Yeah - no telling how old mine was since I bought used. But I got it probably a little earlier than that. Regardless, don't have it anymore, and it's been rectified on their end.
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DemonFX Pedals - Any good?
- Thread starter _sky_
- Start date
If u ever want another one I got two for some reason haha
I got the dark glass preamp and cali 76 today. The dg sounds good but the clean channel has some distortion or fizz in the high end. Anyone else notice this? It’s most obvious on notes on the g string.
Still the distortion channel is incredible. The ultimate grind tone. I don’t really play death metal anymore but I could not help but whip out some old diminished licks on it. Low b sounds insanely heavy. Awesome.
The cali76 is great. To me this is a parallel compressor for sure. If I set the wet all the way to max, the volume is too loud no matter how I adjust the input or out.
Seems like an awesome end of chain compressor though. Really boosts the tone.
Still the distortion channel is incredible. The ultimate grind tone. I don’t really play death metal anymore but I could not help but whip out some old diminished licks on it. Low b sounds insanely heavy. Awesome.
The cali76 is great. To me this is a parallel compressor for sure. If I set the wet all the way to max, the volume is too loud no matter how I adjust the input or out.
Seems like an awesome end of chain compressor though. Really boosts the tone.
I got the Fuzzworks 7 in and this pedal is seriously great. I think this would be the must buy so far of all of them I own. I do like the Cali76, and I can run it in 18v which is nice, but the Fuzzworks 7 is the best sounding fuzz pedal I have owned. It does the velcro zipper sound so well, but the gate is also really cool as well. I feed it into an octave pedal, and I think I prefer it in front after trying it both ways. Since this pedal was so cheap from Alibaba, I now can run cali76 - Fuzzworks- MX vintage Octave - Green Big Muff. So I have options for fuzz before or after the octave.
Final pedal headed my way is the mini chorus. Gotta have a good chorus and my EHX bass clone has been intermittent.
I sent back the Dark glass preamp. It sounds really good but the clean channel is not cleanm enough for me. And if I need that darkglass grind, I can get a very similar sound on my Capo by turning up the gain knob.
Anyway id suggest ordering the Fuzzworks from Ali Baba since you can get it for very cheap. And it sounds way better than the price, at least to me.
Final pedal headed my way is the mini chorus. Gotta have a good chorus and my EHX bass clone has been intermittent.
I sent back the Dark glass preamp. It sounds really good but the clean channel is not cleanm enough for me. And if I need that darkglass grind, I can get a very similar sound on my Capo by turning up the gain knob.
Anyway id suggest ordering the Fuzzworks from Ali Baba since you can get it for very cheap. And it sounds way better than the price, at least to me.
to the owners of the D7K - could you please elaborate on the following:
1) I watched a review on YT which said something like 'DI doesn't work as I expected, it doesn't send dry signal' or something. He didn't explain what exactly he expected and what exactly he got instead. I tried to look this up but failed to find any detail.
2) another opinion that I came across was, like, 'it is not a good clean preamp, it is a great overdrive with an EQ'. The overdrive having a separate on/off switch and a variable control, and more switching options than the A7K, I can't quite grasp what the author meant by that. Is it really not so good clean?
1) I watched a review on YT which said something like 'DI doesn't work as I expected, it doesn't send dry signal' or something. He didn't explain what exactly he expected and what exactly he got instead. I tried to look this up but failed to find any detail.
2) another opinion that I came across was, like, 'it is not a good clean preamp, it is a great overdrive with an EQ'. The overdrive having a separate on/off switch and a variable control, and more switching options than the A7K, I can't quite grasp what the author meant by that. Is it really not so good clean?
I think it works fine clean. Something to note is that there are tons of preamp EQ options and every one of those will sound unique. So with that said you'll have to try it and see if you like what it does. Mine works fine. I would use it clean if I need to but I have others I prefer.the dirt is really nice and the biggest reason I have one.
DemonFX microtubes X review:
Note I don't have the DG X but I do have a legitimate DG b3k.
Filters: the range on both seem vast. This makes it easy to set meh tones with it. I'm a veteran knob tweaker but this pedal has me tweaking endlessly and isn't easy to get my preferred tones out of.
The LPF works on your clean tone, so you could just use this pedal as an on off LPF if you wanted.
HPF works on the driven tone but pre drive circuit, so the drive tones vary greatly when adjusting the hpf.
Mids: like the HPF only works on the drive tone but after the drive amount.
So here's the dilemma: Drive (amount) + Mids (post drive) + HPF (pre drive) leaves you constantly tweaking!
