Duncan SH -14 or screamin

M

madguitar26

New member
Just installed a screamin demon sh-12 in the bridge of an alder bodied strat like, rosewood fingerboard guitar.

Previous it came with a JB nickel covered humbucker. The mids were unbearable .. much better now, the SD cuts in nicely.

Just the highs of the demon that kinda bug me...maybe my ears are not used to them .. way too much at times.

How d the duncan sh-14 custom 5 compare to the demon tone wise? thanks
 
Last edited:
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

In my experience trying those pickups in a Hamer Standard (all mahogany rosewood board usa explorer) I found:

SH-12 Demon had a great very open hi fidelity clean sound. I especially liked the hex coil split clean. With a little overdrive and/or analog modulation effect (chorus etc..) the high strings could sound a little fizzy. With a little Distortion the lead sound was Impressive with nice bloom in the sustain. Distorted chords maintained a clarity that some players appreciate from the demon. I found it too clear, detrimental to getting a good rock power chord at a traditional (adult, non-Metal) gain level. There’s also a percussiveness the Demon has more than other pickups.

SH-14 Custom Alnico 5 this pickup has a big warm sound. My biggest impression of it is = 90s rock power chord tone. ok clean, ok split, so/so lead. Distorted it has a mid-range rock growl like SH5 but it’s lower and chewier. I found in my mahogany guitar it was lacking zing? Not enough presence or liveliness. Maybe it would have more zing with ash body or maple neck? I found the SH5 Custom to be a much more satisfying experience but I couldn’t hang with the ceramic clean sound (cleans not bad but it’s different from alnico.)

If you still have the JB around I would suggest taking off the cover and giving it another shot.
Unsolder the cover, lower the screw poles till they’re even with the top of the bobbin. Start with the pickup adjusted pretty low away from the strings, play it adjust it a little see what you think :onder:
 
Last edited:
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

Try raising the Demon a bit closer to your strings. That will take some crack away, make it a bit less strident.
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

Have you tried rolling your tone control back a little with the Demon? I prefer having a bright pickup and rolling the tone knob back than having a pickup that in some settings lacks treble. Nice to know you have some top end in reserve!
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

Simon_F said:
Have you tried rolling your tone control back a little with the Demon? I prefer having a bright pickup and rolling the tone knob back than having a pickup that in some settings lacks treble. Nice to know you have some top end in reserve!
Click to expand...

Simon_F said:
Have you tried rolling your tone control back a little with the Demon? I prefer having a bright pickup and rolling the tone knob back than having a pickup that in some settings lacks treble. Nice to know you have some top end in reserve!
Click to expand...

ive tried that, and it works... but always seem to put the tone back full on...like, something is missing, then i get the feeling of the piercing highend again.

the nickel covered JB had all mids and little highs. wondered how´d the sh-14 sound like compared to both of them...how are the mids and highs in the custom?
 
Duncan SH -14 or screamin

I don't find the highs piercing from the Demon. Not at all. You can adjust the treble and presence on your amp too

Compared to the C5, the Demon has more mids and to me, a more balanced sound, not to mention it's also clearer.

I like the JB too but I have found the Demon to work really well for me. It loves high gain amps.
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

The 14 will be more compressed than the Demon, it sounds like that will fit your ear better.
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

ErikH said:
I don't find the highs piercing from the Demon. Not at all. You can adjust the treble and presence on your amp too

Compared to the C5, the Demon has more mids and to me, a more balanced sound, not to mention it's also clearer.

I like the JB too but I have found the Demon to work really well for me. It loves high gain amps.
Click to expand...

what about the high end on the sh-14? how does it compare to the demons?
 
Duncan SH -14 or screamin

madguitar26 said:
what about the high end on the sh-14? how does it compare to the demons?
Click to expand...

To my ears the sh-14 highs are more present due to the mids being slightly more scooped. When I had one, it felt more sterile. The honeymoon quickly wore off. I'm still using the Demon. It's been about 4-5 years now.
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

Never tried the SH-14, but I found the SH-5 Custom to have a much more noticeable high treble presence than the SH-12 Demon.
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

Ouch. I think the Demon's bright enough to be honest.

To the OP, if you like the Demon's voicing and you know about magnet swapping, drop an Alnico 8 magnet in it.
More bass, more mids, less treble, more output.

Of course that's a bit radical and you should try other things first.
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

thanks all. im keeping the demon.

For last, i have a jb jr in the neck position ( came with the guitar) , and find it too dark, clean is ok.. would a little 59 be clearer and less bassy?
 
Duncan SH -14 or screamin

Little 59 will be clearer but may have the same amount of bass. Try the JB Jr in parallel mode.
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

Mids mids mids?
Man…..
IMO
The Demon = even mids but the percussiveness and the highs can get overbearing.

SH-14 Custom 5 = mids not as prominent as demon, JB, or SH5. I found the pup lacked spark not sure if it’s the mids the highs or both, maybe in the right guitar it would be a different story but I would recommend almost any other Duncan.

SH-5 = very even, very tight, great sustain, but cleans don’t have fullness of alnico, similar high end fizziness like demon in certain inbetween sound situations.

JB = It has that JB mid thang. In my experience with various mahogany guitars I’ve found either the JB works well for me in that piece of wood, it does the JB thing aka very energized lead tone, sort of modern power chords, ability to pull back and get a lovely ringing picked chord sound with a good presence, or in the wrong piece of wood the midrange is all that comes thru, it sounds like it’s stuck in a drain pipe.
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

Do you have 250k pots, or 500k? The previous owner may have swapped to 500k because of the 'bucker. A 250k pot should smooth it out quite nicely; it works for me!
 
Re: Duncan SH -14 or screamin

with the demon(which i think is a great pu!) if you find the highs to be too much, try 250K for a volume pot or you can swap out the stock A5 for a UOA5 or even a alnico II.
all of these versions of the demon are still great just warmer
the custom-5 is nothin like the demon and i find its lack of mids make it even more piercing than the demon YMMV
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top