I got one about a month ago and only recently actually slapped it into my "tester" pickguard for my Silhouette to give it a go in rehearsal. I wired it up with a 500K volume pot and nothing else. This pickup has a nickel cover and the Alnico 5 magnet installed.
From what I'd read, advice from Wade at Motor City Pickups, and from discussions on here, I'd kind of been expecting the Afwayu to be the answer to my short list of beefs with the JB.
In short - it was and it wasn't. Allow me to explain.
My initial impression of the Afwayu was that it was a really great rock pickup. Crunchy, snarling highs, articulate and clear mids, and satisfying bass. It did sound VERY similar to a JB, while evening out the mids and tightening up the bass. The response felt similar too... though a bit faster than I'm used to with the JB... the response of the pickup made it feel like I'd gone back to 9's, if that makes any sense. The first impression of the pickup was a very positive one.
However, the more and more I used it while running through my own material, I began to see that this didn't really seem like the pickup for me.
For one thing, it's not as loud as the JB is. The DC resistance is very close, but the Afwayu was noticeably quieter. One thing I wouldn't have wanted to change about the JB is the output - that's about as hot as I want a pickup to be before I start having trouble controlling it. The JB has just the right amount of output for me. The Afwayu didn't seem as hot as I'm used to the JB being.
The treble response and the mids are really great. The lows are tightened as I'd been hearing, but what I wasn't hearing was the low-end reinforcement I wanted to hear. I expected to hear tighter bass and more of it, and all I got was tighter. Which isn't all bad, but it didn't work for me. My Silhouette is a light, smallish guitar made of alder, and it doesn't have a whole lot of low end on it's own. I need a pickup that reinforces lows. The Dimarzio Crunch Lab I'm currently using in my main pickguard is very fat and reinforces the low end just like I need it to be. Additionally, DiMarzios all kind of seem to impart their own character on guitars, and I use that to my advantage. The Afwayu seems to let the natural tone of the guitar through. Which is all well and good, but I needed more bass reinforcement. I probably wouldn't have had that problem with a mahogany or basswood guitar, or a Les Paul.
One more positive thing I will say... the note definition and articulation of this pickup is really incredible, even with heavy distortion. Palm muted notes from the D string on up REALLY jump out at you with a pleasing amount of attack, and complex chords came together nicely. Punch harmonics just flew out of this thing, too.
Long story short, I find the Afwayu to be a really great, really capable rock pickup. I find my personal style to be more geared towards an old-school metal thing these days and I would have preferred a louder, fatter pickup. But the Afwayu would probably work great for me in a different guitar.
Also, I've discovered that nickel covers on my pickups in the Silhouette look pretty darn cool, as seen below.
Look for this pickup to hit the Trading Post pretty soon. PM me if you wanna get ahead of the crowd.
From what I'd read, advice from Wade at Motor City Pickups, and from discussions on here, I'd kind of been expecting the Afwayu to be the answer to my short list of beefs with the JB.
In short - it was and it wasn't. Allow me to explain.
My initial impression of the Afwayu was that it was a really great rock pickup. Crunchy, snarling highs, articulate and clear mids, and satisfying bass. It did sound VERY similar to a JB, while evening out the mids and tightening up the bass. The response felt similar too... though a bit faster than I'm used to with the JB... the response of the pickup made it feel like I'd gone back to 9's, if that makes any sense. The first impression of the pickup was a very positive one.
However, the more and more I used it while running through my own material, I began to see that this didn't really seem like the pickup for me.
For one thing, it's not as loud as the JB is. The DC resistance is very close, but the Afwayu was noticeably quieter. One thing I wouldn't have wanted to change about the JB is the output - that's about as hot as I want a pickup to be before I start having trouble controlling it. The JB has just the right amount of output for me. The Afwayu didn't seem as hot as I'm used to the JB being.
The treble response and the mids are really great. The lows are tightened as I'd been hearing, but what I wasn't hearing was the low-end reinforcement I wanted to hear. I expected to hear tighter bass and more of it, and all I got was tighter. Which isn't all bad, but it didn't work for me. My Silhouette is a light, smallish guitar made of alder, and it doesn't have a whole lot of low end on it's own. I need a pickup that reinforces lows. The Dimarzio Crunch Lab I'm currently using in my main pickguard is very fat and reinforces the low end just like I need it to be. Additionally, DiMarzios all kind of seem to impart their own character on guitars, and I use that to my advantage. The Afwayu seems to let the natural tone of the guitar through. Which is all well and good, but I needed more bass reinforcement. I probably wouldn't have had that problem with a mahogany or basswood guitar, or a Les Paul.
One more positive thing I will say... the note definition and articulation of this pickup is really incredible, even with heavy distortion. Palm muted notes from the D string on up REALLY jump out at you with a pleasing amount of attack, and complex chords came together nicely. Punch harmonics just flew out of this thing, too.
Long story short, I find the Afwayu to be a really great, really capable rock pickup. I find my personal style to be more geared towards an old-school metal thing these days and I would have preferred a louder, fatter pickup. But the Afwayu would probably work great for me in a different guitar.
Also, I've discovered that nickel covers on my pickups in the Silhouette look pretty darn cool, as seen below.
Look for this pickup to hit the Trading Post pretty soon. PM me if you wanna get ahead of the crowd.
