How do I sound like Phil Demmel?

From the album ‘Through the Ashes of Empires’ right up to the full-length record ‘Catharsis’, Phil Demmel was a member of Machine Head. After founder Robb Flynn, he’s the guitarist who spent the longest time in this famous Northern California groove metal band, and in that role he’s absolutely left his mark on the legacy of these metal giants. Tracks like ‘In the Presence of My Enemies’ and ‘Halo’ are clear examples. Since leaving the band, however, Phil hasn’t been sitting still. Alongside the reunion with Bay Area thrash metal band Vio-lence, you can also catch him on stage with the all-star band Hail!, and he’s also had the honour of playing the live parts of Jeff Hanneman and Gary Holt at a number of shows on Slayer’s farewell tour. Learning to play his own solos and riffs is one thing—but what gear will get you closest to his guitar tone?

Phil Demmel’s guitars

When it comes to guitars, Phil Demmel has been playing Jackson Guitars for years. Back in the 80s, he started out with the classic pointy guitar bodies of one of his own guitar heroes: Randy Rhoads. His first Demmelition signature guitars for the brand, however, is based on the widely known King V. This is the model he’s used for many of his lead and rhythm parts since the 90s. That said, there’s also a new signature model on the horizon. The Demmelition Fury (see below) is based on Jackson’s own X-Stroyer model, which shares its basic vibe with the legendary electric Explorer guitar. Want to be able to play all of his solos too? Then it’s definitely a good idea to have a guitar with a Floyd Rose double locking tremolo in your arsenal. On top of that, when it comes to pickups, Phil relies on active models from the American brand EMG. For his brutal riffs and part of his impressive solos he uses an 81 humbucker in the bridge, while the 60 mini-humbucker (in a regular double-coil-style housing) comes in handy for other, more melodic and cleaner parts.

Amplifiers

To make sure the foundation is rock-solid, you of course need to combine all of this with the right amplifier. As a Peavey artist, Mr Demmel often plays the 6505 amplifier heads from the brand, but the Invective amp head by djent guitarist Misha Mansoor has also had plenty of action recently. Phil also has no problem reaching for the 5150 III valve amps from Eddie van Halen’s EVH. Phil prefers to run all his amp heads through the straight 1960BV speaker cabinet from the legendary Marshall, loaded with 4x 12-inch Celestion G12-Vintage speakers. For the odd fly date here and there, he’ll sometimes make use of the practical Axe-FX multi-effects processors and preamps from Fractal Audio as well.

Effects pedals

As you can see in our interview with Phil, he won’t be hitting the stage without his favourite wah pedal any time soon. Especially in his current bands and projects, he makes a lot of use of the Dunlop Zakk Wylde signature Cry Baby. His own one is finished in a tasteful Buddy Guy Polka Dot housing—though it’s also a subtle nod to Randy Rhoads. To keep his rhythms tight, he also uses a noise gate. He’s been spotted with the widely praised Boss NS-2, but the TC Electronic Sentry has also earned a spot on his pedalboard. When it comes to modulation, an MXR Phase 90 and a Boss CE-5 Chorus definitely shouldn’t be missing, but for those clean Machine Head guitar tones, a Boss BF-3 is pretty much a must. To occasionally make the amp really roar, an MXR Zakk Wylde overdrive has been part of his rig for quite some time. The Boss SD-1 is a great alternative, by the way. To make your leads sound bigger, you could of course always add a Boss Delay such as the DD-5 or a TC Electronic Flashback 2 to your effects chain. Phil Demmel’s own TonePrints for the latter pedal can be found on TC Electronic’s website, or you can pull them up via the TonePrint App.

Strings and plectrums

When it comes to guitar strings and plectrums, Phil also uses products from Dunlop. For strings, he has his own custom Heavy Core set. For standard tunings, you can use a .010 set with thicker wound strings up to .052, like the DEN1052 set. For drop tunings, however, he uses a .056 for the thickest string. If a heavy bottom/light top string set isn’t a must for you, then the Dunlop DHCN1048 Heavy Core set is also a great alternative. The plectrum he currently uses most is a Tortex TIII with a thickness of 0.6 millimetres, featuring special customised artwork. With the standard Tortex TIII 0.60, you’ll get exactly the same feel.

Bax Music clinic & interview with Phil Demmel

Below, you can watch the clinic Phil Demmel gave at Bax Music.

Which lick or riff by Phil do you enjoy playing most? Let us know below in the comments!

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