just picked up an ibanez sr305... not entirely pleased with the sound of the pickups... i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to which pickups to change to and whether or not those pickups would retrofit (trying to avoid any rerouting if i can)... i was thinking i wanted to go active (emg or bartolini)... help? thx

I have a SR 300. The pickups aren't that bad, not the greatest, but workable. I thought I would have to replace the pickups first thing, but after a bit of testing they weren't that bad; my band actually liked the sound. The preamp, however, is HORRIBLE. IMHO you may be best off adding a bart or aguilar preamp and seeing if you like it.

The pickups are a MK1 rout. Not many pickups will fit here without routing.

There are these from Bartolini:

Direct retrofit for MK
http://www.bestbassgear.com/bartolini-mk5-pickups.htm

The P2 shape will also work but are a bit narrow (1.25 vs 1.33; the difference won't affect the tone)

http://www.bestbassgear.com/bartolini-p25-pickups.htm

From Nordstrand:

Any of the 5 string soapbars also come in a P2 shape. The Dual coils, big splits, big singles, and fat stacks should work.

http://www.bestbassgear.com/nordstrand-pickups.htm

I don't know of anything else that will fit in your rout, and none of these are active pickups.

SGD Neodymium Powered Series 3 Bass Pickup (http://www.sgd-lutherie.com/pages/ND3-35.html):

http://www.sgd-lutherie.com/images/sgd_neo_4_sm.jpg

ok. it's not important so much that they be active... i prefer active pickups on my guitar but i'm kind of new to bass so i don't really know the difference between an active or passive pickup in the bass realm. of the pickups you've suggested which do u think will give me the best clarity in the lower strings? the low b seems to be a bitch to amplify on guitars and basses...