Do the little things make that much of a difference?

[GuitarIv]

As far as I remember Nolly was one of the first ones to have a Ceramic Nailbomb by request? I know for certain he helped to develop the Blackhawk as he had it in his Pink Daemoness Cimmerian even before the pickup was released, referring to it as "prototype" and as soon as it was out, only available with a ceramic magnet he posted a clip on his soundcloud with a special A5 version of the pickup, even offering DI's for download so people could judge by themselves. Soon after that the Blackhawk was made available with either ceramic or alnico magnets.

[Slartibartfarst42]

If you remember way back the C-bomb was never an option. A5 was the key and thats how it was sold until people kept asking for it and now it seems that is the option preferred by the masses.

I think a lot of this is down to the fact that most people just don't realise how incredibly tight and aggressive the A-Bomb actually is so they assume they need a ceramic option. I know it surprised me. In my wildest dreams I wouldn't have expected an AV magnet to produce that level of aggression and tightness. It was far more aggressive than any ceramic pickup I've ever used and probably a good bit tighter too. I know that the C-Bomb sells well but the Nailbomb is also a reminder to me that Tim chooses specific magnets and wire etc. for the very good reason that it works.

[Toe-Knee]

If you remember way back the C-bomb was never an option. A5 was the key and thats how it was sold until people kept asking for it and now it seems that is the option preferred by the masses.

I personally found the nailbomb to be pretty saggy in the lows and not very aggressive across the four guitars i tried it in. When i changed it to ceramic it was better but still not quite there. Neodymium was perfect.

I think a lot of this is down to the fact that most people just don't realise how incredibly tight and aggressive the A-Bomb actually is so they assume they need a ceramic option. I know it surprised me. In my wildest dreams I wouldn't have expected an AV magnet to produce that level of aggression and tightness. It was far more aggressive than any ceramic pickup I've ever used and probably a good bit tighter too. I know that the C-Bomb sells well but the Nailbomb is also a reminder to me that Tim chooses specific magnets and wire etc. for the very good reason that it works.

[Slartibartfarst42]

That just goes to show how subjective it can be and how a pickup can change depending on the guitar. In terms of ceramic pups I've tried a Cold Sweat and a Miracle Man in the same guitar and neither were anything like as tight and aggressive as the A-Bomb.

[GuitarIv]

I only know my Painkiller is tight enough for my tastes and the Holydiver is just tight enough. Although that's nothing a good tubescreamer won't fix. Nothing I played so far beats the EMG 81 in that term. I'm really tempted to try the Entwistle HDN after reading Tony's blog and forum posts, especially at that low price... :P