after installing fluence pickups, feeling ko sila lang yung viable at may grasp sa tones besides metal. if you are a metalhead and is after the classic 81 sound, may emg para diyan. pero yung mid gain, PAF, or true single coil tones, fluence lang talaga yung may kaya. not even duncan's duality or yung retroactive ng emg could compete with the fluence classic set. tunog seth lover yung isang voice e. and the technology is truly unique. no wires. just PCB printed and stacked kaya virtually zero noise. and wala yung limitation ng winding. you can have an overwound sound pero brilliant at klaro pa rin ang high end.
but to wit, hindi lahat ng tao gusto yung ganong pagka klaro. most will still go for a vintage-y passive sound na hindi ganoon ka hi-fi.
On a side note, yung presyo ng Fluence is "boutique handwound" level na. Kung medyo purist ako and I have as much money to burn, I'd be more inclined to look at BareKnuckle, Wolfetone, Lollar, WCR.... maybe Throbak and Rolph too if I can go the extra mile.
Not looking down on Fishman Fluence pickups in any way, I'm all for innovation and technology, and I think their designs are amazing. I'm actually glad they were brave enough to do a take on a classic given that most actives (if not all) are leaning towards a more modern sound. More options, more fun - consumers win. Tried a set briefly on a friend's ESP, although I believe it was the modern version, and it was a pleasant experience.
Siguro mas purist lang ako in choosing the passives for old school stuff, kesa sa actives trying to emulate the old. I agree about the hi-fi thing with active pickups.