Holydiver tweaks

[herbychimp]

So I finally got my Holydiver installed by the good folks at Feline. Sound cool and lean when practicing scaled ect. Having played with my band for the last 2 days I am noticing that it seems less 'present' in the mix than I would have liked. Next to the DiMarzio Chopper in the mid and BC2 there is also a drop in fullness - not quite volume. Could I remedy this by altering pickup heights? Or, if I wanted something to compete on equal terms with the Chopper, should I have chosen the NB or RY?

[ericsabbath]

in my experience, the holy diver works best very close to the strings, unlike the nailbomb, for example
I tried to use it far from the strings, but then it sounded thin

the diver is the most sensitive to boosting among the contemporary models
a booster really brings life to the diver, even in subtle settings

just had it installed in my main '73 les paul, that also had nailbombs, motor city afwayu, cold sweats, aftermath
it's noticeably less hot than the previous bridge pickups, but with the boost on (a vintage maxon graphic EQ, for now) in the same settings, it sounds just as hot and in your face as the others, with a nice strong and crunchy midrange that only the aftermath had in that guitar (I felt that the nailbomb needed more center mids)

I was expecting it to sound dark or a bit mushy on the bass side, like the motor city pickup did, since this particular guitar is darker and more dense sounding than the les paul copy I have (that also had a diver, miracle man, cold sweat...), but it's actually sounding almost as bright and articulated as the aftermath, but more controlled in output and less "scratchy"

[herbychimp]

Thanks to Eric & Jonathan (@ Feline) for the advice here. A couple of clockwise turns on the pick-up height screws has really changed the picture and the Holydiver has a great deal more body and presence - to the point that it is tipping my amp into overdrive very easily.  Without wanting to state the obvious too much, you never really know how the p.up will sound in your guitar with your set up until it has been fitted. The HD has great qualities but now I am actually wondering if I would have preferred something a little more restrained. Jonathan at Feline did actually recommend the Rebel Yell but I hesitated on the grounds that all the samples that I had heard / reviews I had read showed the RY in a Les Paul set up rather than a strat.

Does anybody have any experience with a Rebel Yell in a strat? Would it be less agressive / all out rock than a HD?

[darkbluemurder]

Does anybody have any experience with a Rebel Yell in a strat? Would it be less agressive / all out rock than a HD?

It depends on what you define as "aggressive". If it's just raw output then the RY is less aggressive. But frequency wise, everything I read about the RY would seem to me that its voicing is more aggressive than the HD. I don't find the HD an aggressively voiced pickup unless I really dig into the strings.

Cheers Stephan

[Philly Q]

I've never tried the HD but I doubt the RY would sound more "restrained" in a Strat, I suspect it would sound rather too bright and thin/piercing.   The RY is aggressive, in a bright/in-your-face kind of way.

[asianaxeman]

so you want more presence and fullness which you achieved but now it's not 'restrained' enough after 2 clockwise turns of the height screws?

I suggest turning it back ONE clockwise turn and reassess the situation! HDs RULE!

[herbychimp]

Thanks for all the info thus far. I have just been checking out the Crawler on the samples. Sounds very fat but classy. Does anyone have any views on this in a strat?

[Philly Q]

I had Crawlers in a Les Paul - the bridge pickup had a fat, growly, beefed-up vintage kind of tone, but I found it a little dark in that guitar. 

I ended up selling both the guitar and the pickups, but I suspect it would work very well indeed in a Strat, and if I was buying a humbucker for a Strat it would be near the top of my list (Geoff Whitehorn had it voiced to work well in both Les Pauls and Strats). 

Don't know exactly how it would compare with the HD, but I'd guess it's a bit "looser" and more vintage sounding.

[Telerocker]

Thanks for all the info thus far. I have just been checking out the Crawler on the samples. Sounds very fat but classy. Does anyone have any views on this in a strat?

I have the Crawler in my MXG custom swampashstrat/ebony fretboard. My friend has one in his Squier HSS-strat, ordered after he heard mine. This is a great pu to fatten up a strat, it's really fat, warm, organic, with a round topend, but certainly not dark. Enough treble for me. It's sounds huge and (on the drive channel) a big growl thru my Orange Rockerverb 50 had/2x12 cab. It is has a vintage flavour to the tone.
In a darksounding Les Paul the Crawler could be too warm, missing some brightness, but I don't have experience with this combo.

[herbychimp]

Crawler sounds just the ticket! I would be really interested in trying to aquire a second hand one / swap for my HD. Is there a specific section on the website for trades ect?

[darkbluemurder]

It's in the Seconds Out section.