PICKUPS - ACTIVE/PASSIVE/MAGNETIC/PIEZO

[bmast160]

Can someone please clear all these up for me? Is a fishman matrix a piezo and active pickup? What about a fishman rare earth blend...magnetic and active? What are some examples of passive pickups? Can piezo pickups be passive? What about electric guitar pickups...do strats, teles, and les pauls all have active magnetic pickups?

[jd-drafter]

here is a bit of wiki info on the subject-

 

it may not cover specific brand names so much but it will have lot's of info-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_(music)

 

Active and passive pickups

 

Pickups can be either active or passive. Pickups, apart from optical types, are inherently passive transducers. So-called active pickups incorporate electronic circuitry to modify the signal. Passive pickups are usually wire wound around a magnet. They can generate electric potential without need for external power, though their output is relatively low, and the harmonic content of output depends greatly on the winding.

 

Passive pickups are very convenient as they require no power source to operate. They are the most popular and widely used pickup type on electric guitars, and their frequency response curve is unique to the type and manufacturer.

 

Active pickups require an electrical source of energy to operate and include an electronic preamp, active filters, active EQ and other sound-shaping features. They can sometimes give much higher possible output. They also are less affected in tone by varying lengths of amplifier lead, and amplifier input characteristics. Magnetic pickups used with 'active' circuitry usually feature a lower inductance (and initially lower output) winding that tends to give a flatter frequency response curve.

 

The disadvantages of active pickups are the power source (usually either a battery or phantom power), cost, and less defined unique tonal signature. They are more popular on bass guitars, because of their solid tone; most high-end bass guitars feature an active pickup. Most piezoelectric and all optical pickups are active and include some sort of preamp.

 

The main advantages of active pickups are that they are hum and noise free, at least compared to their passive single coil counterparts, as they require no ground wiring to connect to ground, which also may isolate the player from being electrocuted, should the wiring elsewhere, in other equipment such as a guitar amp, have become hazardous in any way.

 

HTH a bit-

[bmast160]

gotcha.

 

is the fishman rare earth blend an active magnetic and is the fishman matrix I an active piezo?

[jd-drafter]

 

gotcha. is the fishman rare earth blend an active magnetic and is the fishman matrix I an active piezo?

 

 

from what i read the rare earth blend is indeed an active magnetic pickup-

 

and the fishman matrix is a UST (under-saddle-transducer) that i think is essentially a passive piezo but it has a preamp in the end pin jack to get the signal up to amplifiable levels-

 

so rare earth = active

matrix = passive with a built in preamp.

 

my dad put a simple $18.00 piezo SBT (sound board transducer on my 12 string and that needs no preamp- but one is commonly used to adjust the EQ of the tones... but i can run it right into an amp- then use the tone control there to smothe out the piezo squawk or quack...