Painkiller thin?

[Intra Limpidus]

Alright so I'm either gonna get a painkiller or a holy diver in the bridge position. At this stage I'm leaning towards the painkiller, but I'm worried it might sound thin in my guitar because the holy diver says it can fatten up a bolt on but the painkiller doesn't say that.

My guitar isn't yet built but it's gonna have a swamp ash body, regular ash neck, maple fretboard, and it will be bolt on.

Do you think the painkiller will sound thin?

Thanks.

[Yellowjacket]

Check the tone of the guitar before you order pickups but I have some thoughts anyhow.

I have a guitar with a Rebel Yell in it and I'm pretty sure that it would sound equally awesome with a Painkiller.  It's a mahogany neck, rosewood board, and solid mahogany body.  The guitar is a very dark sounding instrument with a dip in the high mids and a slight bump in the low treble.  Sounds very different than what you have being built.

For you, Holy Diver is probably a far superior option for the bridge.  Also consider an A-Pig or a Juggernaut bridge, depending on what you're going for. 

[Intra Limpidus]

Check the tone of the guitar before you order pickups but I have some thoughts anyhow.

I have a guitar with a Rebel Yell in it and I'm pretty sure that it would sound equally awesome with a Painkiller.  It's a mahogany neck, rosewood board, and solid mahogany body.  The guitar is a very dark sounding instrument with a dip in the high mids and a slight bump in the low treble.  Sounds very different than what you have being built.

For you, Holy Diver is probably a far superior option for the bridge.  Also consider an A-Pig or a Juggernaut bridge, depending on what you're going for.

Thanks for the feedback. 

Why do you think the diver would be best for my guitar?

I did go through all the bare knuckle humbuckers and listened to the demos and I narrowed it down to the painkiller or the holy diver. I guess the painkiller might be a bit to bitey but your right I should give my guitar a listen before I make a final decision for the pickup.

[tristinc]

Was the neck  being ash a typo?

[Intra Limpidus]

Was the neck  being ash a typo?

Nope. I was thinking somebody would bring that up. I talked with a guitar builder and he told me ash necks work well and have similar properties to maple on both the janka and stiffness scale, so I thought I'd give it a try. Also I mean hard ash not swamp ash.

[ericsabbath]

the painkiller is considerably hotter than the holy diver
I don't think it's a thin sounding pup
it's a very middy pup like its cousins: the diver, black dog and aftermath

but if you want full spectrum thickness, I'd take a look at the nailbomb (ceramic or alnico), miracle man, juggernaut or warpig

not sure which ones are the best for ash, though

[FELINEGUITARS]

Ash body + maple neck = bright and full of top end.

A warm pickup will work best to fill out the frequencies
It is one of the combinations where the Alnico nailbomb works best in my opinion.
However the Juggernaut and Hold Diver will also work well

The Painkiller will still sound full but the ceramic magnet may give you more edginess than you wish for in that wood combo.

[Serratus]

I have both of those - they are quite different to each other!
Holy Diver is fat, and warm, with a nice lot of low mids, and quite medium-output-feeling in its dynamics (ie, pretty open and dynamic sounding).
Painkiller feels much louder and hotter, with less dynamics and a more compressed feel. More snarly with more high mids and less warmth than the HD.
I would also go for the HD for this guitar, unless you want exclusively a really hot rock/metal guitar :)