Holy Diver
The riff and singing solo that launched Dio's solo career. Vivian Campbell recorded Holy Diver at Sound City Studios in 1983 on a wine-red Gibson Les Paul Deluxe he'd refinished matte black — loaded with a DiMarzio X2N in the bridge — pushed by a Boss SD-1 into a stock, cranked Marshall JCM800. No rack, no scoop: just a hot Les Paul and a Marshall on the edge, which is why the leads sound so vocal. Standard tuning.
Holy Diver
What we checked
Computed by a program, on this recipe, every time this page is built. How this works
Preset files — 0 of 3 complete
- Helix 1 block missing from the file
Which ones
Not in the file: 4x12 1960 V30. The recipe calls for this block, but we have no verified model ID for it on this platform, so the preset is written without it. Add it by hand using the settings above.
- Quad Cortex 4 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
Which ones
Replaced with a stand-in: Studio Comp, SD-1 Overdrive, Brit 800, Plate. These load cleanly but are not the model named above — the file will sound wrong here until we map them. Set these blocks by hand.
- Katana 3 blocks replaced with a stand-in model
Which ones
Replaced with a stand-in: Lead, Booster, Reverb. These load cleanly but are not the model named above — the file will sound wrong here until we map them. Set these blocks by hand.
What we didn't check
- Nobody played this through a real amp. There is no human listening test behind any number on this page.
- The settings are reasoned from the sources below, not measured off the record.
- No audio has been rendered for this recipe yet, so you cannot hear it before you load it.
- 3 platforms on this page (TONEX, Kemper, Fractal) get a model pointer, not a preset file — nothing was built or checked for them.
Affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. The mic is listed because the chain uses it, not because anyone paid for the placement.
