I'm a tone slut so I wont have active pup's in a guitar. What's the point in having a nice guitar if aren't going to be able to hear what IT sounds like. Apart from the pup's the types of wood, shape, finish, neck scale, strings, and generally how you play the guitar all play a big role in the overall tone of a guitar. If you use active pup's, all you hear are the pup's. Someone could put a set of EMG's in one of those $50 squire strats (if they would fit) and then play it side by side to a $3000 Gibson LP with the same EMG's and you wouldn't know the difference :confused: where's the fun in that?