Active pickup

A pickup with a built-in preamplifier powered by a battery, most often a single 9-volt cell.

Because the signal is buffered inside the guitar, the pickup can be wound for a low impedance and a hot output without losing highs to the cable, and long cable runs or a chain of true-bypass pedals stop changing its sound. Active designs also make onboard tone shaping realistic, which is why many of them carry a bass and treble control rather than a single tone knob. The cost is practical: a flat battery kills the guitar, and there is another cavity and another connector to go wrong.

Example: a modern metal guitar with active humbuckers keeps the same tight, even response no matter how long the cable to the amp is.

Active pickup

See also