I was having a ball reading this post with Ernie!

The active pickups have a transistorized preamplifier with an emitter follower output which translates to a lower output impedance and therefore can be used with a 25,000 ohm volume control without loading down the pickup. It will work perfectly well into a one million ohm input or a 2500 ohm input without affecting the sound much because of the internal preamplifier. The 250,000 on volume control is still quite usable with the active pickups but its range between loud and soft will be more extreme as opposed to linear with the 25,000 ohm volume control.

The passive pickups need to be loaded into a very high input impedance such as one million ohms and so you can basically get away with using a 250,000 ohm volume control even though it will slightly load down the pickups. Loading down the pickups will affect the frequency response, output level and overall clarity of the sound. It will become squeezed and muddy sounding. So you must be careful not to load down those passive pickups. You must never use the 25,000 ohm volume control with a passive pickup unless you want crummy sound?

The effect of a loaded down pickup is even worse on a bass guitar. Because the pickup is in effect an inductor, that coupled with a resistor creates an equalization circuit that is generally not conducive to a good sound from a guitar. In a sense, it is the wrong kind of equalization to use.

Don't load me down either
Ms. Remy Ann David

The lady knows her stuff! What she said.

Hey Wes, nice collection, you can certainly cover a lot of tones with those electrics.

Thanks a lot! Remy, I can always count on you for a great answer. It helps so much when you explain what's going on instead of just answering yes or no. I really appreciate your time.

Thanks tommy, I'm a lucky dude!

Wes

Thank you all so much! It really gives me a warm feeling inside when people appreciate my efforts as you have.

Blushing
Ms. Remy Ann David