Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

[audiocheck]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

I have one installed in the bridge of a Les Paul, way different from yours I guess.

I did find the A and D strings where smearing a bit, not sure I would call it muddy. I do have the whole pickup pretty close to the strings, so as to warm up the over all sound, and this caused me to lose clarity on the lower strings. So I raised just the Hex poles on those two strings. I didn't want to add any more treble by raising the Screw Poles, since this pickup is already pretty bright. It worked like a charm. Every note is present, even in the heaviest of distorted passages.

I am using a Carvin V3m, no pedals just Guitar-Chord-Amp. I play with some-what high gain, and this pickup just shines! I was not going for the lynch though.
There are many factors involved in Lynch's tone. First of all, he uses lots of processing. Other factor is , I believe, he used low wattage Celestions (GreenBacks). That alone makes me understand why he went with a pickup with a strong upper-midrange. The GreenBacks have a big notch at 1.5 Khz, so with heavy "old school" distortion the tone would muddy up. The Demon' was his way of getting some clarity back, I assume. Today's amps have been tweaked to not be as muddy under high gain, so this could be why you find the Demon' cold. Also depends on what speakers you are using. I love the Demon' through a 412 of G12T-75 Celestions. Vintage 30's are a bit harsher with the Demon', so I find myself using my tone knob on my guitar more.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

Only thing I found with the demon was MOAR GAIN. It's a very dry, almost spikily dynamic pickup with no inherent sparkle or compression. It can sound very woody and controlled under massive gain. But it eats gain for lunch. It can make a gain setting that's ZZ-Top saturated with a paf sound almost clean.

You make it more clean "NEEDS MOAR GAIN". Not "HAS NMORE GAIN".

IMHO The Scremin' Demon is another one of those misnamed pickups in the Seymour Duncan line that does damage to the brand. This thing doesn't scream. It allows you, possibly supports you, in building something screaming. But it is dry and harsh and pays too much attention to the playing. In fact if you want to build something screaming you will not get what people usually think is screaming, which is something interesting happening during sustain.

Of course all that makes it ideal to un-boom a Les Paul's neck position.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

I have the Demon in the bridge of my Frankenstrat. This pickup shines through a thick sounding amp. At the time of its development and release, George was using a Soldano SLO in conjunction with modded Marshalls. The key there is the SLO. I have a Vox modelling amp with a SLO model and it shines there. It can work well with a Marshall but with a JCM 800's natural brightness, I can see where it can sound overly bright to some. I don't find it that way. Then again, the wood plays a factor in there as well.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

I love the Screamin' Demon! The name originally made me think it was more of a gainy pickup, but after playing several of them it is a very clear articulate pickup. It works very well with the volume knob--very articulate when the guitar volume is low or high.

My favorite combo with the SH-12 is the Dimarzio Liquifire in Basswood--they blend so well together.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

The Screamin' part is because it is very easy to pull off natural and artificial harmonics that, well, scream.

 

[Tesla]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

Ok, I made a little clip to illustrate my problem with the Demon:

http://audiour.com/playlist/mta5ltcp

I've made 3 quick clips with my Axe FX II. I'm not a pro when it comes to dialing in tones with the Axe and I still have a lot to learn, but I tried to create 3 different takes on british overdrive/distortion tones. I don't like the first two clips (Cameron Channel 2 & 5153 blue) which should showcase the demon's tone on mid-to-high-gain settings, but the third clip is more to my liking. I used heavy gain settings on a Marshall JVM Orange channel simulation with a Pre-Rola Greenback Cab. I've cranked the treble and presence and I've also added a virtual TS 808 overdrive in front of it. It is only then that it starts to scream, and I'd like it to scream even more. Alas, every upside has its downside and I'm sure you can hear it in the third clip. There's some strange thing happening in the low/low-mids frequency spectrum. That's what I mean when I say it's a bit "muddy" in the low end. About the mids: Not sure if it's just me, but do they sound lifeless to you?

