Why do most guitar virtuoso's prefer passive pickups?
People Like Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, Satriani, Petrruci, all use passive pickups. Why do they prefer them over actives? Does it have to do with the sound of adding distortion?
Update:Allan Holdsworth although technical, is like listening to random fluttering notes till your head explodes. Its like a series of notes and phrasing that are disconnected from each other, and quite frankly is not pleasing to the ear like all the other guitarists as I described.
Comments
I don't know why all those guys use them, but most people I know prefer passive pickups because active pickups sound too sterile. They're boring and don't have much character on their own. That's great if you're recording, but most players would rather have some pickups with soul. They would rather have a sound that's interesting all by itself.
It's the same reason most people prefer tube amps. The sound is more nuanced, responsive, and musical.
Steve Vai Pickups
Because Allan Holdsworth uses passive pick ups and all those guitarist know they will never be as good as him so they use the same kind of pick ups so they can say they have something in common with Allan.