MEC Pickups

[shanejw]

Has anyone used or know anything about MEC pickups?  I'm watching a couple Musicman bass pickups on ebay.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

MEC are active pickups, yes active pickups, that Warwick uses.  I thought Warwick owned the brand, but I am not sure about that.  I have a frettless Fortress One five string with them.  They sound dandy.  I generally prefer passive pickups because batteries, but they work just fine.
Patrick

 

[shanejw]

OK.  The guy was telling me that these can be active or passive and he preferred the passive mode.  Can a pickup be both active or passive?

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Generally it is the preamp that is active or bypassed (passive) with passive pickups.  Pasive pickups are what everyone else without a preamp has, a magnet or two with a coil.  The easy way to tell is take the battery out and bypass the preamp.  Doesn't always work, but active pickups will not work without the juice.  Active pick ups also require the electronics and battery to make them work.  I don't know which MEC pick ups you are looking at, but the musicman ones might be passive.  See if you can look up info on them.
Patrick

 

[AndyG]

I had a Warwick with an MEC P-J setup, and it sounded killer.  The preamp was pretty simple, but effective ... active bass and treble, with a pull-switch to bypass the preamp.

They aren't as "hi-fi" as EMG's, but they do have an aggressive tone that cuts through a mix well.  Great rock pickups IMHO.