i'm no fan of active pickups.. they sense too much.. i would rather have a high output passive pickup.. like Seymour Duncan Invader, Dimebucker etc... Dimarzio X2N, ToneZone etc... i got a Duncan Invader in my bridge and a ToneZone in my neck.. works perfectly.. dosen't pickup too much.. got the sound i've been looking for a long time..
i'm no fan of stringdampers... it's CHEATING!!!(even if some say it's not.. guitarplayers lose their respect to the ones who's using stringdampers..) Michael Angelo uses stringdampers.. but only when he's playing on two guitars at the same time..
noise gate.. ahh.. well.. they kinda destroy the sound.. but if u find a really good one.. it might be worth buying.. Boss's noisegate sux.. but i like the sound as natural as possible.. got a digital fx.. but only using it for reverb and delay.. for distortion i use a tubefactor with my marshall head.. ahh u'll figure it out...