Need something similar to Holydiver in basswood

[nkay]

I have an old HSS Fender strat made out of basswood. It's a bit dull sounding guitar overall. I had a Holydiver in it before which was decent overall sound EQ-wise but because of its softer and smoother attackit wasn't overly punchy.

I also tried a Cold Sweat in there which had more punch and attack, but I didn't like how it was a bit hollow in the low mids.

What else can I try that's not too far from the diver (I like smooth soloing and low mids) but has better punch? I think basswood needs a powerful ceramic so my main choices seem to be Painkiller and Miracle Man. Even hotter maybe the ceramic Warpig?

[littleredguitars2]

maybe someone else will disagree but i think the crawler might work. that or the juggernaut. the juggs were first tested in basswood i believe since thats misha mansoors wood of choice.

[Dave Sloven]

I don't know about it being similar to the Holy Diver but I would consider the C-Bomb

[Lucas]

I don't know about it being similar to the Holy Diver but I would consider the C-Bomb

you wouldn`t get that 'smooth soloing' with CBomb. I have one in all mahogany Dean and as I love it as rhythm pickup, lead work is the last thing that I would recommend CBomb for.
It`s hairy with loads of bite and pissed off attitude.
but also we have to get an amp and dirt boxes (if any) into consideration. with different setup you might tame CBomb a bit

[Slartibartfarst42]

If you like ceramic, I'd go with the Miracle Man but then I much prefer alnico and the Miracle Man is the most organic ceramic pickup I've ever tried and always reminded me of a Holydiver. If you're after something a bit warmer and more Rock than Metal, the Crawler is incredible.

[Dave Sloven]

I'm not sure that a Miracle Man will work if the Cold Sweat was too scooped.

[darkbluemurder]

My thought was Miracle Man bridge. It is definitely not as scooped in the low mids as the Cold Sweat bridge. I had both in the same guitar and preferred the Cold Sweat because it has less low mids (that particular guitar has enough of those).

Cheers Stephan

[GuitarIv]

Have to vote for the Miracle Man as well here. I own the Holydiver, the Miracle Man and the Painkiller and kinda was in a similar situation to yours: had the HD in a Jackson Dinky and although it got me some great lead sounds (in fact the best I ever heard in a bridge humbucker) it was a bit too soft when it came to riffy stuff.

Eventually I bought the MM used off of Slartibartfast and found the same results he had: despite the ceramic magnet and the infamous mid-scoop it beared quite some resemblance to the HD in terms of sound, very organic and not as harsh as one might think a ceramic magnet would be. The focus of the pickup is in the low mids and the highs really help to cut when you place it in a dull or woofy guitar, something I wasn't expect to work in my Dinky. The HD is early 80's in sound and like a better version (in my opinion anyway) of the Duncan JB, the MM is somewhat later 80's and gives you a bit more of a screamy lead tone. All in all my favourite BKP for the bridge, mind my bias there 

The Painkiller is something completely different, modern, crunchy, harsh at times and very in your face. Sounds awesome for modern stuff and lower tunings and at times you can rip peoples faces off with the high mids. Very cool if you're into that kind of thing.

Here are some samples I recorded:

Miracle Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7qxFJg1i7w
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ0kkiwYsnc

Painkiller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaAiLlwoxqQ

Hope that helps, if you got more questions, fire away.

Cheers

[nkay]

Thanks for the replies guys! I think the Miracle Man may be worth a shot here, it's one of those ones I always pass by, but I think in this guitar it will bring out what I want.
Cheers!

[ericsabbath]

http://www.tonefinder.com/?section=id&value=2473
http://www.tonefinder.com/?section=id&value=2578

[Yellowjacket]

maybe someone else will disagree but i think the crawler might work. that or the juggernaut. the juggs were first tested in basswood i believe since thats misha mansoors wood of choice.

My thoughts exactly.  The guitar being a bit 'dull' sounds almost exactly like my Godin Redline III.  The juggs sound immense in it.

[nkay]

What I really want is a Holydiver with a ceramic magnet ;) I know the original Holydiver was like that and was tweaked slightly into the Cold Sweat years ago, but as much as I like the Cold Sweat, I prefer more low mids from it.
Would they do a custom wind? I'm sure a lot of people have asked for this, but I'm assuming that just plunking a ceramic magnet in it will lose a lot of the properties we like about the Holydiver.

[GuitarIv]

You could ask for a custom wind, but then again taking a chance with the Miracle Man would probably be easier, especially since you could always return it in exchange for a different BKP. Low mids = Miracle Man. Trust me, it sounds astonishingly similar to a HD yet ballsier. Have you asked the folks of the BKP team yet? Just drop em a mail, they'll give you an accurate answer 

[ericsabbath]

What I really want is a Holydiver with a ceramic magnet ;) I know the original Holydiver was like that and was tweaked slightly into the Cold Sweat years ago, but as much as I like the Cold Sweat, I prefer more low mids from it.
Would they do a custom wind? I'm sure a lot of people have asked for this, but I'm assuming that just plunking a ceramic magnet in it will lose a lot of the properties we like about the Holydiver.

well, the old holy diver (pre-2006) has nothing to do with the "new" one
different coil symmetry, different wire gauge, different wire insulation, different number of turns per coil, different magnet type AND different magnet size
the magnet being the least relevant of those specs
the stock alnico 5 holy diver sounds nothing like a cold sweat, although they both sound good for the same things
they have almost opposite voicings

I disagree about the miracle man sounding similar to the holy diver, but it also sounds good for the same things and will deliver the low mids you want

[darkbluemurder]

I disagree about the miracle man sounding similar to the holy diver, but it also sounds good for the same things and will deliver the low mids you want

I think I was one of those who said they sounded similar. At least this was the case in one guitar, where the basic tone of the guitar (a very dark sounding strat) dominated over everything else. In a brighter toned strat they did not sound too similar.

Cheers Stephan