Holydiver Review

[asianaxeman]

so when are you sending it back ?  :lol:

[ericsabbath]

well, he could send it to me  :D

[Erock503]

cool review, thanks man. I read your review of the A-Bomb too, and thought it was also very well written. Since you've tried both in the same guitar, maybe you could give me a unique perspective.

I have a couple Charvel So- Cals(alder body/maple neck & board), and I'm looking to put pups in a new one I got. I have HD's in my original, and I absolutely love them, but I wanted something different from the HD's for this new guitar. Problem is, I don't want to lose the qualities I absolutely LOVE in the HD. I love how they work with the alder highend too. Although the HD's are thick, I'm looking for a bit more lowend end girth for this guitar, and maybe even slightly more output. A little less polite isn't a problem either. What I really don't want to lose that mid snarl, the sweetened topend, and the way these feel for lead lines.

My first idea was an alnico nailbomb, but your review made me hesitate. I'm ready to just stick with what I know at this point. What's your opinion on what I'm going to lose/gain with the A-Bomb compared to the HD's in the same guitar?

[ericsabbath]

cool review, thanks man. I read your review of the A-Bomb too, and thought it was also very well written. Since you've tried both in the same guitar, maybe you could give me a unique perspective.

I have a couple Charvel So- Cals(alder body/maple neck & board), and I'm looking to put pups in a new one I got. I have HD's in my original, and I absolutely love them, but I wanted something different from the HD's for this new guitar. Problem is, I don't want to lose the qualities I absolutely LOVE in the HD. I love how they work with the alder highend too. Although the HD's are thick, I'm looking for a bit more lowend end girth for this guitar, and maybe even slightly more output. A little less polite isn't a problem either. What I really don't want to lose that mid snarl, the sweetened topend, and the way these feel for lead lines.

My first idea was an alnico nailbomb, but your review made me hesitate. I'm ready to just stick with what I know at this point. What's your opinion on what I'm going to lose/gain with the A-Bomb compared to the HD's in the same guitar?

hey, xará
glad too see you here
I always post your miracle man clips as great tone references

guess you'll be happy with an alnico warpig
it's just a bit less middy than the holy diver and more grainy on the mids

the nailbomb is a lot less middy and more focused than the diver
very mid 90ish, with that cutting top end edge
think Helmet or Sepultura
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0nZEabnHpU

both of Slartibartfarst42 reviews are very accurate, although his experiences were short

[Zaned]

Great review and glad that you like the HD! The way it combines thickness and clarity, warmth and aggression is amazing. Really versatile too, you can from playing Led Zeppelin's 'Rock'n roll' to Dio's 'Rainbow in the dark' just by changing right hand touch.

-Zaned

[darkbluemurder]

Great review - many thanks!

My experiences with the HD bridge are exactly the same. I love the ones I have.

And I am glad the pickup exchange worked for you.

Cheers Stephan

[Slartibartfarst42]

cool review, thanks man. I read your review of the A-Bomb too, and thought it was also very well written. Since you've tried both in the same guitar, maybe you could give me a unique perspective.

I have a couple Charvel So- Cals(alder body/maple neck & board), and I'm looking to put pups in a new one I got. I have HD's in my original, and I absolutely love them, but I wanted something different from the HD's for this new guitar. Problem is, I don't want to lose the qualities I absolutely LOVE in the HD. I love how they work with the alder highend too. Although the HD's are thick, I'm looking for a bit more lowend end girth for this guitar, and maybe even slightly more output. A little less polite isn't a problem either. What I really don't want to lose that mid snarl, the sweetened topend, and the way these feel for lead lines.

My first idea was an alnico nailbomb, but your review made me hesitate. I'm ready to just stick with what I know at this point. What's your opinion on what I'm going to lose/gain with the A-Bomb compared to the HD's in the same guitar?

Thanks for the positive feedback on my reviews, I'm glad they've been of use. If you switch to an A-Bomb there will certainly be a difference. You'll gain a much tighter, brighter and more edgy pickup that has a distinctly 90s Metal tone to it. You'll lose the thickness and fluidity of the HD and the smoothness it lends to its distortion. You certainly won't get more lowend girth as to my mind the Holydiver has far more lowend girth to it and in my opinion at least (possibly biased) I think you'll lose some of the versatility.

If you want more power I'd agree with Eric that the A-Pig might be an option. My experience of it is very limited but when I tried it briefly in a Strat I was impressed with the results. I thought it had fantastic fluid leads and obviously a very powerful low end. If you don't fancy the Warpig I'd guess that the Crawler might work, though I have no personal experience of this model. I believe it's supposed to be smoother with a strong low end but retains the warmth, thickness and fluidity that you like in the Holydiver.

