??? Story behind the EMG Alexi Laiho set?

[Tuned]

Browsed through the interwebs but couldln't find any detail on what was the idea behind using a passive EMG pickup and an onboard preamp, or what was the base model and why. Was Alexi going for a more responsive bobbin, since he was using only 1 pup with a single volume up all the time, and minimal possible compression?
Just making things up here, trying to make a viable version.

 

[Hoss632]

I'm sure it has nothing to do with why he did it, but almost seems like he was going for multi-voice passive. Only difference is it's much more customizable. Never read up on this pick up until this thread. Interesting concept for sure.

 

[BenSolace]

His pickup was historically the Jackson J50BC with a JE1000 preamp booster - the former is a lower/mid output ceramic pickup, while the latter was a gain booster with dip switches to alter the mid frequency (or something like that).

Both the J50BC and JE-1000 have been hard to find for some time, and while a place in Finland makes a replica called the MM-04 I imagine when Alexi moved to ESP he could no longer access the Jackson electronics given they were stolen (being in his Jacksons at the time) and Jackson stopped making them.

Not sure if there's a story behind why the EMG-HZ and not another passive (maybe ESP suggested it when ordering his first custom), but he used this old Lee Jackson rack preamp that didn't have a lot of gain, so the boost from the JE1000/MM-04 was needed to get enough saturation. The dip switches were set in such a way to get his signature semi-cocked wah sound he had at all times. AFAIK the preamp booster was always engaged.

I imagine the EMG pickup/preamp set is the result of an endorsement deal where they took the EMG-HZ and bundled it with their replica of the JE1000/MM-04.

Additionally, Alexi was noted to have claimed a dislike of active pickups in the past (despite a short stint with the original SD Blackout). I'm almost positive that some time ago I remember reading in an interview that the guitar wireless packs were left plugged in during transit, meaning the constant drain of the e.g. EMG 81 9v would be problematic. Odd, seeing that the JE1000/MM-04 also requires a 9v to run.