Would you like chickens to exists 1st then lay the eggs? Or would you prefer eggs to exists 1st to hatch chickens?
Would you clip your signal at the pickups before going into the amps? or would you rather have a clean signal to clipped at the amps?
The results below shows the the truth behind modifying EMG pickups for higher headroom for a cleaner signal, before you throw the dirt on it.
EMG 707 with 2 9v batteries