The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

[Ed Hunter]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Got me peaked, how does it compare to the Dimarzio Fred? And Duncan's Full Shred?

LF. i had the fred but that one was in basswood and the demon is in alder.
the fred to me was much more modern and fizzy.
The duncan is just more real deal PAF sounding than the fred was.
never tried a FS cant help there,

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

They're not. Watch the last bit where he's playing over Street Fighting Man. You can clearly see they are not black. Looks like they are rusted over a bit. At that time, that was his favorite guitar. His old web site had that one listed as having a JB in the bridge.

OK i will take your word for it, but my demon sound just like that!:naughty:
Bonus prize i guess? He has the most jangly,open sounding JB i ever heard, i have owned a total of 23 of them over the years and none of mine ever sounded like that one.
All that matters is that the demon i bought and installed sounds just like that vid and thats all i care about.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Didn't someone come on here saying that he used a Seymourizer back then?

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Didn't someone come on here saying that he used a Seymourizer back then?

as far as anything i read he used the DD for all the years with dokken
he also used a JB here and there. the neck DD? i dont know.
whats cool is if you listen to his tone on that vid i posted when he plays on the lower strings they have that single coil like clank to em.
the demon does that too. seems that pu's over 12K lose that for whatever reason.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Makes sense if it were a DDn/SEY then...

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Makes sense if it were a DDn/SEY then...

do you see slug poles on the one coil in that vid?
i keep seein black hex poles? wishful thinkin probably!:laugh2:

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Nah, I think you're right, they very well could have been making it for him for a while before it went public too.

That said, with his rig and the eventide and all that processing he could have used just about anything and not sounded much different.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Nah, I think you're right, they very well could have been making it for him for a while before it went public too.

That said, with his rig and the eventide and all that processing he could have used just about anything and not sounded much different.

yeah you are right becase i have a guitar world and GL is talking about a proto duncan he used for WS disc? he said duncan made him two versions a alnico 5 and a ceramic,GL said he prefered the A5 in that interview. so thats a proto of the demon then according to GL himself

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Yeh, see...this is what I've been telling you. That Demon is one of the best performing, most versatile pups available. It does just about anything and works in just about any wood. I love it in the neck or bridge. Clean or dirty. Right now I've got it in the neck of a mahogany body (SG type) and I can't imagine a better sounding pup there. It used to be in the bridge and sounded wonderful there as well, but I replaced it with a '59n (A8) which also sounds great.

 

[Diego]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

I freakin' love my Screamin' Demon as well.
Hated it in my Squier Strat, LOVE it in my mahogany Ibanez.
It sounds freakin' gigantic. Really wide lows, so to speak.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

I freakin' love my Screamin' Demon as well.
Hated it in my Squier Strat, LOVE it in my mahogany Ibanez.
It sounds freakin' gigantic. Really wide lows, so to speak.

I am still scratchin my head when i think of some of the bad remarks i had read about the SD? mine sounds perfect and i have none of the issues that i read some others did? gutless,wimpy,icepicky,no bass,screechy,etc)
guess i got a good one? it's a MJ wound one, maybe thats it!:bigok:

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

I guess mine is "a good one" too. There is nothing that I don't LOVE about it. Have never had any issues like you mentioned.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

I guess mine is "a good one" too. There is nothing that I don't LOVE about it. Have never had any issues like you mentioned.

GD, thats the thing i am finding out that when you research a pu and just go by what others say you may never even give that pu a shot? IF i had listened to the negative things i had read about the demon on the net,i would have never tried one! LOL
So is boils down to you have to "try it yourself"
I have had this experience several times now reading that the JB being too loose,,custom is harsh,demon is icepicky,harsh,gutless,wimpy,PG with a A5 mag too scooped,too trebly
but i like all of those pu's a lot and did not have those issues at all?

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Is it strident like the JB that's useful for making those liquid-y scratchy noises? Or is it dry and non-strident? When playing arpeggio with distortion, does it squirm, squeal, or chime like a single coil? If it's well defined with gain, does it get too bright and thin with too much cut?

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Is it strident like the JB that's useful for making those liquid-y scratchy noises? Or is it dry and non-strident? When playing arpeggio with distortion, does it squirm, squeal, or chime like a single coil? If it's well defined with gain, does it get too bright and thin with too much cut?

It is not too bright and thin for me but ymmv. it has a single coil like attack,when doing sweeps it will make every note heard in the arp.
One thing i read and do agree with is that this pu is very unforgiving with mistakes. you hit a bad note and you wont be able to hide it.

 

[ErikH]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Last night I slapped the Demon back in my Frankenstrat since I had to restring it anyway. It's definitely a great pickup in this guitar. Big and full, the highs are there but fat, not shrill at all. The lows are full but not muddy. It just sounds great. I wish my recording setup was where I could record a few clips but I had to rebuild my laptop last week and over part of the weekend.

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

It is not too bright and thin for me but ymmv. it has a single coil like attack,when doing sweeps it will make every note heard in the arp.
One thing i read and do agree with is that this pu is very unforgiving with mistakes. you hit a bad note and you wont be able to hide it.

Thanks. You said it has medium power like patb-3? How is it tone wise compared to patb-3, have you tried that one?

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Thanks. You said it has medium power like patb-3? How is it tone wise compared to patb-3, have you tried that one?

they are different in their treble/presence and bass response.
the blues is a "bigger" sound with a smoother treble. The demon is more "cutting" and crunchy with a fast attack .
the blues does not resemble a single coil in anyway like the demon does.
the demon has the better clean tone also, either when playing on the clean channel of the amp or just backing off the guitars volume knob with the OD channel,the demon cleans up more.

 

[Jolme]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Thank you for a great review :thanks: Does anyone know how the Suhr DSH+ or SSH+ compare with the Screamin Demon? The Suhrs have more output but do they have the same clarity as the SD?
Right now i'm leaning towards buying the Duncan but I might as well be sure what to get.

 

[Despair]

Re: The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

Despite both being around 10K, the PATB-3 and Demon are very different pickups. PATB-3 is 42AWG where the Demon is 43AWG.

PATB-3 has plenty of high end for a 9.8K PAF, but a smoother attack that's very sculptable. It's polepiece structure gives a smooth, broad upper mid boost. Thicker low end, like a '59 that's slightly less prone to bloat.

Screamin' Demon has a more focused bite, and fast attack. Tight growling low-end. Not really a PAF in construction, but manages some sonic similarities. Lower output than the PATB-3, despite the hair higher resistance. 43AWG puts more winds closer to the core of the magnetic field, but it's still less copper on the coil for the same resistance.

I'm curious about a Parallel Axis Screamin' Demon. I'd expect around 11.5-12K of 43AWG on the PA bobbins. Not as sharp an attack as the all-screw SH-12, especially with the hex screws. Broader high end, stronger harmonics and hotter but not darker. Be a nice neck pickup option, particularly opposite a PATB-1b or PATB-3. Would lose a bit of the flexibility of the mixed hex & fillister design, particularly the ability to swap the screws around (or even for other screws) to tweak the pickup, though.