[ericsabbath]

I'd say the nailbomb has as much bass and low mids as the diver
but the difference in the center mids is huge, so it just doesn't sound full like the diver
also, it works better in lower height than the diver, due to the extra output, and that may suck a bit of the mids and bass as well

[Erock503]

hey, xará
glad too see you here
I always post your miracle man clips as great tone references

guess you'll be happy with an alnico warpig
it's just a bit less middy than the holy diver and more grainy on the mids

the nailbomb is a lot less middy and more focused than the diver
very mid 90ish, with that cutting top end edge
think Helmet or Sepultura
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0nZEabnHpU

both of Slartibartfarst42 reviews are very accurate, although his experiences were short

xará !

How's it going Eric, thanks for the reply brother.

I think you may be right, I'm not sure the Nailbomb is going to do it for me. Tim recommended I try it, but it doesn't sound like what I'm after from your description. I've been checking out the Warpig clips, I assume you meant the alnico right? I actually liked how the bottom stayed tighter on the ceramic, but these HD's have really got me addicted to the alnicos. I may have to try the alnico pig, or just stick with the HD, thanks for the suggestion man.

really diggin the HD's, I wanted some variation, but I think I might just have to stick them in this guitar too, lol.

Thanks for the positive feedback on my reviews, I'm glad they've been of use. If you switch to an A-Bomb there will certainly be a difference. You'll gain a much tighter, brighter and more edgy pickup that has a distinctly 90s Metal tone to it. You'll lose the thickness and fluidity of the HD and the smoothness it lends to its distortion. You certainly won't get more lowend girth as to my mind the Holydiver has far more lowend girth to it and in my opinion at least (possibly biased) I think you'll lose some of the versatility.

If you want more power I'd agree with Eric that the A-Pig might be an option. My experience of it is very limited but when I tried it briefly in a Strat I was impressed with the results. I thought it had fantastic fluid leads and obviously a very powerful low end. If you don't fancy the Warpig I'd guess that the Crawler might work, though I have no personal experience of this model. I believe it's supposed to be smoother with a strong low end but retains the warmth, thickness and fluidity that you like in the Holydiver.

Thanks man, appreciate the reply. I think I'll pass on the A-Bomb then, doesn't sound like what I'm looking for. Really surprised Tim recommended it though, considering the experiences you guys had.

I saw another post where someone was talking about a difference with covers, where the mids were a little more prevalent, and the top was rolled off a bit. Did either of you guys have covered nailbombs?

[ericsabbath]

my nailbomb was covered and still very edgy
not spikey or harsh, but it has a quite aggressive top for an alnico pickup
I don't think you wouldn't like it, as it sits right between the miracle man and holy diver output levels and voicings
the nailbomb is Tim's favorite hot pickup and one of his first children
it does deliver a lot of low mids, like the holy diver and the miracle man, but it has a lot less center mids, so a guitar that is not already low mid heavy might not deliver a thicker tone, since pickups obviously can't create frequencies by themselves
the extra center mids and slightly rolled off top end is what makes the holy diver make a fatter/bigger tone impression, but it doesn't fatten the low end any more than the nailbomb does
if you want something warm and even thicker than the diver, that's the alnico warpig for sure

[dheim]

Problem is, most of my guitars are all-mahogany LP Jr or SG types, probably the one type of guitar the HD won't really suit. 

no, they don't! :(
my SGs loaded with Cold Sweats and Rebel Yells are still among my favourite sounding guitars...

[Philly Q]

Problem is, most of my guitars are all-mahogany LP Jr or SG types, probably the one type of guitar the HD won't really suit. 

no, they don't! :(
my SGs loaded with Cold Sweats and Rebel Yells are still among my favourite sounding guitars...

Yeah, I've tried Cold Sweats in an SG and it's a great combination.  I have a CS set I'll fit in my PRS Mira..... eventually. 

[ztikmaen]

Great review, but when you say fluid does this apply to the neck only? And what does the neck sound like clean? Because by the sounds of it it sounds like it would nail that sweet child o' mine tone
I think I may get an Abraxas bridge and a Holydiver neck if it cleans up well

[Slartibartfarst42]

I can't tell you about the neck in this review I'm afraid as my guitar is HSS so the Holydiver is in the bridge and I have Trilogy Suites to go with it. In that respect, when I say it is 'fluid', I am infact referring to the bridge. It also does good cleans on the bridge as well. I believe the neck version is very good but I've never heard of anyone pairing it with an Abraxas bridge.

[Philly Q]

I think I may get an Abraxas bridge and a Holydiver neck if it cleans up well

If you want a classic singing neck pickup tone, I don't think you'd find much wrong with the Abraxas neck.  I'd go for the calibrated set if you're already decided on the bridge model.