Looking into Motor City Pickups

Hey, guys. I have a Kiesel guitar I'm looking to put a new bridge pickup in (and maybe a neck pickup later down the line).
I currently have Kiesel Lithiums in there that came with it when I ordered it. I like that they are percussive, but I want something a little meatier/chunkier with girth while still maintaining good punch and attack/percussiveness.

I'm really interested in the Afwayu from Motor City. That's essentially what Jerry Cantrell has used on the newer AIC albums in his G&L guitars. My guitar is very similar to those G&Ls. I love those tones and that's mainly the style I play. I do like doing heavier chug stuff now and then too though. So, I'd love some input from you guys. I'm open to similar suggestions as well. Thanks in advance!

Here are some of the guitar specs:
  • Alder body with a maple top
  • Maple neck with ebony fretboard
  • Split coil on tone knob
  • 24 frets
 
For a passive pickup, the Afwayu is a great pickup. Had one in the bridge of a Luxxtone Strat awhile back. Thick and percussive and holds up under high gain...it will meet all of your requirements. The wait-time is lengthy but worth it IMO. All of my guitars have Motor City Pickups. I have in various guitars the 2nd Degree Blackbelts, Angel Dust, and waiting for another Afwayu set.
 
For a passive pickup, the Afwayu is a great pickup. Had one in the bridge of a Luxxtone Strat awhile back. Thick and percussive and holds up under high gain...it will meet all of your requirements. The wait-time is lengthy but worth it IMO. All of my guitars have Motor City Pickups. I have in various guitars the 2nd Degree Blackbelts, Angel Dust, and waiting for another Afwayu set.
Awesome! Thank you for the input, man. Sounds like some serious thickness. Does the low end still stay contained and tight with all that thickness though? I emailed Wade earlier today. Haven't heard back yet, but I know he's a busy guy. Also, did you contact him from his website or did you get ahold of him another way? His website looks a tad bit old, so I'm just curious.
 
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Through his website. It is "a tad bit old" but don't worry. Wade will ensure you get the pickup that meets your specific requirements. There are other pickups in the inventory that he might recommend; some are not on the page.

Also, PM sent.
 
Through his website. It is "a tad bit old" but don't worry. Wade will ensure you get the pickup that meets your specific requirements. There are other pickups in the inventory that he might recommend; some are not on the page.

Also, PM sent.
You rock, dude. Thank you.
 
I like that they are percussive, but I want something a little meatier/chunkier with girth while still maintaining good punch and attack/percussiveness.

Wouldn't it be a hell of a lot cheaper to just slap an EQ block to your presets, or EQ pedal in front of a pedal to achieve that? I mean I have a guitar which sounds a little on the bassy side and I was thinking hmm, maybe some new pickups might help? And then I stuck an EQ block in my preset that upped the highs, problem solved!
 
Wouldn't it be a hell of a lot cheaper to just slap an EQ block to your presets, or EQ pedal in front of a pedal to achieve that? I mean I have a guitar which sounds a little on the bassy side and I was thinking hmm, maybe some new pickups might help? And then I stuck an EQ block in my preset that upped the highs, problem solved!
Hey, man. Thanks for commenting. Tried that and it worked pretty well. But, I don’t want to have to rely on a separate eq pedal for everytime I plug into another rig. Plus I don’t even have a separate eq pedal to begin with. Plus, I’ve sold some gear recently so I’m kind looking to do some upgrading anyways.
 
Awesome. Thanks for sharing, man! I messaged him yesterday. Still haven’t heard back. He’s probably a busy guy though. How did get in contact with him?
I think he’s pretty busy right now. I emailed him a couple weeks ago to see if he had an eta on the Hotheads, and he emailed back about four days later. They are certainly worth the wait as far as I’m concerned!
 
Hey, man. Thanks for commenting. Tried that and it worked pretty well. But, I don’t want to have to rely on a separate eq pedal for everytime I plug into another rig. Plus I don’t even have a separate eq pedal to begin with. Plus, I’ve sold some gear recently so I’m kind looking to do some upgrading anyways.

A 2nd hand Boss EQ pedal will still cost you a lot less then a single pickup, let alone two.;)
 
I am between Bare Knuckle and Motor city on my custom tele
the Afwayu from what i was told is a thicker pickup heavy mids kind of like a tone zone darker not as tight as some others
the hot head has more upper mid snarl and more in your face
 
I am between Bare Knuckle and Motor city on my custom tele
the Afwayu from what i was told is a thicker pickup heavy mids kind of like a tone zone darker not as tight as some others
the hot head has more upper mid snarl and more in your face
Thanks for the input! I’m gonna be chatting with Wade later today about what would be best for me.
 
I think he’s pretty busy right now. I emailed him a couple weeks ago to see if he had an eta on the Hotheads, and he emailed back about four days later. They are certainly worth the wait as far as I’m concerned!
I actually just got a message back from him about an hour ago saying he’ll be free to talk later today. I’m excited! I’ll probably going with the Afwayu, but I’m totally open to see what else he may recommend.
 
Haha, true! I’ve never done much experimenting with different pickups though. So, I’m interested.

In which case get cheapies from places like Guitarfetish. Going all expensive boutiques just to experiment is going down a very costly never ending rabbit hole. And its hard to really compare objectively anyway. Remove strings, in case of pickguard unscrew pickguard, unsolder old pickups, remove old pickups, install new pickups, solder new pickups, fumble for half an hour with the damn pickguard wires because the damn things always get stuck somewhere where they shouldn't, screw in pickguard, restring guitar. And then the fun begins, you might chose to refresh your strings as well, the pickup height might be different from before, your ears have already forgotten how good or how bad the old pickups sounded, and new is always better then old psychologically, especially if you dropped a ton of money on it. All factors which influence how you think the old pickups compare to the new ones.

Unless you have the pickup swappable guitar from Somnium, where you can instantly hear the difference back and forth I see experimenting with pickups as a useless exercise. Like tone chasing in general.

 
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