pickup industry. It produces a variety of models with various colorings, accessories, and also the "81 TW series" and "89 series" that can switch between humbucker and single coil.

I would recommend mounting the 81 (ceramic) on the rear and try various pickups on the front.
Some people prefer the 85(Alnico) mounted on the rear. It is profound in either position, and in what combination the pickups are mounted.

☆ Seymour Duncan Black outs series

Active pickup series from Seymour Duncan, a well-known pickup manufacturer.

Personally, I don't feel the “coldness” in the sound, which is said to be a drawback of active pickups because they have a rich middle.

Also, they are compatible with the EMG circuit, so they can be easily replaced.

The aggressive sound of "EMTY", a signature model of Mick Thomson, a Slipknot guitarist, is the best metal sound compared to all other active pickups.

☆ Fishman Fluence series

Fishman has produced acoustic guitar pickups and preamps for over 30 years. It has developed a unique pickup called a coil-less design by incorporating technology cultivated over many years.

The more you play it, the more you can feel the characteristics of the active pickup. The Modern is popular, but I think the Classic also has an interesting sound.

Recently, they’ve produced various artist signature models, which are also used as standard pickups by many guitar manufacturers.

Easy to replace!

Most active pickups are compatible with connectable wiring, and they do not require soldering as wires are connected using the connectors.

Therefore, it is quite easy to change the position of the pickup or replace it with a compatible model.

Summary

As mentioned above, I have tried many pickups from various manufacturers.

When recording using a DAW software, I mainly use plug-in software, but active pickups can reflect the characteristics of the amplifier more than passive pickups, and are quite useful in when it is better to flatten the picking nuances.

As long as you don't have to worry about the batteries running low, I think active pickups are useful in various situations. Why don’t you try them?

✔ Merits

・Noiseless and clear sound
・Work well in a band and ideal for rhythm guitar.
・Easy to replace

× Demerits

・Difficult to create a natural sound.
・Batteries are required.
・The guitar will look different.