afwayu, aldrich, holy diver, painkiller

[bj4rd]

I am looking for a bridge pup for a les paul. I'm going for a hard rock sound with some palm muting stuff and some singing leads. I had an aldrich and the rhytyhm sound was the best ever but it seemed stiff for leads. I've been thinking of trying an afwayu, painkiller, or holy diver. Anyone have good/bad experiences with these? Any suggestions?

 

[droptrd]

The holy diver doesnt have anywhere near the output of the painkiller,afwayu and aldrich. It has good tone but has a weak drive by comparison. The other 3 seem to be the "big 3" of bridge pups. Im more of an Afwayu fan myself. Id say look for used and experiment.

 

[TeleBlaster]

IMO
Nailbomb should not be overlooked.

 

[JTyson]

Look at JL's pup shootout in the "Everything Else" board here on RT. It compares all of these (I think)... its epic info for pup selection

 

[firejack]

The holy diver doesnt have anywhere near the output of the painkiller,afwayu and aldrich. It has good tone but has a weak drive by comparison.

IMO
Nailbomb should not be overlooked.

Agreed.
I didn't like the Holy Diver due to its lack of drive.
If you are looking at BKP, the Nailbomb is an excellent choice.
Another good suggestion could be the BG Hellabucker or Hellarail?
I have one on the way for one of my guitars.
By all accounts the BG's are great all-rounders for aggressive rhythm and sweet lead tones.
I don't find the Aldrich stiff at all, but then I have it in my Ibanez PGM301 which is basswood with maple fretboard.
So based on my experiences with it in basswood, I'd have said the Aldrich would be the best candidate.

 

[troublehead]

Flamesuit on..............try a Dimarzio Super Distortion. I have tried the Awfayu and the BKP Holy Diver (and a bunch of other "boutiques"). For alot less money you can have the perfect hard rock pickup for a LP...........IMO. It has worked for decades

 

[ericsabbath]

The holy diver doesnt have anywhere near the output of the painkiller,afwayu and aldrich. It has good tone but has a weak drive by comparison.

never played the aldrich, but had the holy diver, painkiller, afwayu, and also the nailbomb, cold sweat and miracle man
the diver may not be as hot and edgy as the others, but it had the most singing and fluid bridge lead tone of all in the 3 guitars I had it installed
also the easiest and fattest pinch harmonics and the best string separation under high gain I've heard in a medium/high output pup
that's the only pickup I regret selling