The choice of PU is, of course, a matter of taste; here is my personal opinion.

Stickup: (Disclaimer: I don't have a this PU!) Some people swear for it as the 'real Stick sound'. I like it's sound but you can eq the ACTV2 and make it sound very close (to my ears) as the Stickup. You have to be careful matching the impedance with this PU as the sound will change (quite noticeable) if you don't plug it to 1+MOhm input; a pre-amp is almost a must with this PU.

ACTV2: (My 10 string rosewood has an ACTV2). The brightest PU, always reminds me to the sound of an acoustic guitar blended with a piezo bridge transducer. Being active it is very forgiving with the impedance, I plugged it almost to anything and it always sounds pretty good; I get the best results when I plug it on an high impedance input though, it accentuates the acoustic + piezo guitar qualities. My feeling is that this PU gives a more 'unified' sound like a single big instrument instead of 2 regions.

PASV4: (My padauk grand has a PASV4). It is the most versatile PU, plenty of different sounds can be dialed with the PU selector + filters (not that I like them all though). I was surprised that, being passive, this PU is so hot (more output than the ACTV2) and I think it's more forgiving with the impedance than the stickup but less than the ACTV2. The bass is very deep with this PU specially if you use the the Front or Front + bridge (in phase) settings.

Getting 3 sticks? When I ordered my grand (with PASV4) I asked Emmet to drill the screw holes for an ACTV2 too, so I can switch pickups if I want to


Daniel.

Oh, I remember how hard it was for me three years ago to decide what PU to go with when ordering my first Stick. I listened to everything available online and finally went with the PASV-4. I'm hoping this audio clip below can at at least be a good "sound guide" for the PASV-4. This was recorded with no pre-amp and no amp/speaker simulations what so ever. Just the PASV-4 outputs plugged into a recorder. Then mixed with a minimal EQ and compression to balance the piece and some reverb and delay added to my own taste. Mostly I play with the dual in phase PU setting. At the second movement, beginning 0:36, I play with the neck PU on the melody side for a short while (switching back to dual PUs again at 1:25). PU filters set to "full boost" on both sides all the way.

Nice example Per, that's really the signature sound of the PASV. Rob Martino's kind of made this sound famous
It always reminds me of a Fender Strat with 2 PU's switched on.
Regards, Jaap

Yes, I too am a Strat lover since many decades. But this Stick sound is to me more like "a strat with a baritone neck" I recently bought an All-Parts Telecaster Baritone neck and slapped onto my Telecaster and boy what better sound I got. Seems a lot of the cool STick sound comes from the fact that the strings are longer. I'm making this association also when comparing my Grand with my SG-12, both having PASV-4 PUs.