Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

[markmann]

I installed a SD in my '05 Ibanez AR300 (mohogony dbl cut, maple set neck) last weekend and now that I've had time to play with it I have a few questions.

To give a little background I bought the guitar knowing that I'd replace the pup's because the Super 58's sounded a bit lifeless to me, so when I got it I immediately installed a AIIP and Pearly gates. The new combo was a huge improvement but I never warmed up to the PG which didn't have the tonal character I was after and seemed to lack a certain brightness that's hard to explain. Knowing how the PG sounds in the guitar I used the sound clips to decide what might be better suited and the Demon seemed like it might work.

My first impression was that I made the right choice. The SD has an excellent clean tone that's chimy and clear, with amp or pedal distortion it has nice bite and growl. The only downside is that it has a bit more high-end than I'd like, it's not ice-picky, just a little on the trebly side. It's acceptable as-is but if I could tone the high-end down a tiny bit and/or add a little fatness it would be perfect.

OK, the questions:
I read somewhere that if the hex poles are replaced with slotted poles that the high-end would be reduced.... is that true? If so does it matter what slotted poles I use? Are there different lengths or type of metal, etc?

Thanks, Mark

 

[Chad]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

I can't answer the pole replacement question, but you might also consider switching to lower value pots. I put a Lil' Screamin' Demon' in a Strat and was planning to switch from 250K pots to 500K, but I wouldn't want it any brighter than it currently is, so I'm sticking with the 250K pots.

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

If you change the allen screws for slotted screws the pickup will loose this sharp and thin attack , will have more bass and rounder highs , the down side is it will be a little less tight in bass register but nothing to worry about .

I personnaly found the same problem of icepicky highs and a changed the allen for Gibson fat head screws shortened to the size of the allen , plus a change of alnico 5 magnet for alnico 8 and now it is OK .
Considerably better :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

 

[markmann]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

I can't answer the pole replacement question, but you might also consider switching to lower value pots. I put a Lil' Screamin' Demon' in a Strat and was planning to switch from 250K pots to 500K, but I wouldn't want it any brighter than it currently is, so I'm sticking with the 250K pots.

I thought about that, my pots are 500k so I could change to 300 or 250k but the pole change is so simple that I want to try that first, plus I'm curious as to what the pole swap actually does. If experimenting with poles doesn't work out I'll switch pot value.

Thanks

 

[markmann]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

If you change the allen screws for slotted screws the pickup will loose this sharp and thin attack , will have more bass and rounder highs , the down side is it will be a little less tight in bass register but nothing to worry about .

I personnaly found the same problem of icepicky highs and a changed the allen for Gibson fat head screws shortened to the size of the allen , plus a change of alnico 5 magnet for alnico 8 and now it is OK .
Considerably better :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Interesting... how dramatic was the change? I'm not looking for much. Like I mentioned to Chad, I'd like to do the simple mod first and I'll proceed from there. The reason I was asking about different types of poles is because I still have the PG and I was thinking that maybe I can just remove those and put them in the Demon and check the difference but I don't know if they're the same length yet.

How does length affect tone?

 

[Orange]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

Same question ! can i simply unscrew the poles of the custom 5 and replace it with the allen screws of the screamong demon ?

 

[Orange]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

I can't answer the pole replacement question, but you might also consider switching to lower value pots. I put a Lil' Screamin' Demon' in a Strat and was planning to switch from 250K pots to 500K, but I wouldn't want it any brighter than it currently is, so I'm sticking with the 250K pots.

Well my Demon is too bright, but only on the high E string.
I am not using the tone pot.

Should i just connect the tone pot to smooth out the highs or change the volume pot to a 250 k ?

 

[Chad]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

The easiest thing would probably be to reconnect the tone pot...I'd give that a whirl and go from there. BTW, I saw you posted in the tone pot and caps thread too.....lots of good info in that thread.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

The 12 fillisters bump up the mids and soften the highs and lows a bit. It works great like that in my '81 Hamer Special.

 

[Mephis]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

Try using heavier gauge strings if it's just to bright on the top 3 strings.

It'll certantly mellow out the highs then.

And if that isn't enough, turn the presense down on the amp. I'm running a stock demon through a single 500k volume pot with no tone pot and I have no issues with brightness.

