Holy Diver for Explorer

[Sancho]

What the title says, basically : how would a Holy Diver sound in an Explorer? I'm not 100% convinced it's the right pickup for my Soloist. I might give it a go in an Explorer and see how it does there.

[Philly Q]

I would guess it might tend to sound a bit muddy in that big slab o'mahogany, but maybe not.

[Petrucci]

Mahogany explorer?
Few reports here that HD sounds awesome in mahogany...

I'm not 100% convinced it's the right pickup for my Soloist.

I have a feeling that HD isn't the PU for an alder / my alder superstrat/...

[Sancho]

Mahogany explorer?

Yep. Just a regular Gibson 76 Explorer.

I have a feeling that HD isn't the PU for an alder...

I don't know. It may be the guitar, it may be the electronics, it may be the pickup. I'm getting desperate. The guitar is one of my best players, but the bridge pickup (originally a JB, then a HD) always sounds uninspired. I replaced the single coils with Cool Rails, and those sound great. Maybe I need to get a very bright pickup for the bridge position?

[Petrucci]

I don't know. It may be the guitar, it may be the electronics, it may be the pickup. I'm getting desperate. The guitar is one of my best players, but the bridge pickup (originally a JB, then a HD) always sounds uninspired. I replaced the single coils with Cool Rails, and those sound great. Maybe I need to get a very bright pickup for the bridge position?

Same here my friend...JB -> HD ->??? The guitar is ESP MII, love that guitar...
In other thread I'm asking about CS bridge.
It seems that our guitars are not so bright, despite the materials and construction...

[darkbluemurder]

It may be the guitar, it may be the electronics, it may be the pickup. I'm getting desperate. The guitar is one of my best players, but the bridge pickup (originally a JB, then a HD) always sounds uninspired. I replaced the single coils with Cool Rails, and those sound great. Maybe I need to get a very bright pickup for the bridge position?

Coming from the JB to the HD you should have experienced a definite plus in warmth and articulation and also in punch. If you need more crunch, bite and punch, then indeed a brighter pickup could be the ticket. Given that Explorers tend to have a good midrange the Cold Sweat bridge could be the ticket to enhance the midrange with a tight low end and a crunchy high end.

Cheers Stephan

[Sancho]

To avoid confusion : the HD is now installed in a Jackson SL1. Maple neck-thru with alder wings.
As it doesn't really do it for me in that guitar (but I do need to check the wiring, as per Tim's request) I'm thinking of moving it to an Explorer.
The Explorer either gets the HD or keeps its stock pickups.
The CS talk is concerning the new pickup for the SL1.

[Serratus]

FWIW I've been speaking to Tim lately about a new bridge pickup for a 7-string mahogany explorer that I built. I was thinking of a Rebel yell, cold sweat or Aftermath, he said:

Explorers can be funny beasts - that huge wing of timber trailing behind
the bridge can produce a lot of bass frequencies off the string with a
mahogany body. I've a sneaky feeling you'd find a RY7 would reproduce a
lot of that along with mids too but not a lot of cut in the highs. The
CS7 works well but as you say the mids are really smooth while the AM7
produces tight bass and broad mids. The other option is an Emerald
7 - you get the tone of the 43AWG wind but it's a lot brighter and
tighter than a RY7

Dont know how that applies to the Holy diver but might be of some food for thought for you :)

[richard]

I have RYs in a Firebird Studio which is a big ol' lump of mahogany very similar to an Explorer. There is certainly no lack of cut in the highs but there's not a massive amount of low end.  Plenty for me coz I play classic rock and blues.

I got to listen to a friend playing it at a jam night through his vintage Park combo and it sounded amazing. The lows are really articulate. It's sometimes hard to judge your sound when you're standing close to your amp so it was nice to be at the other end of the room and have a good listen. I was very pleased with what I heard.

[Telerocker]

I would guess it might tend to sound a bit muddy in that big slab o'mahogany, but maybe not.

Initially I was thinking this too. I would be warmth on warmth, I guess, but I'm not sure. From the specs it seems the CS would be more appropriate.

[ericsabbath]

if you already the pickup and guitar, won't hurt trying it
I'd never expect the holy diver to sound good in some les paul copy I had with brazilian mahogany/rosewood and imbuya top, which is a quite dark sounding and not resonant wood compared to a regular maple top
that guitar had a huge amount of bass and not much high end, but the diver sounded really really good in that les paul
the miracle man sounded darker and even bassier, and still sounded amazing
sometimes you might be surprised by weird anti-logical combos
I think the Diver loves huge mahogany bodies over skinny guitars

[Sancho]

if you already the pickup and guitar, won't hurt trying it

Did I ever tell you I'm bone idle?
;)

If I can't get the HD to sound right in the SL1, I'll replace it with a CS and take it from there.

[Philly Q]

if you already the pickup and guitar, won't hurt trying it

Did I ever tell you I'm bone idle?
;)

Oh, I know that feeling!  :lol:

That's why I can never be bothered to experiment with different caps, pots etc.  Once it's wired up, it's staying put for a year or two...

[ericsabbath]

if you already the pickup and guitar, won't hurt trying it

Did I ever tell you I'm bone idle?
;)

Oh, I know that feeling!  :lol:

That's why I can never be bothered to experiment with different caps, pots etc.  Once it's wired up, it's staying put for a year or two...

now this may seem a little bit crazy...
but I don't think you should be so lazy
PDT_003

[Philly Q]

now this may seem a little bit crazy...
but I don't think you should be so lazy
PDT_003

You're a poet but you don't know it!  :P