Mikey Demus

Mikey Demus is pictured with a Gibson ES-335 Left Hand in a photo from Orangeamps.

“I always used to think that being in a ‘heavier’ band meant using niche gear specifically designed for heavy music – until I discovered the versatility and power of the Orange Rockerverb 100 head. After hearing what Jim Root & Wes Borland were doing with these amps, I had to try ’em out. I was sold immediately. It has just the right amount of features, no ‘fluff’. The heads do everything you want, and go to places tonally that other amps can’t. Plus it’s no secret that Orange cabs smoke everything else on the market. I finally feel like I’m playing through gear that makes ‘my sound’ happen. Orange gear stands out both off and on stage, shreds through the mix and sets you apart from the herd. My amps sound & look sexy, plus they are completely bombproof. All that and they’re made right here in England, what more could you ask for?

"This one has been with me since the start, the bottom of it is kinda battered but it still works! It's been all around the world with me countless times. It lived on my live pedalboard for about a decade and has since been retired for studio use. These things are bombproof and I can't say enough good things about them. This and a DL4 were both my pedalboard mainstays seemingly forever; all the weird noises you hear on early Skindred recordings were more than likely made with this very pedal."

"A lovely little acoustic guitar that has been by my side for years. It’s got a great vintage vibe, I wrote a great deal of tunes on this and played it live at our Acoustic set at Download in 2011. Also has a really good sounding Fishman pickup built in."

"Ok, so I’m really on the fence about saying goodbye to this one. I’ve had it since about 2006, and used it on just about every song we’ve ever recorded as a band. It has been my main go to guitar in the studio for over a decade; I must be mad to let this one go. Practically every rhythm part in drop C has featured this guitar, more or less. I went on to refinish this guitar myself, it used to be a kind of uninspiring wine red colour with gold hardware that quickly went grotty after being sweated on one too many times. I completely stripped the guitar by hand and changed it to a Goldtop with mahogany sides and back. It was a real labour of love! I replaced all the hardware with Tonepros nickel parts and changed the pickups to Seymour Duncan JB (bridge) and Pearly Gates (neck), which is my go-to humbucker choice. It plays brilliantly and stays in tune great, which is why its always been my #1 guitar for recording. I also toured it a few times in the last few years - on those bigger headline tours when I can justify carrying 12 guitars and use it for one song! I will probably kick myself to see this one go."

at 1:01, he states his guitar contains this pickup

In a photo from a Sevendust concert, Mikey Demus is shown playing an ESP LTD EC Series EC-1000 Electric Guitar.

Guitarist Mikey Demus is noted for using the Seymour Duncan SH-4/TB-4 JB Model pickup, as highlighted on the Seymour Duncan website.

“The Seymour Duncan pickups I use in Skindred allow otherwise stock guitars to cope with drop tunings, heavy riffs and such. I’m constantly on the quest to improve my tone, and I’m learning that I prefer the sound of ceramic bar magnets and overwound coils for tight low end and shredding, and chunky mids. Adversely, I also had Seymour Duncan Seth Lover and Pearly Gates humbuckers in other guitars I used for standard tunings and more straightforward rock n’ roll, and they are amongst the sweetest sounds out there if you’re looking for lower to medium gain tones. What’s coolest about using SD versus stock pickups is that most Seymours are 4-conductor wired for endless tonal versatility and variety.”

"They just sent me this. It’s one of their complete production models, I think it’s the anniversary version of the MA.

“That’s got the Benchmark in the bridge and a P-45 single-coil in the neck. They have also put locking Sperzels on it for me so it can handle the drop A# tuning a bit better.”

Mikey Demus of Skindred uses the Aston Starlight Stereo Pair condenser microphones, as noted on Astonmics' official artist page.

"This is what Mansons call their MA shape and I'm playing it in drop C."

"This is the one that lights up on the body. I'm using that for one song [Soundthesiren] and it's the artwork from that record. It's kind of tele-ish ..... This one has a Seymour Duncan Little 59 in the bridge and a Pearly Gates in the neck."

Mikey Demus of Skindred is featured in an Orange Amps article where he praises the Orange Crush Mini 2018 for its versatility, from clean tones to heavy shredding. He highlights its flexible tone and robust build quality, characteristic of Orange amplifiers.

“I always used to think that being in a ‘heavier’ band meant using niche gear specifically designed for heavy music – until I discovered the versatility and power of the Orange Rockerverb 100 head. After hearing what Jim Root & Wes Borland were doing with these amps, I had to try ’em out. I was sold immediately. It has just the right amount of features, no ‘fluff’. The heads do everything you want, and go to places tonally that other amps can’t. Plus it’s no secret that Orange cabs smoke everything else on the market. I finally feel like I’m playing through gear that makes ‘my sound’ happen. Orange gear stands out both off and on stage, shreds through the mix and sets you apart from the herd. My amps sound & look sexy, plus they are completely bombproof. All that and they’re made right here in England, what more could you ask for?

Mikey Demus of Skindred uses the Orange Amplifiers Tiny Terror Jim Root #4 Signature 15W Tube Guitar Amp Head, as detailed in an article by Ibe on the Orange Amps website.

this is Mikey's signature model he uses

This amp has been with me since the beginning, its the real deal. Gain for days and has been as reliable as it gets. It’s loud and no nonsense, doesn’t need any pedals in front of it to get that fierce Marshall sound. Goes from bedroom quiet to stadium crushing volume with a little twist of a knob! This one’s got more history than any of my other amps and was my trusty workhorse #1 head live & in the studio for many years.

A Digitech Whammy DT from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

"I've used this OCD many times over the last few years in the studio, often in front of a loud tube amp to get 'the' tone for the record. It's a great little box of tone and I will definitely regret selling it!"

An Ernie Ball Volume Pedal JR from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

An Ibanez DE7 from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

A Digitech TR-7 from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

An ISP Decimator from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

An Ibanez LF7 from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

An MXR Carbon Copy from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

A Boss RC20XL Loop Station from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

A Mission EP-1 from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

A Voodoo Lab Ground Control from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.

A Mission SP-1 from the personal collection of Mikey Demus of Skindred.