Mix: works as it should but varies greatly based on other settings. Sometimes you've got this really narrow range between 3 and 4 o'clock to get that nice balance of "plenty of clean lows but doesn't sound like drive layered on top of clean". Other times you got to roll the Mix way back to 12 o'clock. It's VERY easy to get the "sounds like layered clean over drive" sound with this pedal, if that's your thing.
Level: this is the whole output level of the X, NOT the b3k way of it just adjusting the drive amount. This is necessary though as you can lose volume from many of the knob position interactions. It works fine.
Drive: this is my biggest sad face moment. Fizz town at moderate setting. I know my legit b3k really well and this X doesn't sound like that drive. It needs the fizz rolled off the Drive, which you can't do as the hpf is pre drive. I haven't tried an eq pedal post yet.
You can set this to respond well to finger and pick playing, unlike other pedals that seem suited to just one of those options.
I've landed on a setting for finger style playing on my flatwound humbucker bass, that mimics pick playing clang. The X likes emphasising highs so I've leaned into that. I've set the filters pretty high so low mids are clean it's just the uppers that are driven.
I found a good pick tone too, bit more grindy clang where I kept playing Jesus Lizard lines.
My conclusion: I got what I wanted which was a new toy to fiddle with. It's made me respect and appreciate the original DG pedals more. If I find a legit DG X in a local store I will try it just to confirm my thoughts on the Drive on the Demon version being inferior. My curiosity on these clones has been satisfied.
Could someone reply to confirm if the controls I've described work like an og DG X?
Note I don't have the DG X but I do have a legitimate DG b3k.
Filters: the range on both seem vast. This makes it easy to set meh tones with it. I'm a veteran knob tweaker but this pedal has me tweaking endlessly and isn't easy to get my preferred tones out of.
The LPF works on your clean tone, so you could just use this pedal as an on off LPF if you wanted.
HPF works on the driven tone but pre drive circuit, so the drive tones vary greatly when adjusting the hpf.
Mids: like the HPF only works on the drive tone but after the drive amount.
So here's the dilemma: Drive (amount) + Mids (post drive) + HPF (pre drive) leaves you constantly tweaking!
Mix: works as it should but varies greatly based on other settings. Sometimes you've got this really narrow range between 3 and 4 o'clock to get that nice balance of "plenty of clean lows but doesn't sound like drive layered on top of clean". Other times you got to roll the Mix way back to 12 o'clock. It's VERY easy to get the "sounds like layered clean over drive" sound with this pedal, if that's your thing.
Level: this is the whole output level of the X, NOT the b3k way of it just adjusting the drive amount. This is necessary though as you can lose volume from many of the knob position interactions. It works fine.
Drive: this is my biggest sad face moment. Fizz town at moderate setting. I know my legit b3k really well and this X doesn't sound like that drive. It needs the fizz rolled off the Drive, which you can't do as the hpf is pre drive. I haven't tried an eq pedal post yet.
You can set this to respond well to finger and pick playing, unlike other pedals that seem suited to just one of those options.
I've landed on a setting for finger style playing on my flatwound humbucker bass, that mimics pick playing clang. The X likes emphasising highs so I've leaned into that. I've set the filters pretty high so low mids are clean it's just the uppers that are driven.
I found a good pick tone too, bit more grindy clang where I kept playing Jesus Lizard lines.
My conclusion: I got what I wanted which was a new toy to fiddle with. It's made me respect and appreciate the original DG pedals more. If I find a legit DG X in a local store I will try it just to confirm my thoughts on the Drive on the Demon version being inferior. My curiosity on these clones has been satisfied.
Could someone reply to confirm if the controls I've described work like an og DG X?
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Your description of the DemonFX Microtubes X controls is pretty close to how I would describe my Darkglass X, which is also too fizzy for my liking. I set the drive way down, to about 9-10 o'clock or it's Fizz Town. But, I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of most bass overdrives for this same reason. I do like the DG tone though, so I use a DemonFX Harmonic Booster after a drive that isn't fizzy, something like my Jetter gain Stage Red, which I would describe as chewy, or with a Barber Direct Drive for more grind.
Not 100% sure this was not already posted...
I do not have the X (DG or Demon) but I have the DG X7 (the pre-amp version) instead, for 2 reasons:
1. It has separate volume controls for the clean and drive paths, this makes setting it up in a practice situation more easy.
2. It has a post clean/drive EQ with a high-shelf, I use this to get rid of too much fizz (to my liking) that comes with higher gain settings.
