EMG ALX Alexi Laiho Signature Pickup Set

This review covers the EMG Alexi Laiho Signature Pickup Set. For those who don't know, Alexi Laiho is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the melodic metal band Children of Bodom. The set includes a surprising amount of stuff in the box. You get a single EMG ALX pickup, which is a hybrid of active and passive. You also get all wires needed for several different installation configurations. Also included are the ABQ push-pull volume control with equalizer and booster on board, an EMG tone pot, and an EMG control bus used for installing multiple pickups. As a bonus, you also get an EMG/Children of Bodom wrist band (for wiping sweat away while playing), and EMG sticker, and several different wiring diagrams.

Above is the pickup installed in my Epiphone Custom Shop Les Paul Special II Plus Top. It goes in the bridge position, and due to the ABQ push-pull volume control, it can make a surprising amount of tones all by itself. It's tone is a thing of beauty. With no changes to my equalizer settings on my amp or distortion pedal, it was able to create everything from smooth distinctive clean tones to bright and shimmering cleans and punchy powerful distorted rhythms to screaming boosted leads. String definition and clarity are superb. The pickup is very sensitive and conveys your picking style and your left hand style very clearly. There is literally nothing about this pickup that I don't like.

In the picture above, you can see that I might have picked a better guitar to install it in. The cavity in the back of the body has absolutely no room for any additional wiring or controls. The one control you can see is the ABQ active EQ and push-pull booster. The equalizer on the ABQ is adjustable so that when it is pushed in (turned on), it boosts both a specific frequency band and the volume output of the pickup. The amount of boost is adjustable from +0dB to +20dB with +10dB being the default setting. With all of these options available in a single pickup, there really is no need for a second. The pickup you see in the neck position in the picture above is not hooked up to anything and is the stock Epiphone 690 neck pickup.

I love everything about this pickup, and when I get around to building a custom guitar, this will be the only pickup I need. I do look forward to trying at some point in the future the new EMG JH James Hetfield Signature Set, but for now, I am absolutely thrilled with what the EMG ALX Alexi Laiho Pickup.

Valkyrja - Tyr

Valkyrja is the latest album from Tyr.  For those unfamiliar with Tyr, the band is named after the Norse god of war.  The members are all Norse Heathens from the Faroe Islands, and they are very proud of their heritage and religion.  Their beliefs come through very clearly in some cases ("Hold the Heathen Hammer High" and "By The Sword In My Hand" from By The Light of the Northern Star) and less subtly in many other cases, but it is always an underlying theme.  As a Heathen myself, I find this band particularly fascinating.  I can relate to the lyrics in a very meaningful way, but by and large I think they appeal most to Heathens because the content is solidly based in the few records we have left from the original Heathens.  Norse Heathenry (also called Asatru - literally translated "faith in the Aesir") is relatively uncommon where I live, but when I went to see Tyr live (one of the best shows I've ever seen), there were at least 150 other Heathens there.  Super cool!  Tyr is a metal band, but with the religious undertones, one could sort of compare it to Christian heavy metal.  Tyr is way cooler (and better) than any Christian metal band I've ever heard, but I guess that's beside the point.

Back story aside, this whole album is fantastic.  The music is melodic while being appropriately heavy at the right times.  The vocals are clear and I really like Heri's voice.  It has the perfect tone and range for the type of music that they play.  There is no filler on Valkyrja.  Every song carries the theme of the album while being varied enough that the listener never gets bored and is left wanting more.  This album is actually a story being told.  The album is about a warrior who is called to battle and torn from the ones he loves (check out the video for "The Lay of Our Love").  He dies in battle and is carried away by a Valkyrie to be selected by either Freya or Odin to serve in their halls until Ragnarok (the end of the world to Heathens).  I can't think of a better word than amazing to describe Valkyrja.  As a bonus, the deluxe version includes a couple covers.  One of them is a cover of "Cemetery Gates" by Pantera, and it is remarkable.  It is highly recommended that you listen to this album beginning to end. The story is engrossing and compelling, and the music is beatiful and heavy.  An amazing mix!  Highly recommended for fans of metal, Norse Heathenry, and fantastic music!

Seymour Duncan Invader Pickups (both bridge and neck)

The Seymour Duncan Invader pickup was designed for extreme output while retaining string definition and great tone. It does exactly that. I recently installed both the bridge and neck versions in my limited edition BC Rich JR-V. Starting with the clean tones, the bridge is bright and powerful. The EQ of the pickups (as designed with the magnets, pole pieces, and winding) provides plenty of bass under any circumstances while retaining just enough mids and clear, sparkling treble. The neck pickup's clean tone is punchy, powerful, and has very well defined lows and mids. When you kick on the overdrive, the pickups begin to show what they can really do. Harmonics (both artificial and natural) are a breeze to hit, the overdrive is smooth, and the sustain and tone are fantastic. When compared to the stock BC Rich pickups they replaced, the Invaders have much more power, tone, and personality. They accomplish all of this without being muddy, which I've found to be a bit of a rarity with extremely high output pickups.

When you crank the distortion all the way up, you get what these pickups are really for. Running them through my BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone pedal creates some amazing results. String definition is retained, but the power, punch, and strength are remarkable. Palm-muted riffs shake the house while still being distinct in any position on the neck. Open notes and leads are very distinct. Either pickup gives a great lead tone for solos and no matter how fast your picking or sweeps are, the pickups will deliver. I love these things for all things metal, but they are versatile enough for any style of music. Play with the volume and tone pots, and you can discover a whole range of tones suitable for whatever you could want. Additionally, they are 4 conductor pickups, so you can coil split or coil tap with the proper wiring. What's not to love?