EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster 

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

I am updating my review because I've had more time with the AB. Played first show with the AB and man you can get chushing sound with it at very high volumes. Had alot of good comments on my sound. After the first song switched off the od pedal and moved to the AB and never looked back. At low volume it still seems kinda muddy but open up your amp and look out it's where this unit really shines. So I am very happy with it.

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

A high quality product you'd expect from EMG. The AB is fun and it's useful if you wanted to boost your signal a little bit but turn it up much past 3 and it colors the sound way too much. It makes the low end way to muddy and the high end very sizzle almost crackle.You can compensate with controls on the amp but when you switch it off then your sound is weak.I tried to get a happy medium out of it but no luck. I would never use it for recording,live only maybe. It's a fun product to have on a guitar anyway to get some crazy feed back or something and the price was right so I'll just leave it installed. It will not replace a high quality stomp box or amplifier. I just tried it for fun and that's what it is, fun.

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

ok so I bought this little gadget to put in a custom guitar build with passive pickups and when I got it the diagrams only showed how to wire it with active pickups. I just made an educated guess as to how to make it work with the passives in the guitar. this first attempt was a miserable failure I had absolutly no sound. so I called up emg for some help only to find out that they never intended this to be used with passive pups. so I got them to send me a diagram for passives. when I got the diagram via email it was hnad drawn by someone at emg in hopes that it would work. so folowing the diagram they gave me I wired the guitar a second time. when i plugged the guitar in I there was was just a faint nois comming from the amp at full volume. I then put a varitone switch in its place and put the afterburner in a guitar with actives. It worked great. So if youre thinking of buying this for a passive guitar im sorry it wont work

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

If metal/shredding/rock etc... is your thing and you're a lead player with EMGs in your guitar then try this thing out. It's super fun to mess around with and adds a nice volume boost/small amount of gain to your sound. If you want onboard distortion though, then this is not what you're looking for. Highly recommended for hardcore EMG fans.

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

It does do its job of giving an extra boost.. and adds.."gain" Personally, i hate the "gain" sound.. if you want a knob that will give you a bigger boost in volume then this is it. If your looking for a knob that can give you "distortion" or "gain" just use a pedal...

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

I got a Carvin pickgaurd with their AP-11 singlecoil pickups. They are a little weak but sound great so I put this inline with them and OH-BOY ! It turned a so-so guitar that was laying around to a go-to guitar ! WAY COOL ! It's easy to hook up and control. ONLY drawback is you gotta use their knob which is smaller than Strat knobs and black only ? WHY they don't make it knurled so ALL knobs fit, not sure ??? Other than that, GET ONE ! 20db of CLEAN boost ! FUN,FUN,FUN !

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

I have nothing but praise for the afterburner only prob I have is the plastic knob and the wiring diagram would be nice if it had a diagram for active pickups but if you know what your doing it is easy to install

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

I am using this boost circuit in both of my guitars in lieu of a pedal so I can have better control over my gain settings during live performance. First of all, I'm getting tired of using an overdrive pedal for lead boosts for these reasons: my pedal(TS 808) colors the tone and not always in a good way; signal loss between the guitar and the front of the amp due to pedals and additional cables; always have to be standing in front of my pedal board during solos so I can switch the pedal on/off. With the AB installed I basically keep it pulled all the time and adjust the level how and when I need to. This way I can go direct into my amp and not worry about signal loss and I can boost my solos wherever I am on stage (which is great because I use a wireless system). It won't really color your tone either though it may make things a bit brighter and punchier...just something that comes along with increased gain. Pretty easy to install if you know what you're doing. If you choose to drill a hole to put it in, you might have to sand out an impression around the hole on the inside of the guitar because the AB's pot shaft is only standard height and may be too short if you have an archtop. You may save yourself a headache if you consult a professional for installation. Only negative is the knob that comes with the AB is a plastic peice of crap...you'll want to either use your own or buy one to match what's on your axe. Overall it's a great solution for a gain boost if you don't want to use a box or just having more control of your guitar's output. I have used the EMG PA 2 as well but I like the AB better because the PA 2 can't be adjusted from the outside.

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

The Afterburner is a good upgrade if you have an amp that has a kind of dull distortion. On some amps, on clean channels it gives you a "chicken picking" tone that is nice if you are a soloist or lead player of rock. If you are unfortunate like me and your picks are wired over your tone pot instead of your volume pot don't give up on using the Afterburner just wiring it in like you normally would(if you are not looking to cut a whole in the body of your guitar). Overall the Afterburner is a good product and Emg is a good company.

Comments about EMG AB AfterBurner Pickup Booster:

I have an afterburner in my ESP along with EMG HZs. The afterburner makes a world of a difference and frankly is the only reason the HZs sound good. The afterburner is superb for solos and great distortion. There is no need for a overdrive pedal with this pupppy. All in all great for metal.