EMG AB Afterburner Push/Pull Booster

I bought this as I have recently started playing a lot of really heavy metal & rock.I picked up a Jackson Dinky JS32 DKA and decided to try this little piece of kit out rather than pay out £200-£300+ on some EMG or SD BlackOut pickups.I put it in running from the standard high output passive Jackson ceramic humbuckers that come in the JS32 as standard as they are already great for drop tuning and heavy fuzz, distortion and overdrive but also give crystal clear clean tone too.I was initially going to add a 3rd hole for the After Burner's pot but decided against adding another knob to get in the way on the guitar so I pulled the master tone pot as I never change the value and I set it to how I always have it (full) and taped it up and left it in the electronics cavity so that if I ever needed to change the tone or take the AB out then it is there under just 4 screws & a cover.The AB was easy to install (20 mins) and after fixing a noisy ground wire it was ready to go.The thing blew me away! The boost you get from the 9v config is huge and gives you instant access to a whole new selection of tone, volume, gain and drive.You need a decent power amp to get the full effect. I have mine into a 100W Orange head with a 2x12 Behringer cab and it was insane the sound I could now get from just a simple little circuit and switch.These Jackson pickups are pretty decent and IMO on par with most Seymour Duncan passives and similar aftermarket units so they really handled the extra boost well.Without making any changes to the Amp settings I can get a mellow or punchy loud clean tone and with a couple of adjustments to the volume knob and AB knob on the guitar can get it to every state in-between clean and so dirty and fuzzy it is insane. It has opened up so many new sounds to my humble Jackson Dinky.I have tried a couple of Signature guitars by both Jackson and Ibanez that come loaded with active EMG or SD Blackout active pickups and I swear that I can now get more tone and drive as well as simple boost of clean tone with everything standard except the After Burner which does the work.I would guess if you dropped it into a cheap no name Strat or LP type guitar clone then you would not get as good as results so if you are running on crappy pickups then it is prob worth buying a pair of 2nd hand Seymour Duncans or similar for 30-50 a piece and drop them in to get it better.I honestly can't see the point of using this with active pickups or using the 18v double power mod as it would be too much. The Jackson series that have the high output ceramic pickups or Seymour Duncan upgrades are perfect companions for the After Burner.Tips :Make sure everything is well shielded, insulated and no bare wires or loose connections. You get a wiring kit included and it is worth using it.If you can live without your master tone or one of your individual tone pots then drop it out and into the bay and use the existing hole to mount the After Burner so that you can revert to normal if you decide to change kit etc and have no new holes or extra knobs to muck around with.Use a decent 9v PP3 battery. Cheap ones don't have the power that this unit demands and using a higher end branded battery makes a big difference and will also last you longer.Use the wiring loom as it uses high quality wire and shielded cable with solid connectors rather than mucking around cutting and splicing wire in with joints that could cause a problem.Spend some good time experimenting with your settings and pedals etc as with the AB turned off everything will run as normal but pull that switch and give it some gain and it will change what you get and give you far far more sounds and tone to play with.Ideally you either want to add a simple EQ pedal to your board to tame some of the extremes and peaks (if you want to) and shape your sound and in cases with cheaper guitars it is maybe worth putting a filter in line to take any unwanted noise out that will creep in via unshielded wires and switches etc. If you are using a decent amp then you will prob be fine but I would still recommend and EQ pedal to smooth things out or mix them up.Finally, make sure you have a decent Amp to get the best from this brilliant device. It will work fine on lower end and lower power amps but to really get it running well you need the extra headroom. Using a cheap 15w nameless brand bedroom amp just won't provide the benefits.It is the best upgrade I have ever put into one of my guitars. It actually blows EMG's own PUPS out of the water and at £60 it is cheaper than most pedals or a single pickup and other gear and only a fraction the price of a set of active pickups.Buy and enjoy!

Good Sound