[Mike_A]

im not sure if this is always true, but from my experience passive pickups also have high impedance whereas active pickups have lower impedance. this is important because a high impedance passive pickup sounds really tinny when plugged into an input jack that can not handle high impedance or high Z. most mixing board line-ins will require a preamp or DI in between. whereas, an active pickup with its low "Z" you can plug in just about anywhere.

to the experts, please cmiiw...thanks