Dimarzio "Tone Zone"...

'Put the Screamin' Demon back in tonight, and it's like a nice old pair of shoes (that don't stink). I don't know what I was thinking sticking a Tone Zone in my guitar.
A little fuller tone would have been nice, but this thing sounded like mud, and too "loud". If my brain had been working, I would have just raised the height of the existing pickup a little bit.
 
The Screamin Demon is one of S.D.'s hidden jewels.

Everyone thinks its some really hot overwound pickup and it's not.

It's got some wonderful vintage charm to it, cleans up even more when rolled back, and is very well balanced. 

Part of Lynch's sound is first of all, in his fingers, then using medium gain amps with modded stomp boxes in the front to push the front end of the amp.  It's not at all easy to replicate his tone with hot amp & pickups.
 
Everyone thinks a "Screamin' Demon" is a really hot over-wound pickup? I wonder why? Maybe if they'd named it "Searing Nuclear Apocalypse" people would understand that it's a pleasant and well-behaved sensor <grin>
 
Street Avenger said:
'Put the Screamin' Demon back in tonight, and it's like a nice old pair of shoes (that don't stink). I don't know what I was thinking sticking a Tone Zone in my guitar.
A little fuller tone would have been nice, but this thing sounded like mud, and too "loud". If my brain had been working, I would have just raised the height of the existing pickup a little bit.

Sorry it didn't work for out you, but I still like mine a lot.  I run mine pretty low (level with the pickup ring) and have it wired for series/parallel when I want cleaner tones.  I do use it almost exclusively as my Skynyrd and ZZ Top guitar and that's about it.  The Tele and Strat get most of the playing time (I play in an Outlaw Country and Southern Rock band)
 
Maybe they could rename it "Picking Daffodils in a Cool Summer Breeze." That's sure to impress the teenyboy demographic.
 
Cagey said:
Everyone thinks a "Screamin' Demon" is a really hot over-wound pickup? I wonder why? Maybe if they'd named it "Searing Nuclear Apocalypse" people would understand that it's a pleasant and well-behaved sensor <grin>

Yeah, no doubt (LOL!!!).
 
You can also change the dymanic of the highs by going to a 1 meg volume pot for more, or a 250k for less.  If you want to, go to 11, if you will, a push pull pot with the volume knob bypassed/engaged and the pickup going straight out is the way to get it at it's brightest but still having the ability to knock the volume down if you want.  It is a pretty cheap way of doing it as well.  Not as cheap as raising the pickup, but. . .
Patrick

 
I love my Demon.

Mike_Demon_375x400.jpg
 
Okay, I stuck a new Seymour Duncan JB in it.
I wish I'd done that in the first place.
It's just what the doctor ordered.
:glasses10:
 
I put a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge position of my Tele, and it is the whip. There's a reason that pickup has been around for 30+ years. It's a kick-ass design that works extremely well. Any time you can't figure out which pickup to use, that one will do to start and may remain in place forever.
 
I'd take the Screamin Demon or a JB over the Tone Zone any day of the week.
If you have a overly dark sounding guitar, maybe the TZ might pair up nicely for you, but as described earlier, the mids can be a tad harsh if you really push it, the highs are defined, but they're on the border of shrill.  If you view the eq curve for this pickup on dimarzios website, you'll see it has a significant mid freq spike, where many of their others are scooped. 

I tend to prefer pickups that are on the flatter side of things.  My Evolution bridge is nice this way, allows me to use the amp controls to get the mids & such.

The thing that's so sweet about the Screamin Demon is that it rides the edge between a modern pickup and a vintage pickup.  It's really sitting right in the sweet spot of output in my opinion.  It cleans up well, and it pushes hard nicely.  I would love to see S.D. make a neck version mated to this, it would be a great pair as an alternative to the popular J.B./'59 combo, which I also love.
 
TonyFlyingSquirrel said:
I'd take the Screamin Demon or a JB over the Tone Zone any day of the week.
If you have a overly dark sounding guitar, maybe the TZ might pair up nicely for you, but as described earlier, the mids can be a tad harsh if you really push it, the highs are defined, but they're on the border of shrill.  If you view the eq curve for this pickup on dimarzios website, you'll see it has a significant mid freq spike, where many of their others are scooped. 

I tend to prefer pickups that are on the flatter side of things.  My Evolution bridge is nice this way, allows me to use the amp controls to get the mids & such.

The thing that's so sweet about the Screamin Demon is that it rides the edge between a modern pickup and a vintage pickup.  It's really sitting right in the sweet spot of output in my opinion.  It cleans up well, and it pushes hard nicely.  I would love to see S.D. make a neck version mated to this, it would be a great pair as an alternative to the popular J.B./'59 combo, which I also love.

I still have the Screamin' Demon in three other guitars (including my Warmoth Soloist) , and they are staying. This particular guitar just needed a little extra push.
I always liked Jake E Lee's and Warren Demartini's tone when they were using JBs.
I think it's gonna be a keeper in this guitar.
 
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