software

its still early days, i havnt played with the 59' at above bedroom levels yet, but here's my take:

Screamin' demon
1) Very prominent palm mutes and harmonics
2) 'Shimmery' highs, sparkle but not bright
3) Nice balance of output - will break up when whacked hard, but generally quite clean with low-gain settings
4) Essentially dark tone - very cool for rounded off solos, and room-filling power chords.. i'm really starting to hear it's 80's metal vibe

'59
1) Much cleaner - the drop in output is obvious
2) Open, 'Breathing' vibe - like changing from a closed-back cab to an open-back one
3) Less chug on palm mutes
4) VERY classic rock and blues - inspires you to try jimmy-page style noodlings
5) Hi-gain sounds are very aggressive and punky - brash without being harsh, very clear and bell-like treble

and these are being paired with a john milner model (a really old jazz) in the neck.. the '59 pairs much better in a 'both-on' setting, very britpop - oasis, stereophonics et al

both pickups are sweet - but for what i play i'm starting to dig the '59 more.. im tempted to investigate that quick-fit rear mounting system that turned up in an ebay auction a while back, i want both sounds so darned bad! lol

and sacrilege as this may sound, at the moment i prefer the demon's cleans! the extra output warms the clean sounds up gently.. the '59 is a winner at mid-gain and more aggressive hi-gain though, the demon is a rhythm player's bridge pickup to me now..

any thoughts?

tom

quot;Any thoughts?quot;

Yes: great review! Thanks! Lew


Originally Posted by LewguitarYes: great review! Thanks! Lew

That what I was thinking. Nice write-up.

Artie

Thats my experience with them too. Other than I dig the Demon alot more than the '59 bridge.

I have a '59 neck paired with a Demon now, but would like to try a PG neck for some more sizzle.

ok, some more - the '59 is VERY close to what i perceive to be the 'brown sound'... the intro to 'you really got me' is almost identical! it has all of the 'wiryness' behind the sound of the overdriven amp i can hear on the record.. i'm using a marshall (albeit a modern DSL) i guess..

in an ideal world, i'd have two guitars- i wasn't looking for anything more tonally when i just had the demon (had no reason to) but this '59 just has me by the balls - i cant stop playing lep zep riffs

and those 'stinging' lead tones that featured on the early zep stuff - communication breakdown, whole lotta love, they're very close to what you get from this pickup! i can understand why it's a little hard to recognise the tones straight away as a tele - it has the same sort of open, pi$sed-off brashness!

I pretty much hated the Demon when I tried it a few years ago... I installed a '59 B yesterday and WOW. I am really loving it. I always thought the Demon sounded really wimpy. I liked how the harmonics jumped off but didn't like it at all for chording. I don't get the same feeling from the '59 although it has a lower output than the SD. I agree completely that the '59 is very quot;brown soundingquot;. I cranked up the gain two different tube heads and it just screamed early VH. I loved it. I am keeping the '59 in a mutt basswood super strat. The '59 has really got me wondering about the '78 (or EVH) pickup. I just can't imagine a more EVH sounding pickup than the 59. I have been playing Duncans for over 10 years now- JB, CC, and C5. This pickup is much different than those and I really like the change. It is pretty fun dinking around with the '59.

Great comparisons by the way.....


Originally Posted by RGNI pretty much hated the Demon when I tried it a few years ago... I installed a '59 B yesterday and WOW. I am really loving it. I always thought the Demon sounded really wimpy. I liked how the harmonics jumped off but didn't like it at all for chording. I don't get the same feeling from the '59 although it has a lower output than the SD. I agree completely that the '59 is very quot;brown soundingquot;. I cranked up the gain two different tube heads and it just screamed early VH. I loved it. I am keeping the '59 in a mutt basswood super strat. The '59 has really got me wondering about the '78 (or EVH) pickup. I just can't imagine a more EVH sounding pickup than the 59. I have been playing Duncans for over 10 years now- JB, CC, and C5. This pickup is much different than those and I really like the change. It is pretty fun dinking around with the '59.

Great comparisons by the way.....

Boy...it is so great to hear you guys raving about the 59B and comparing it to EVH's tone because I've been bragging up the 59B here for a long time and saying many of the same things about it. It's the only bridge humbucker I use in my HB Strats. I have it in two! It's a great, great pickup and so under appreciated. Lew

Lew-
We should have listened to you sooner my friend. I am frankly pretty blown away by the '59. I have probably tried 15 or so different Duncans and this (and maybe the Custom Custom which sounds great itself) is the first one to really make me go WOAAAAAAAAAAAAA after a coupls chords. To my ear it sounds straight of Van Halen 1. Love it.

i think the demon would really work in an SG or in a hot-rodded tele - its a very warm powerful sound, it needs a bright guitar to balance it out.. im gonna try and make a frankensteiner from a body i made for design tech, beech body..

and stick an OFR i have in my parts box on it, just the '59.. you see any resemblance?

tom

My 2 fave duncans are the 59 and Custom. No matter what type of guitar, I could get what I wanted pretty much using the custom or 59 in the bridge and the 59 in the neck.

As Lew has said multiple times.....alot of those classic sounds were done with PAF's...EVH, Iommi, Angus Young etc..then of course you have Clapton, Page, etc. I can cop a hellatious brown sound out of 59b in a Les Paul though my 1987X...I mean it's damn close to VH1..even with a Les Paul. I think because the Pauls are naturally a bit bright in combo with the brightness/snap of a 59 B (since it's a quot;newquot; magnet compared to the old PAFs) it really makes for a good early VH sound. And it does a killer (no pun intended) early Iron Maiden tone.

Barring Metallica-esque and higher gain, the 59b works fine as a hard rock distortion pup. Sometime though I prefer the growl of the Custom..the low mids as well as the less jangly, more cutting treble.

Hmmm I think the Demon is a great pickup but I wouldn't consider it really dark other than for the fact that it's got lower mids you can hear unlike the JB, Distortion, etc..It's like a HI-FI PAF type tone to my ears...it's got those modern sounding lower mids with the really open upper end.

Really good pickup

You guys must be hearing something different from me, but to me the Demon is not a dark pickup, but instead is on the bright side, with more treble and less mids than the 59.

when i say dark, i mean darker than the '59 heh - it has like a 'sparkle' treble element, but the demon does pack a lot more punch in the low mids.. this is what i meant, and didnt say

tom


Originally Posted by Impand those 'stinging' lead tones that featured on the early zep stuff - communication breakdown, whole lotta love, they're very close to what you get from this pickup! i can understand why it's a little hard to recognise the tones straight away as a tele - it has the same sort of open, pi$sed-off brashness!

Communication Breakdown definitely sounds like a Tele to me. But everything else (Dazed amp; Confused, You Shook Me, etc.) sounds pure Les Paul -- even though it's still a Tele.

From what I've seen - George was playing mainly Maple guitars with the Demon in them. His sound with Dokken was thinner that I remember. He and Warren both had that crunchy sound early on. Same with EVH, not a lot of bass on the bottom end. Mids were where it was at in the 80's.

That being said, I tried the Demon in a basswood body and really liked it for the kind of melodic metal that I play. Fairly chunky, mids jump out at you. Then I tried my Custom Shop EVH in that guitar. Wow! With a little chorus thrown on it, you can just chime any note on the fretboard. It's an outrageous combination. I got the idea after reading about all Eddie's models after Kramer - they're all made out of basswood, so I thought I'd give it a try - and I was pleasantly surprised!