I think the whole active thing is just a perceived difference. any circuit you can crowbar into the instrument can be stuffed into the amp or a pedal. A bass is already heavy, why add extra weight? There are plenty of louder passive pups. Just as Simon mentioned with the Barts. I put Bartolini soapbars into Dora, and it's way louder than my other basses.As for tone, My amp gives me a wide range without me needing to clutter my instruments with extra complication. It's just one more thing to go wrong and one more thing to die in the middle of playing when the battery dies.

As for the finish, very few finishes are actually fully cured in a week, except maybe the UV cured ones. So far I've learnt that everything in this caper takes time and patience.