Stand up and shout . . . Vivian Campbell's signature Epiphone is out

(Image credit: Epiphone)

Having been introduced to the world at NAMM 2019 back in January, the Epiphone Vivian Campbell "Holy Diver" Les Paul Outfit is now available to order.

The Holy Diver Les Paul Outfit takes its name from the Dio album that made Campbell one of the hottest shredders in metal, and it takes its spec from the guitar he used in that era, too. 

Interestingly, the guitar debuted at NAMM, which had a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge position and acryllic tone and volume controls, is slightly different to the Holy Diver Les Paul Outfit available today.

The tone controls are now brass, matched by the brass nut. The Holy Diver now has two DiMarzio X2N humbuckers in neck and bridge positions. The X2N is a super-hot humbucker that kicks out mids and trebles equally with the bass a little behind in the mix. 

Campbell's rig was relatively uncomplicated in those days, but he tried a number of pickup options in search of the required output and harmonic response, that crunch and treble squeal.

Elsewhere, the Holy Diver Les Paul Outfit has a mahogany body with maple top and cream single-ply binding. It has a set maple neck with a profile custom spec'd by Campbell, and an Indian laurel fingerboard with 22 medium-jumbo frets.

It's the little details that make this so cool, like the lack of a washer on the three-way toggle switch, and the brass output jack.

The Vivian Campbell Holy Diver Les Paul Outfit is a limited edition and should set you back £699.

See Epiphone for more details.

Jonathan Horsley

Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.

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