Any tips on dialing it in even better? Should I have used a different cab impulse response? Maybe a different amp?

 

[Tesla]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

I found this as well. I love how tight, woody, open and articulate the 'demon is; regardless of how much gain you throw at it. But I always wanted a little more heat from it, especially in the bridge position. There also isn't a lot of "give" or "squish" to it either, so if you are playing with a really tight sound on your amp, it can actually FEEL a little too unforgiving. My remedy for it was to get the custom shop to overwind me one. I can tell that once you wind a 'demon up to around 13k....it actually becomes its namesake. That said, not everyone is up for the custom pickup thing. Right now, I don't have any stock ones in the bridge, but I love the way it sounds in the neck position. One of my faves there.

The custom shop thing sounds promising. Do you have any comparison clips? I'm sure the overwinding added some, in my opinion, much needed mids and a little bit of musical compression. A bit more presence would be nice, too. Have you just modified the winding or did you even choose a different magnet or screws? Again, I'd be very interested to hear what this pickup sounds like at 13K. I like the high actually and it's nice once it starts to scream, but man, so much gain is needed, and I have to muddy up the rest of the tone just to get the sweet highs in return.

Has anyone here swapped the magnet of the Demon? I'd be interested what it sounds like with an Alnico IV...

 

[DreX]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

The Screamin' part is because it is very easy to pull off natural and artificial harmonics that, well, scream.

Is that really true? I always have an easier time doing this with higher output pickups, I think because they compress and make otherwise quiet harmonics closer in amplitude to regular picked notes.

 

[DreX]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

Any tips on dialing it in even better? Should I have used a different cab impulse response? Maybe a different amp?

It sounds like a moderate output pickup being used where a high output pickup belongs. Does the Axe FX II have a compression option? If so, try adding that in and see if it makes the tone more to your liking.

 

[Tesla]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

It sounds like a moderate output pickup being used where a high output pickup belongs. Does the Axe FX II have a compression option? If so, try adding that in and see if it makes the tone more to your liking.

Yes, it does have all kinds of effects, even a multi-band compressor. I'll play around with it tomorrow, it's much too late now to play guitar where I live.

I'd like to turn the gain down and keep it tight and organic, that's the way I do it with the VH II humbucker, but the screamin demon needs a lot of gain to come alive, that's why I've tried it with an ultra gain setting.

I'll play around with an EQ boost in front of the amp, too. Maybe adding mids that way is not as detrimental to the overall sound as when I add them through the TS 808 simulation. We'll see. But thanks for the suggestion!

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

Am I missing here something? How do you guys make this pickup shine?

You're probably missing a stupidly resonant guitar on one end of the pickup and a Soldano on the other. When you've got those, aim for Wicked Sensation tone-wise.

For driving a modded Marshall, I'd pick a hotter pickup like the JB. Turn down the gain and pick harder. Aim for the Dokken vibe.

Ok, I made a little clip to illustrate my problem with the Demon:

http://audiour.com/playlist/mta5ltcp

Sounds like you've turned the preamp gain past the sweet spot here.

 

[VHTJay]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

The custom shop thing sounds promising. Do you have any comparison clips? I'm sure the overwinding added some, in my opinion, much needed mids and a little bit of musical compression. A bit more presence would be nice, too. Have you just modified the winding or did you even choose a different magnet or screws? Again, I'd be very interested to hear what this pickup sounds like at 13K. I like the high actually and it's nice once it starts to scream, but man, so much gain is needed, and I have to muddy up the rest of the tone just to get the sweet highs in return.

Has anyone here swapped the magnet of the Demon? I'd be interested what it sounds like with an Alnico IV...

