active ngan Passive pickup

Beza active ngan passive pickup plak well, Im an engineer, I like

physics. So lets go to the very basic. Macam mana pickup kuarkan
bunyi? (this only applies to magnetic pickups). Pickup ade magnet kan?
So, theres a magnetic field near the pickup. Bile magnetic field tu
diganggu oleh besi yg bergerak (tali gitar), pickup tu akan produce a
small electrical signal. Yes, kalo tak connect kat amp pon, your guitar
actually produces a very small electrical signal.
Actually mase aku tulis paragraph kat atas ni, I based it entirely on my
physics (electromagnetism) knowledge. And it occurred to me that aku
tak penah try pon. So I decided to dig some stuff out of my electronics
toolbox dari zaman U dulu, and record the following video. :D

So there. Pickup ni actually hasilkan tenaga elektrik sendiri (electrical
potential to be technically accurate). Even pickup yg power cam
DiMarzio Evolution tu pon cuma hasilkan a few hundred
millivolts. That signal has to travel through your cable sampai ke amp.
And then the amp amplifies it to something you can hear.
Cable ade rintangan (resistance). Lagi panjang atau lagi halus cable tu,
lagi tinggi lah rintangan dia, maka lagi lemah signal yg sampai ke amp.
So signal akan lost sket.
Well, aku tak penah ade EMG active pickup, so aku takde experience,
especially pasal tone dia. But I think, active pickup system ni dekat gitar
tu ade preamp system, dia kasi condition sket signal tu, pastu amplify
signal tu, baru hantar ke amp melalui cable. That way the output of the
guitar is higher, the signal loss is less significant. A lot of people seem to
like it, maybe it is good, especially for metal and shredding. Tah la. Well,
if you ever get the chance, try gitar yg ade passive humbucker, and
compare dengan gitar yg ade active one. I wont spend that much
money before trying it. (Im not sure, but your amp may need a separate
input port for high level input from active pickup).
Whether to use passive single coil, passive fake single coil (cam Area
58 tu, actually humbucker that imitates a single coil), passive
humbucker, or active pickup system, is a matter of taste. Malmsteen
main metal pakai single coil kan? (Aku tak sure actually, Im not really a
fan).
But in your case, since ko cakap gitar ko tu bangsat punya, its
probably not worth putting an EMG on it. Bape harga gitar ko? RM700
camtu? Pasang active pickup kena pasang untuk semua pickups, takkan
pakai satu pickup active, lain passive. The output level will be way too
different (aku punya Evolution ngan Area 58 pon quite different
already output level dia). How much is set of active EMG? Paling koman
pon RM600 kot? Is it worth it? You decide. If you love your guitar so
much, maybe its ok. Macam RG aku, tukar sume pickup tu cost dia
around USD190. Its a big fraction of the guitars original price, but I
really love the guitar. Its a very important part of my life. So I did it.
Lagi satu active pickup ni kena letak battery (9V). Gitar ko kena modify
sket utk letak battery compartment. If it doesnt fit, you may have to cut
out some wood out of the body for that. And kalau gitar ko S-S-S
configuration, kena cari single coils yg active, camni. Kalo nak yg
humbucker punya style, youll at least have to modify the pick guard (or
beli pick guard lain), if not more.
Or, better yet, save the money, get an ESP LTD or something. Im sure
you can get an ESP LTD with active pickups for under RM2000.
Probably even under RM1500 (this guy seems to have pretty low price).
If you really like playing guitars, thats not much. Guitar isnt just about
the pickup. Well made guitars are easier to play.

p/s: Your amp really matters too. Some amps are better for metal than
others.