Replacing active pickups with passive - is it worth the guitar?

[GigimXul]

I've tried to find a similar thread and couldn't, so apologies if this has been done before. I figured it'd be an interesting discussion anyway!

I've been thinking of picking up a new guitar for a while now, there's a couple that I really like the specs of but all of them come with stock active pickups. I've never really gotten along with actives (I've tried plenty with EMG 81/85s, they're not awful but to my ears they lack character but that's a discussion for another time) so it got me thinking - since I'm assuming a lot more of the guitar is going to be routed out to accommodate additional electronics is it worth it to buy such a guitar to replace it's pickups with passives?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

You don't need to modify the actual guitar at all, and the only component other than pickups that you'll need to replace are the pots (switch and jack are system agnostic).

If you're worried about cost, you can always sell the undesired pickups to recoup some cash.

 

[Necky379]

Considering Duncan and other companies make passives that fit active routes there’s no reason not to. The additional routing present is minimal, just a battery compartment. You’ll just be swapping out electronics then be left with two screws and a cover to stash your pot if we’re talking the usual routes/compartments for EMG’s and battery.

 

[GigimXul]

I'm not worried about cost etc, I was simply thinking along the lines of am I left with a lesser guitar because it's got more routed of it than there needs to be for my needs? That said, I've got an 80s BC Rich with a Kahler trem which has significantly less routed out than most and it's the worst sustaining guitar I own despite me doing as many mods as I can to get more out of it.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Unless there's a battery box, which not all active pickup guitars have, the amount of routing is identical.

Even then, battery boxes take such a small chunk out that it really doesn't matter.