It is a really cool pickup, for sure. I am a huge magnet swapper guy....I guess I like to tinker, so I have tried the overwound 'demon with an A8 magnet (that is how I initially got it) and then an A5, now back to an A8 which is still in there. I really like the normal 'demon with an A8 magnet....you might want to try that first. It certainly makes it bigger sounding through the mids, tames some of the high end and juices the output a bit. The wind is still a demon, just overwound to I think under 13k or so. I will dig up the box and post a pic so you can see. Pole pieces are the same. I don't have any comparison clips, but when I get my guitar back from being set up, I will get you something. We record all of our jam sessions for writing purposes, so you'll get to hear it in a band context.

 

[dominus]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

I love the Screamin' Demon! The name originally made me think it was more of a gainy pickup, but after playing several of them it is a very clear articulate pickup. It works very well with the volume knob--very articulate when the guitar volume is low or high.

My favorite combo with the SH-12 is the Dimarzio Liquifire in Basswood--they blend so well together.

You have the Liquifire in the bridge, right? Pretty sure it's hotter than the Demon.

 

[jacksontrader]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

I used to use a Demon in my one and only guitar, since then I've quit using processors with solid state amps and way to much gain. I now use them as a neck pickup, it's worth a try. I love them.

 

[51501984]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

Im using my Demon in a single hum alder strat w/maple neck played thru a Splawn SS with a fair amount of gain but not over top. I`m using a Maxon OD9 or Xotic BB Preamp set as a clean boost , that`s what fattens its up with a tad more gain, compression and tightens up the bass. It rocks pretty hard with that setup , gainy yet sparkly. Im using an attenuator with the Splawn so that shaves some highs/harshness in the tone

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

for an overwound Demon, ask for the 'original' El Diablo. or the Hot Hot Hot Screamin Demon, as MJ will call it.

you'll be cranking things up a bit, but it will take the edge off the highs too. the Demon has a bit of a scoop to it, especially when compared to the DD or the JB, so that will translate as well. I found it to have a little more chunk in the lows that what I was hoping for.


or... you can see if you can get a Custom 5 with allen head poles in place of the slugs. :naughty:

 

[ErikH]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

Is that really true? I always have an easier time doing this with higher output pickups, I think because they compress and make otherwise quiet harmonics closer in amplitude to regular picked notes.

It is for me. I have a JB in my Baretta and it screams too but the Demon is nuts with harmonics in my Frankenstrat. Part of that is the guitar is just naturally really great. I got lucky making that one.

 

[51501984]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

Does anyone adjust the Demon hex poles to their fingerboard radius? I normally just leave them somewhat flush with the bobbin.

 

[ErikH]

Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

You're probably missing a stupidly resonant guitar on one end of the pickup and a Soldano on the other. When you've got those, aim for Wicked Sensation tone-wise.

I know this has been discussed before, but Wicked Sensation is all JB and Distortion. There's even a studio video of him playing leads with the amber Strat and it has/had a JB in it at the time.

Here's the Guitar World cover from November 1990. That's not a Screamin Demon. Wicked Sensation was just released in early October 1990. The first ad I remember seeing for the Demon was in 1991.

Guitar World November 1990:

Seymour Duncan 1991:

I know the ad says to hear it on WS, but IMO, that's a "sell records" tag line. Now, it's possible a prototype was used in a different guitar but almost every article and video from that time does not show a Demon Or talks about it. It's only the JB and Distortion that are mentioned.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Screamin' Demon - How do you use it?

I know this has been discussed before, but Wicked Sensation is all JB and Distortion. There's even a studio video of him playing leads with the amber Strat and it has/had a JB in it at the time.

Here's the Guitar World cover from November 1990. That's not a Screamin Demon. Wicked Sensation was just released in early October 1990. The first ad I remember seeing for the Demon was in 1991.

Guitar World November 1990:

Seymour Duncan 1991:

I know the ad says to hear it on WS, but IMO, that's a "sell records" tag line. Now, it's possible a prototype was used in a different guitar but almost every article and video from that time does not show a Demon Or talks about it. It's only the JB and Distortion that are mentioned.

^^^ this ^^^

Most anything that this guy is known for was not done with the Demon.





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