darthphineas
New member
Just in time for Christmas!! Thanks MJ! :yourock:
This pickup came to my attention by the thread masta'c posted back in April on the history of the El Diablo. He said:
When the Demon first came out, I loaded them into several guitars. I think I had up to around 5 of them at one point. But the output never really gave me what I wanted, coming from years and years of playing the JB. So the original El Diablo was an interesting concept. It was hard to get a bead on the tone, since not many had tried one. So I thought I'd just take the plunge and check it out.
I loaded it into an alder ESP M-II Deluxe. It has a maple neck with a 24-fret rosewood board and a Floyd. I ran it through my ADA MP-1.
First impressions....
While not sure what to expect, I had to pickup a few different guitars during the process to help define a reference. It seems to have something in the mids that keeps throwing me off... as in, scratching my head. Like maybe a bit of a scooped thing going on. Not a huge scoop, but definitely different if you are used to pickups with a greater focus on mids. A big open G chord doesn't have quite the same 'wah' vibe.
The highs are defined and have plenty of cut. Pinched and artificial harmonics pops off and there is plenty of drive for them to sustain. While it's been suggested that the highs have been tamed a little, I think there are plenty there. There is definitely not a rolled-off or softened voicing going on with the highs. Not sure if I'd call them harsh, but they seem to be up there with a high output high like you'd get on the JB while not as harsh as the DD (of course).
The low end is the one thing that sorta caught me off guard. I was expecting it to be a little bit tighter. It's been a few years now since I've laid ears on a Screamin Demon in person, so I can't remember if this is an original quality of the Demon or a result of the overwound coils. That is not to say that it's flabby and loose, as it's not. But for example, when chugging away on the C or D on the A-string or the G or A on the E-string, it's right in there with the JB or the RTM. Not flabby, but not quite articulate either.
It is matched up with a Jazz/59 hybrid in the neck and the transition is smooth from bridge to neck and back again.
While this pickup was originally wound for Scott Ian, if you were to break in down in terms of the pickup it started from, it'd clearly fall between a Screamin Demon and a Dokken humbucker. Overwinding a moderate output A5-based pickup leaves it a little more organic and open, but it does get into a bit of the compression and a lot of the drive that takes it toward the ceramic-based Dokken humbucker. It might be about the same output as the Super V, but they are not in the same territory to be able to compare as closely as the other models. If anything, my first listen would make it more of a JB with scooped mids or a C5 with drive and balls.
When I asked MJ about the 'Original' El Diablo, she clarified that she refers to it as the "Hot Hot Hot Screamin Demon". :lol: So if you're interested, don't forget to throw that in there to help make the distinction clear.
This pickup came to my attention by the thread masta'c posted back in April on the history of the El Diablo. He said:
When the Demon first came out, I loaded them into several guitars. I think I had up to around 5 of them at one point. But the output never really gave me what I wanted, coming from years and years of playing the JB. So the original El Diablo was an interesting concept. It was hard to get a bead on the tone, since not many had tried one. So I thought I'd just take the plunge and check it out.
I loaded it into an alder ESP M-II Deluxe. It has a maple neck with a 24-fret rosewood board and a Floyd. I ran it through my ADA MP-1.
First impressions....
While not sure what to expect, I had to pickup a few different guitars during the process to help define a reference. It seems to have something in the mids that keeps throwing me off... as in, scratching my head. Like maybe a bit of a scooped thing going on. Not a huge scoop, but definitely different if you are used to pickups with a greater focus on mids. A big open G chord doesn't have quite the same 'wah' vibe.
The highs are defined and have plenty of cut. Pinched and artificial harmonics pops off and there is plenty of drive for them to sustain. While it's been suggested that the highs have been tamed a little, I think there are plenty there. There is definitely not a rolled-off or softened voicing going on with the highs. Not sure if I'd call them harsh, but they seem to be up there with a high output high like you'd get on the JB while not as harsh as the DD (of course).
The low end is the one thing that sorta caught me off guard. I was expecting it to be a little bit tighter. It's been a few years now since I've laid ears on a Screamin Demon in person, so I can't remember if this is an original quality of the Demon or a result of the overwound coils. That is not to say that it's flabby and loose, as it's not. But for example, when chugging away on the C or D on the A-string or the G or A on the E-string, it's right in there with the JB or the RTM. Not flabby, but not quite articulate either.
It is matched up with a Jazz/59 hybrid in the neck and the transition is smooth from bridge to neck and back again.
While this pickup was originally wound for Scott Ian, if you were to break in down in terms of the pickup it started from, it'd clearly fall between a Screamin Demon and a Dokken humbucker. Overwinding a moderate output A5-based pickup leaves it a little more organic and open, but it does get into a bit of the compression and a lot of the drive that takes it toward the ceramic-based Dokken humbucker. It might be about the same output as the Super V, but they are not in the same territory to be able to compare as closely as the other models. If anything, my first listen would make it more of a JB with scooped mids or a C5 with drive and balls.
When I asked MJ about the 'Original' El Diablo, she clarified that she refers to it as the "Hot Hot Hot Screamin Demon". :lol: So if you're interested, don't forget to throw that in there to help make the distinction clear.
