The pickup can be passive, the pre amp does the work. The Aguilar P60 that I’ve got is a tried & tested decent pick up, as aforementioned that I have fitted. But to be honest I thought the stock was really equally as good. I’ve been through a lot of pick ups over the years and was a little disappointed that I didn’t gain anything significant with the Aguilar, yet I know it’s a great pick up - perhaps a touch less top end but not as much bottom end as the stock Sandberg.