It took me some time to find a method to dial-in this pedal, but now I really like how thick but still defined the tone can be (I am not looking for the 'typical DG' tone). I think the Demon version would get me there 99% if I added a post EQ
.I've tried 2 more, here are my thoughts
Demon FX Alpha Omicron - I like it. More Low Mids than Upper Mids voicing for both drive types when compared to the X drive voicing. In the ballpark of a Muff. The Bite button adds a bit more upper mids push if you need it. This kicked the X off my board, in the role of finger style moderate fuzz for when my indie band drops into occasional stoner riffing.
Demon FX SSS steel string supreme - this was a roll of the dice, I read somewhere that this circuit was kind on your low end and it is. I've put this on my board as first two stages of low gain for finger style. One foot switch for bit of drive when I dig in harder, next foot switch for Bit More.
Plenty of caveats:
- it's the most fiddly pedal to set. I'm into synths and know how to wiggle and dial, this thing is tricky because the 2 sections interact between Output, Level, and Gain.
- I'm not convinced the manual is accurate
- keep the Filter off, that's a steep HPF
- it's unlikely going to do much unless your output is hot (for finger style). All my basses are passive but hot, mainly Lace pickups or G&L humbucker. I've got Gain level pretty high on the dial and it's still low gain territory
- pick style it gave more, obviously
- the Clean doesn't seem to act like a typical clean blend. I can't work out why yet. Eg with Output off the Clean still does nothing, yet the Output can change the gain amount. Like it's an Input level feeding both drive and clean, from the prior stage?
- toggles and Warm don't seem to do anything noticeable for finger bass.
The SSS hasn't ended my journey to find my ultimate low gain pedal. I'm guessing it'll stay on my board until I find something else to try. But I'm overall pleased that it's at least serviceable.
Demon FX Alpha Omicron - I like it. More Low Mids than Upper Mids voicing for both drive types when compared to the X drive voicing. In the ballpark of a Muff. The Bite button adds a bit more upper mids push if you need it. This kicked the X off my board, in the role of finger style moderate fuzz for when my indie band drops into occasional stoner riffing.
Demon FX SSS steel string supreme - this was a roll of the dice, I read somewhere that this circuit was kind on your low end and it is. I've put this on my board as first two stages of low gain for finger style. One foot switch for bit of drive when I dig in harder, next foot switch for Bit More.
Plenty of caveats:
- it's the most fiddly pedal to set. I'm into synths and know how to wiggle and dial, this thing is tricky because the 2 sections interact between Output, Level, and Gain.
- I'm not convinced the manual is accurate
- keep the Filter off, that's a steep HPF
- it's unlikely going to do much unless your output is hot (for finger style). All my basses are passive but hot, mainly Lace pickups or G&L humbucker. I've got Gain level pretty high on the dial and it's still low gain territory
- pick style it gave more, obviously
- the Clean doesn't seem to act like a typical clean blend. I can't work out why yet. Eg with Output off the Clean still does nothing, yet the Output can change the gain amount. Like it's an Input level feeding both drive and clean, from the prior stage?
- toggles and Warm don't seem to do anything noticeable for finger bass.
The SSS hasn't ended my journey to find my ultimate low gain pedal. I'm guessing it'll stay on my board until I find something else to try. But I'm overall pleased that it's at least serviceable.
Yes a great value for the money. No need to spend big money for this sound. Joyo also makes great clones for bass at very affordable prices. I say this as one who does have a board full of expensive Source Audio, JHS and other boutique pedals as well as this one and the Joyo Double Thruster I got for under $60!
I just love how the people behind demonfx can muster the sheer audacity it takes to print the "®" sign behind their brand logo.
I’m laughing my @ss at the “Tone Mallet” name.
Mom: We have Tone Hammer at home
Probably started making it when it became obvious the original tone hammer wasn't coming back.
Well due to it going for the price of less than one can find a used tone hammer I have a tone mallet on the way in the mail. I noticed a sharp spike in the used prices of tone hammers after the new version got released. Kinda opposite of what is supposed to happen. Usually things take a drop when the new version comes in but not here.
BTW - Aliexpress had some really good Black Friday deals last year that I used to get some pretty deep discounts on Dfx pedals. Keep a lookout for it. It’s very Chinese the way they did it. It wasn’t immediately apparent that the discounts were that good and you have to apply coupons. The style was very much like when they had big singles day sales in China on Taobao when I was living there.
Kinda curious about how close the clone is and whether it can be powered from phantom power. That's one of the things I love about my SansAmp.
