If you gig extensively then the batteries in most active pickups are a real pain in the butt. Every time the guitar is plugged in, it's drawing down the battery and signal degradation from a declining battery, and the need to detune (or at worst remove) the strings to change the battery, is a real issue. They always go bad at the worst possible time...
I gig with at least one guitar, often two when the baritone is needed, and a "bouzar" (a tenor guitar-shaped Irish bouzouki) and being able to set each of 'em up, get the levels set at sound check, and then just leave 'em all/both plugged in for as long as they need to be, without worry, is a real benefit of passive pickups.
And I agree with an earlier poster that external preamps--note that you can also change preamps more readily when they're not built into your pickup--give you a LOT more control over your sound...buy quality cables and noise is NOT an issue.
Phil
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