The screamin demon full review (very single coil like)

[Ed Hunter]

I installed a(TB-12 last nite in a alder charvel with a floyd and a borrowed 5153 and wanted to get some miles on it before posting anything about it.
Anyway my findings are that this one and the jazz bridge pu' have a lot in common(both have a similar EQ 5/4/9 and resonant peak at 7khz.
Where they differ is in the output and attack.
The demon is all about clarity/articulation/definition/presence just like the jazz and it lives up to that no problem.
I think most that get a demon are expecting a higher output roaring bucker but name aside this pu is not about that at all.
I wanted a humbucker that could handle all the gain i could throw at it and it does this,throw mega gain at it and the demon just sits back and laughs at you!
Big suspended chords with high gain are clear(you can actually play a sus 9th chord and every note is heard with high gain.
Soloing on this pu' is great,it tracks your playing perfect with no garbled mush when playing fast. harmonics are that of the JB.
The clean tone is one of the best i have ever heard from a medium output pu' super clear and rich.
I can see where lynch was coming from when he had the custom shop wind this for him. it is a hybrid of a PAF meets single coil(clear bell like tone,great touch sensitivity but with more of the power of a medium output bucker like the patb3 blues.
if you want a clear,defined medium output bucker some that has some single coil like character and screaming harmonics then the demon may be for you.

 

[ErikH]

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

I agree completely. Love the Demon. I have one and had it in a couple different guitars. It sounds best in my Frankenstrat. Been running the JB in there for a while now but thinking of going back to the Demon. Nice review.

 

[cakire82]

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

I agree as well. What i loved about is that although it has that single coil like sparkle it not as thin. It still has that full HB sound to it.

 

[Ed Hunter]

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

I agree completely. Love the Demon. I have one and had it in a couple different guitars. It sounds best in my Frankenstrat. Been running the JB in there for a while now but thinking of going back to the Demon. Nice review.

Erik thanks,I dont know what exact tone your goin for but i took a JB out for the demon on this guitar,another member here traded me his TB12 for the TB4.
I was skeptical at first because of some of the negative things i have read but this TB12 actually was perfect. wanted to get as much clarity and definition as possible without actually using a hot single coil and the demon pulls that off no prob. You actually like the demon even more after playing on the JB for a while now?

 

[Ed Hunter]

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

I agree as well. What i loved about is that although it has that single coil like sparkle it not as thin. It still has that full HB sound to it.

Yes and thats the best part,it has some real good bucker fatness to it the without going to the point of a low end mush.
The low end is very similar to a real deal P.A.F.
This is a very unique pu' it combines the best of a single coil,P-90 and a good P.A.F and the modern harmonic overtones.
I can get the older VH tones better with this than i did with many other P.A.F types. Funny thing is that eddie's tone actually has got a bit of that single coil meets P-90 thing going on. I was not shooting for his tone but got it as a bonus. this thing covers a lot of musical ground everything from ac/dc to zep to jazz,blues,country,funk
I think it is even more versatile than the JB was....

 

[Ed Hunter]

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

I am finding the bass response is really clean on these.
some may think it is a lack of bass but really it is just a super clean bass that will not flub no matter what!
Damn MJ can really wind a mean pup! :naughty:
For the first time i am not interested in mag swaps or mods to a stock item!:eyecrazy::laugh2:

 

[ErikH]

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

Erik thanks,I dont know what exact tone your goin for but i took a JB out for the demon on this guitar,another member here traded me his TB12 for the TB4.
I was skeptical at first because of some of the negative things i have read but this TB12 actually was perfect. wanted to get uch clarity and definition as possible without actually using a hot single coil and the demon pulls that off no prob. You actually like the demon even more after playing on the JB for a while now?

I like both for different things. I don't like one more than the other. No matter which one is in the guitar, I still sound like me anyways. It's just a matter of whether I want a hotter pickup in there or not. I have a Classic Stack Plus in the neck and middle and like the matchup with the Demon a little more. This particular JB still works great in that guitar, no doubt about it. I tend to change things around after a while. Shouldn't, but I do.

