That may well be true as I've certainly tried my fair share of BKP despite never owning more than two guitars at a time! I also wouldn't want to suggest that Tim always gets it right because nobody's perfect but I think that if he does get it wrong, 99.9% of the time it's down to an inaccurate description of what you're after which sends him in the wrong direction. The point is that none of us know pickups better than Tim and none of us know Bare Knuckle pickups better than Tim and you have described a Holydiver 100%. All of that being the case, it strikes me as unwise to even consider trying a different pickup first. Let me use myself as an example and the pickups I've tried in the order I've tried them.
Cold Sweat set
I started this thinking that I wanted a Cold Sweat neck and a different bridge. I can't remember what was in my mind (possibly a Painkiller) but it certainly wasn't a Cold Sweat. I described what I wanted and Tim suggested a Cold Sweat set. I wasn't at all convinced so dithered for a couple of weeks before buying the Cold Sweat set and it was fantastic - just what I wanted.
A-Bomb bridge
I sent this one back but it was my fault. I said I wanted something tight and with an edge of aggression but with an element of versatility but as soon as I tried the A-Bomb I realised it was all of those things but that wasn't what I'd meant. By 'tight' I'd meant something with good note separation and very articulate but that's not the same thing at all. I went back to the drawing board, refined my description to something that more accurately portrayed what I wanted and he changed to a Holydiver. Again I was wary because I really thought the Holydiver would be too tame but realising that the problem with the Nailbomb was my fault and sure I'd described my tone better this time, I took the plunge and guess what.....it was perfect.
Trilogy Suites (neck and middle)
I wanted creamy single coil tones with a modern edge that could still do Blues. I actually really wanted him to say Slowhands but he said Trilogy Suites. By this time I'd learned my lesson so I went with the Trilogy Suites and he was right, they were superb.
Holydiver bridge
Mentioned above and I'm a HUGE fan of this pickup now.
Emerald neck
I contacted him about this one 100% sure that I wanted an Abraxas neck. I even phrased my description in such a way that I felt it would encourage him to say Abraxas so I was stunned when he said an Emerald. Experience had, by this time, shown me that Tim generally isn't wrong so I bought the Emerald and it is easily my favourite neck pickup. What's more, subsequent events I'll come onto suggest that I wouldn't have liked the Abraxas neck at all.
Miracle Man
This time I kinda thought I wanted an A-Pig but he came back to me that the Miracle Man would be a better choice. I was VERY unsure as after the Holydiver I was convinced that whatever I got would need to be alnico V and not ceramic. How could a ceramic give me the smooth, thick and organic tones I'd described? Reluctantly I decided to give it a go, convinced it would be going back for an A-Pig. When it arrived I was astonished to find that it was absolutely perfect. To be honest it was so completely spot on for what I wanted it was unbelievable.
Crawler bridge
Again, I went into this 150% convinced I wanted an Abraxas and again, I felt my description was perfect for an Abraxas but Tim went and suggested a Crawler! Not being a great Geoff Whitehorn fan but being a big Santanna fan, I was far from sure about this but there was no way I was doubting Tim ever again so I bought it and it is absolutely what I wanted. In fact, it's closer to what I wanted than I ever thought possible and the more I play it, the more I love it. There's a serious possibility that this could at least match the Holydiver as my favourite bridge pickup. I played a gig last night and I used this pickup in what is supposedly my 'second' guitar for more than half of the set. It's THAT good.
Crawler neck
Again, this one went back and again, it was largely my fault. I described a vintage tone and this is a very vintage pickup but it soon became apparent that while I may like a bit of a vintage vibe, I also like the extra cut you get from a more modern pickup.
Holydiver neck
One of the pickups in the range that I really thought I'd never own because it just never appealed to me from the description but I knew I wanted something different from the Emerald and this is what came up. It's in the guitar and even though overall I still prefer the Emerald, this is just what I was after for that particular guitar and once again, by taking his advice I am perfectly happy.
I don't think my experience is unique on this board. I think at some point, most of us have had doubts about what Tim suggests but equally, most of us have come to the conclusion that he's invariably right and if there's a difference of opinion, we're invariably wrong. If your description is accurate, you have described a Holydiver, Tim has suggested the Holydiver (not surprisingly given your description) so buy a Holydiver. If it's wrong, it will be down to your description.
