MCP Afwayu

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Detroit1973

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What are the Afwayu's tonal qualities? & which pick up is it close to? I have a Mahogany Jackson Coming in & was thinking of Replacing the Stock JB With an Afwayu.
 
To me it is like a Duncan Custom, good mids not spiky; good tight lows but can be too much in an LP style guitar. But the tone is like a much better custom..better detail/clarity etc, sweet top end
 
Racerxrated said:
To me it is like a Duncan Custom, good mids not spiky; good tight lows but can be too much in an LP style guitar. But the tone is like a much better custom..better detail/clarity etc, sweet top end
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Thanks man. i also have the optioon of a Ceramic BKP Nailbomb, I'm just not a fan of Cermaic Mags these days.
 
I agree with the sentiments here. I have Afwayus in two guitars and love it. I never really thought of it as a SD Custom variant, but you could make that comparison. I love the Custom actually, but always thought the lead tone and high end wasn't sparkly or sweet enough. I also like the SD JB but thought the bottom end was too loose and not aggressive enough.

While not sounding exactly like a Custom or JB, I'd say the Afwayu has some qualities of both. It has an aggressive, thick, tight low end, fairly balanced mids and a nice singing high end for lead tones. It is a fantastic pick up.
 
jeff5 said:
I agree with the sentiments here. I have Afwayus in two guitars and love it. I never really thought of it as a SD Custom variant, but you could make that comparison. I love the Custom actually, but always thought the lead tone and high end wasn't sparkly or sweet enough. I also like the SD JB but thought the bottom end was too loose and not aggressive enough.

While not sounding exactly like a Custom or JB, I'd say the Afwayu has some qualities of both. It has an aggressive, thick, tight low end, fairly balanced mids and a nice singing high end for lead tones. It is a fantastic pick up.
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Thanks man. I think i will order one soon. For a Hardtail Jackson Soloist what Spacing would i need?
 
Detroit1973 said:
Thanks man. I think i will order one soon. For a Hardtail Jackson Soloist what Spacing would i need?
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Still would need trem spacing. The smaller spacing is only good for Gibsons (I think)
 
I love the Solution and the Afwayu. My best sounding guitars have MCP’s.
 
I may try the Angel Dust in a different guitar or two. Maybe one that already has a thicker or darker low end. I REALLY loved it for leads and it had great tone overall.

I find that some pickups are great for chugs and metal rhythm but not so much for leads. The SD Custom comes to mind, as does the MCP Solution and for actives the EMG Het set. In all cases, I switched them out because of the lead tone.

I struggle because I want a fairly tight (although not too tight or dry) low end that is very aggressive, yet I want the pick up to sing like a JB. It is hard to find something like this, and the Afwayu is what has come closest for me. Strangely enough, I really like the BKP Juggernaut too, at least in my PRC CU 24.

I'll have to check out the Iron Man someday too. I hear great things about it, but I'm not sure it will me what I want.
 
BKP Nailbomb (ceramic) is an amazing pickup. The BKP Rebel Yell and Holy Diver may fit this situation as well.
 
Detroit1973 said:
I like the Nailbomb but i'm not a huge fan of Ceramic magnets.
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There is always the Alnico version. I just think it's a great overall pickup for what you're describing. MCP Afwayu is one that I've wanted to check out as well though.
 
I've tried the Nail bomb alnico set for awhile and didn't like it. I thought it was kind of bland and flat. The Holy Diver was cool, but had way too much of a mid hump for me. I'm not a fan of pick ups with a huge mid hump. The only BKP I've liked so far is the Jugg. All of these tests were in my CU 24, which now has the Jugg and my Suhr Modern has an Afwayu set.
 
One thing to try with the Afwayu, is an underwound version if you already have a thick guitar like an LP. I have a neck Afwayu in the bridge on my 09 SoCal and it’s perfect. It’s around 14k so definitely underwound compared to the normal bridge.
 
Racerxrated said:
One thing to try with the Afwayu, is an underwound version if you already have a thick guitar like an LP. I have a neck Afwayu in the bridge on my 09 SoCal and it’s perfect. It’s around 14k so definitely underwound compared to the normal bridge.
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That's a good idea too.
 
I had the afwayu in one my old strats. Just too ‘beefy’? Not sure how to explain. Really thick sounding to me. Then went to the Aldrich. Great pickup. Played for years. Was looking for a bill Lawrence style pickup ((Nuno kick)
Someone told me bout the dimarzio X2n.
It just popped. Perfect for what I play. Put it in all my guitars. Good luck on the tone chasing for sure!!
 
braintheory said:
The Afwayu is like Racerxrated said. I like the Wagner Iron Man even more, but never had the 2 pickups in the same guitar admittedly, so can’t say with 100% confidence. Also would probably prefer the Haussel Hot. The Tone Specific hot set wipes the floor with all those pickups, but not publicly available yet and expensive and several month wait time, but I think you can possibly order them upon request
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I agree with everything you and @Racerxrated have said.

I actually have had an iron man and an afwayu in the same guitar before, and my experience mirrors yours. The afwayu is good, and the iron man is good-er.

Would love to hear clips of your tone specific hots ?
 
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