Lot of vitriol being splashed about here!
In my ignorance (never had a git with them on it) I assumed active pickups simply used an op amp or discrete transistors to amplify in as transparent a way as possible the basic pups' signal?
Are peeps telling me now that the implementers fork about with the response in order to "improve" it?
I can see no difference in sound quality occuring whether you put a decent FET amp inside a guitar or in a tin 3mtrs away, except of course the aformentioned treble loss. For sure things get complcated with tone controls, pup selection and so forth but all such is solvable I would think, that is, it should be possible to have a Strat (e.g.) that SOUNDS just like a "passive" Strat but has an op Z of 100Ohms?
Dave.
Well active pickups are usually very flat sounding but that ended up being their strength. They work very well with pedals because there are no tone bumps like passive pickups have. But they aren't musically clean like a nice single coil! It's quite amazing when you think that passive designs (and the pick ups we love) were designed over 50 years ago!
Yup - that's pretty much it. The pickups themselves have a very, very low output.Originally Posted by ecc83
As I've said, I have 'em in my Nitefly and it sounds much the same as it has with all the pickups I've tried. They're not sterile or soul-less or any other meaningless waffle-words - they sound like pickups.
You're with stupid. ▲
I found this quite informative.
http://proguitarshop.com/andyscorner...ve-vs-passive/
Good trade with Nocaster - Craig222 - Fastboy - Lexie1 - Simo - Peteri - White Rocker - Citizen68 - fretmeister- loopyloop - arrowheadguitars
So how come the output of the pickup is so low? Do they use a lot less windings, or lots of winding with high resistance wire or do they use a very weak magnet.
Could you not create a pickup using an electro magnet rather than a ceramic or Alnico?
"Could you not create a pickup using an electro magnet rather than a ceramic or Alnico?"
Yes you could Axe_ M but there would be no adavntage over PM's other than perhaps the ability to fade them in a rather novel way!
The strength of a magnetic field is limited by the saturation limit of the magnetic material and I doubt that you could improve on the flux levels of Alnico let alone the new Rare Earth stuff.
In any event have I not read that some guitarists eschew strong magnets because of the detrimemtal "pull" on the strings?
As for winding wires, coil resistances, don't know. Clearly passive pups have to be wound with enough turns to produce a decently large signal that can "survive" outside the guitar. Actives don't need that and so the impedance of the pickup can be quite low and the electronics (of which I have seen none!) designed to "match".
Dave.
Most actives use a very weak magnet - this has the advantage of reducing string pull and thus giving more sustain.
You're with stupid. ▲
Gotcha!
I have often toyed with the idea of a Strat(say) with each pup brought out as a balanced pair, the RJ45 being the ideal vehicle for the connection.
These go to a box containing 3 balanced i/p op amps* and then tone, vol and pup switching can be done at a decent level and low impedance. Should give you the ultimately sparkly, clean and hum resistant Strat.
*Nutty purists could have 3 differential triodes!
Anyone got an old '63 they want me to take a chance with?
Dave.
I bet people would tell you - without having heard it - that it didn't sond as good as [insert what they've already got].
You're with stupid. ▲
THAT I do not doubt for a nanosecond Mac'! But 'twould be quiet and deliver as close to the ACTUAL "sound" of the transducers as it is possible to get.I bet people would tell you - without having heard it - that it didn't sond as good as [insert what they've already got].
Dave.
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