BKP Holydiver

[tat2dstesh]

So I got a Holydiver to put in a Gibson Les Paul Classic, and I usually love BKP pickups from the ones I have. I was hoping for a bit better JB as thats what I have read about the pickup but to be honest I'm a bit underwhelmed with the pickup, it does not have that big sound I was hoping for.
The LP is chambered so its a bit brighter and open compared to a Standard LP but I'm use to that with having a Midtown and use to have a LP Studio which was chambered, I had a JB in that which I found too Flubby then a Distortion which I found too Bright. I was hoping the Holydiver would be the one that would fix the JB issues I had while not being over bright like a SD Distortion.

Essentially I find the pickup does not have the push of either the SD pickups and is a bit to open so when trying to do heavy rhythm stuff its not giving me the chunck but then for leads it works great and really does sing, I can compromise on lead tone as its only for like 1 min of a song but I can not compromise on a good chuncky rhythm tone.

I have 3 options and want some opinions on what people would do.

1. Change the magnet to either a Alnico 6 or 8 or Ceramic, as I have these sitting around ( Alnico 6 apparently sits between 5 and 8 so might give me that just a bit extra punch without going over to the 8 )
2. I have a Suhr SSH+ sitting in a draw and could always give that a try
3. Cut my losses and sell the HD and go for another BKP pickup like the painkiller or MM

What would you guys do

[aieos]

I have a Painkiller in a mahogany body super strat that is a bit heavy on low mids. Compared to an ESP with a JB, this combo has more output and more a focused, tight and clear response. Those guitars are quite different to your LP, therefore I dont know how my experience with the Painkiller would translate to your case.

Judged by the sound clips and your description of the desired qualities (tighter than JB, less open than Holydiver, wall of sound) I would have guessed the Ragnarok would fit well. The BKP team can probably give a more valid advice. Did you get advice from them for what you are looking for?



On a side note: I am currently also looking for a Humbucker similar to the JB but clearer and tighter, and was wondering if anyone ever tried a A5 Painkiller. From the forums I read the PK is a better SD Distortion. The SD Distortion is a JB with C8 mags, therefore the PK with A5 mags is a "better" JB? 
 

[tat2dstesh]

As far as I'm aware the holydiver and painkiller are similar winds so essentially a painkiller with an a5 would be the holydiver while the painkiller has triple c8 magnets. Could be wrong but I remember reading someone asking about putting a ceramic in a holydiver and being told you would get an underpowered painkiller

[Kotsos81]

I heard the same think about PK and HD, but I am a bit skeptical about this statement. Although the B/M/T charts look similar, PK has a lot more highs (and high-mids probably) than the HD. Is this attributed only to the different magnets (3x C8 vs. A5)? I don't know. Sure, these pickups share some DNA, but I can't say if it's pretty-much the same wind with different magnets or a different, yet similar wind.

[aieos]

Judged from the listed specs of the PK (15.6kOhms) and HD (15.9kOhms) there has to be more differences than just the magnets. (Asuming the winding and measuring tolerances are low enough.)
The used wire diameter and -coating are maybe also different between the two.

edit: from the Thread "Silo magnet swap" the PK and HD wire are both 44AWG, found no info if the insulation coating is different.

[ericsabbath]

I had 3, maybe 4 bridge holy divers in les pauls and it's definitely not a pushy pickup, and doesn't have a really strong magnet compared to some other pickups I had at time, and it sounds best as close as possible to strings and boosted by an overdrive in front of the amp

in my experience, alnico 8 makes it hotter and tighter, but too compressed and definitely not better sounding for my tastes

have you tried the true grit? it is not as spongy, but thicker on the low end and more balanced