Holy Diver vs. Nailbomb?

[syr2012]

I've been GASing for a new guitar and pickup for quite some time. I saw a basswood guitar online (Laguna, if anyone's familiar with that brand) and I've decided that if I love the neck, I'll get the guitar. Some reviews I've seen for it say that it's great for metal and whatnot, but the cleans are terrible (I'll attribute that to the stock ceramic pickups). But I'm rambling.

I like playing hard rock and some metal riffing from time to time, and I immensely prefer and enjoy using high output pickups (I'll venture into moderate and more vintage winds when I have the time and money to do so). So, I sent Tim an email over the weekend and his (quick) reply said that Nailbombs will give me what I want in a basswood guitar. I have a Holy Diver already, so I definitely want a different sound.

So my questions: How do Holy Divers compare to Nailbombs in basswood? What should I look forward to if/when I get the guitar and fit it with a Nailbomb?

(BTW, there's a place near where I live that keeps Bare Knuckles in stock, so I'm actually going to go over there and get whatever I'm looking for. It's high time I try something without my little mods here and there anyway)

[Antag]

We've discussed this before.  Try this post & the topics linked from it for starters... :)

[ericsabbath]

I thought they were similar pickups before having both, but they are very different
I prefer the Diver, but the Nailbomb has a noticeable higher output and the tightest low end I've heard in a passive alnico pickup, a lot more edge to the top end, tamed midrange, very dense and focused tone, instead of the fat, round, middy and open tone and controlled output of the diver

[Antag]

the Nailbomb has a noticeable higher output

You think?

If anything, I think it's the other way around.  Perhaps it's the extra midrange push of the HD giving the perception of more output, but to me the HD is marginally more powerful....

[ericsabbath]

the Nailbomb has a noticeable higher output

You think?

If anything, I think it's the other way around.  Perhaps it's the extra midrange push of the HD giving the perception of more output, but to me the HD is marginally more powerful....

the diver is chunkier and middier, but only medium output if compared to a CS, NB or MM
my nailbomb has definitely more output
this thing is LOUD, and there's definitely no extra midrange compared to the Diver
it has more treble, but not really more upper mids
I just wish it had more mids, since I bought it expecting a holy diver-like pickup with more upper mids and crunch  :(
it reminds me more of a slightly fatter, cleaner and punchier cold sweat without the subtly overdriven midrange of the ceramic magnet

[Antag]

only medium output if compared to a CS, NB or MM

I have to disagree with that.

No way is the HD significantly different in output to the CS.  Perhaps a little less than the MM, but let there be no doubt that the HD is a high output pickup...

[ericsabbath]

only medium output if compared to a CS, NB or MM

I have to disagree with that.

No way is the HD significantly different in output to the CS.  Perhaps a little less than the MM, but let there be no doubt that the HD is a high output pickup...

not a ton of difference in output, but the cold sweat definitely pushed all my amps harder, even though it's a thinner sounding pup
and I'm talking about the same guitar I had the Diver and the MM
the nailbomb is in a very similar sounding LP
my favorite is still the holy diver for most stuff, except 80's/90's thrash metal
I regret selling it :(

[syr2012]

It's not that I haven't utilized the search feature, it's that I'm looking for something a bit specific, like how they compare to each other in basswood, as opposed to how they compare in general, because as we all know, the slightest of changes can make for a huge difference.