 

[pinto79]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

The slot head screws are 5-40 filister 3/4" long.

The allen head are 5-40 socket head cap screws, 1/2" long.

The base plate is drilled to clear the longer ones so it's just a matter of swapping.

Let us know if it works out.

 

[Orange]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

Well this morning i tried the 250k pot.
The sound ended up too dark for me on the low strings.
It does sound great, but not what i was looking for. I WANT brightness and scream....
It had too much GROWL, just like the Di Marzio megadrive i used ti have.


So next i'm going to try connecti9ng a tone pot and a 500k. This afternoon i may go out and buy a JB or Distortion just to compare.

Actually lately i started soldering the pickups by myself and it's easier than i thought. So i just started changing pickups a LOT ^^

So far the EVO2 is still my favourite

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

The screw mod is easy to do : remove the allen and put the fillsters !
For the lenght , short screws seems to make the pickup tighter and more focused , long screws give more bass and less articulation .

As regard the high E string it has often a bright sound so with the Demon no chance that it will be dark !
But the Demon is a SCREAMING DEMON !

 

[chill]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

Hey Fab, have you tried swapping fillisters or socket head cap screws of the same length? How does that change the tone?

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

Hey Fab, have you tried swapping fillisters or socket head cap screws of the same length? How does that change the tone?

I have shortened gibson fillister screws that replace allens ( same lenght ) ;
like that the attack is less sharp , but rounder and bigger with no loss of articulation .

The short length make the pickup more articulate
the big head of Gibson fillister make the pickup more round
overall more punch , less fizz .

 

[Orange]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

Well i don't have the fillister screws right here i'llo get them next time i go back home, from ny sh14.
It's so easy i'll just give it a try. However i don't think i really want rouder highs, i like fizzy sounds ^^

 

[markmann]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

The screw mod is easy to do : remove the allen and put the fillsters !
For the lenght , short screws seems to make the pickup tighter and more focused , long screws give more bass and less articulation .

Thanks, Fab, that's good info. Like I mentioned before I'm going to swap the demon poles with the ones from my Pearly Gates as a test. If I like the change where can I get a set of slotted poles for a permanent replacement? Also, I don't have a gibby pup so I don't have the option to try Gibby poles, do you know where I could get a set of those? Have you ever tryed screws from a haredware store?

 

[markmann]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

The slot head screws are 5-40 filister 3/4" long.

The allen head are 5-40 socket head cap screws, 1/2" long.

The base plate is drilled to clear the longer ones so it's just a matter of swapping.

Let us know if it works out.

Thanks, Pinto, I saw the screws poking through the base plate of the Pearly but didn't notice it on the SD before I installed it... I assume that's because the poles are shorter. I'd like to get a second set of slotted poles so that I can experiment with shortening them.

 

[markmann]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

Try using heavier gauge strings if it's just to bright on the top 3 strings.

It'll certantly mellow out the highs then.

And if that isn't enough, turn the presense down on the amp. I'm running a stock demon through a single 500k volume pot with no tone pot and I have no issues with brightness.

Unfortunately using heavier strings is not an option for me but I'm sure it would help. I also did all the obvious stuff like adjusting my amp, guitar tone control, pup height and pole height adjustments. Adjusting the guitar and amp results in deadening the tone too much, I had the best results by targeting the proper pup height and lowering the poles a bit. Luckily I'm not looking for much of a change so I'm hoping a pole swap will do the trick.

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: Screamin Demon SH-12 Question(s)

Thanks, Fab, that's good info. Like I mentioned before I'm going to swap the demon poles with the ones from my Pearly Gates as a test. If I like the change where can I get a set of slotted poles for a permanent replacement? Also, I don't have a gibby pup so I don't have the option to try Gibby poles, do you know where I could get a set of those? Have you ever tryed screws from a haredware store?

Gibson or Duncan or Dimarzio use different screws and they do have different impact on p-u tone .
From Duncan and Gibson I founded that Duncan give a vintage throaty sound and Gibson a more in your face , intense and aggressive sound ( probably 'cause of the head shape and mass ).

I was very lucky to find somebody in France who had exactly 18 ( for my 3 Demons ) golden gibson poles witch he removed 'cause he removed the gold cover and he wanted to match the color of the stud poles .

Probably some guys here did the same ... ask , or find broken p-u , or from a store ?