 

[Ed Hunter]

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

I like both for different things. I don't like one more than the other. No matter which one is in the guitar, I still sound like me anyways. It's just a matter of whether I want a hotter pickup in there or not. I have a Classic Stack Plus in the neck and middle and like the matchup with the Demon a little more. This particular JB still works great in that guitar, no doubt about it. I tend to change things around after a while. Shouldn't, but I do.

This Vid is what sold me on trying the demon in my alder strat with floyd. Listen to some of the higher harmonic overtones he gets when he pinches notes:eyecrazy:


NONE of the other P.A.F range pu's got the almost "active" sounding overtones that this duncan does. I tried the PAF pro,Fred,norton,air zone,59,PG,78,evh frankenstein,sheptone PAF,voodoo 59er this $50 pup smoked them at their own game!

 

[ErikH]

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

This Vid is what sold me on trying the demon in my alder strat with floyd. Listen to some of the higher harmonic overtones he gets when he pinches notes:eyecrazy:

NONE of the other P.A.F range pu's got the almost "active" sounding overtones that this duncan does. I tried the PAF pro,Fred,norton,air zone,59,PG,78,evh frankenstein,sheptone PAF,voodoo 59er this $50 pup smoked them at their own game!

That vid is a JB, not a Demon. The Demon didn't exist yet when that album was recorded. Those are outtakes from Wicked Sensation, which is when he was still using the Distortion primarily and the JB on some stuff too. Listen to the second Lynch Mob album, that's the Demon.

Great example right here:

 

[SteveAlysis]

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

Nice review man! Sounds like everything I want

 

[zakk_speed]

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

Yes thanks for the review - I'm going to give this one a go in my next project, either stock or as a Demon8.

 

[Ed Hunter]

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

That vid is a JB, not a Demon. The Demon didn't exist yet when that album was recorded.

How come it has a row of black hex poles?

 

[dr. ad]

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

glad to know it works in floyded alder, i was wondering if it 'needed' mahogany to fill it out as i've only used it in an LP and a basswood hard-tail.

i completely agree re it laughing off weird chords and tons of gain.

this pickup excels at things it may not have been intended for, ie tele-like clarity on a short-scale guitar while doing stop-start thrash in B standard with a dropped A, or playing chords with at least 1 suspension in them across 6 strings and still hearing everything while you're scratching your head looking around for another gain stage to throw on the fire.

 

[Ed Hunter]

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

Right now my two favorite duncans are the demon and the PG with a UOA5 magnet in it. both are great at what they do.

 

[Diego]

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

I'll soon be dropping an A8 magnet in my Demon...

I'll give you guys a good review.

 

[51501984]

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

Ed do you have the demon in guitar that is in standard tuning or a 1/2 step down?

 

[Ed Hunter]

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

Ed do you have the demon in guitar that is in standard tuning or a 1/2 step down?

Eb bro, i always tune down to Eb but dont tune any lower than that. I tried D for a while and i get get my tunes to sound the same?:eyecrazy:

 

[Aceman]

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

This Vid is what sold me on trying the demon in my alder strat with floyd. Listen to some of the higher harmonic overtones he gets when he pinches notes:eyecrazy:

Mother #$%# he's good. I suspect he "owned" a pickup ~10k with a half-row of hex screws before there was a retail version called the Screamin' Demon.

Man - his tapping is so effing tasty! Gotta throw some of that back into my mix!!!!

 

[ErikH]

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

How come it has a row of black hex poles?

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.

 

[lazyfinger]

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

Yes and thats the best part,it has some real good bucker fatness to it the without going to the point of a low end mush.
The low end is very similar to a real deal P.A.F.
This is a very unique pu' it combines the best of a single coil,P-90 and a good P.A.F and the modern harmonic overtones.
I can get the older VH tones better with this than i did with many other P.A.F types. Funny thing is that eddie's tone actually has got a bit of that single coil meets P-90 thing going on. I was not shooting for his tone but got it as a bonus. this thing covers a lot of musical ground everything from ac/dc to zep to jazz,blues,country,funk
I think it is even more versatile than the JB was....

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