Question:
I was looking into adding an under saddle transducer to my Guild and
was curious what the difference was between an active and passive
model. I realize the price differences and I am to assume
that it has something to do with the sound signal but could anyone tell
me
more?
Answer:
It's hard to generalize about this stuff as everyone has their fav
makes and
models but in general, the main difference is that an "active" system
will have an additional preamplifier included in
the circuit. This has a number of plusses (and a couple of potential
minuses).
The plusses are that you will tend to get a higher output from the
pickup. This helps as the signal will tend to match better with
whatever you plug it into. You will tend to get less tone loss over
long cable runs. There's also the fact that a lot of systems will
allow you better sound shaping functions and the possibility to blend
the under
saddle pickup with an internal bug or microphone. This can
range from a simple blend between transducer/mic up to the super
duper digital sound processors that you get on some new Takamines (and
everything in between).
One of the main minuses is that with most systems where you get
tome/volume controls you need to cut a big hole in the side of the
guitar to house them!! However, there are some active systems
where this isn't the case. I think Martin
has a model which has a simple preammp built into the jack socket which
won't give you tone controls but will boost the output to a better
level. My personal
favorite system is the
LR Baggs Dual Source which has an under-saddle pickup and an internal
microphone.
There are no tone controls BUT there is a small control panel which
fixes
non-destructively to the soundhole and gives volume/blend
controls. The internal
preamp also allows you to do stuff like run the pickups in stereo to
separate amps or to change
the phase of the pickups to help fight feedback. Plus it
sounds really good...very natural.
Oh yeah, and active tends to cost more than passive for the obvious
reasons...more bits...more gizmos...more electronics...more cost...
Try checking out Harmony Central on the web where you'll find lots of
user comments on different
systems.
Donated by: Trevor Raggatt