DemonFX Pedals - Any good?

[Moredator]

I have the Call76, but prefer the DemonFX Super Symmetry.

Tone Mallet is great, but check out the DemonFX AG.

To be honest I listened thousands of demos between the two and loved the super symmetry, but then just decided Call76 on a whim as I like the punch that FET compressor gives. Then I ended up using fast attack with sustain settings, basically losing the punch. shag me. Good to know that it's nice though!
What you mean DemonFX AG? The clone is called Tone Mallet opposed to the original which is Tone Hammer. Which must boil down to some hippey sound bowl joke I know nothing about.

 

[InkCow]

To be honest I listened thousands of demos between the two and loved the super symmetry, but then just decided Call76 on a whim as I like the punch that FET compressor gives. Then I ended up using fast attack with sustain settings, basically losing the punch. shag me. Good to know that it's nice though!
What you mean DemonFX AG? The clone is called Tone Mallet opposed to the original which is Tone Hammer. Which must boil down to some hippey sound bowl joke I know nothing about.

They also make a clone of the Aguilar AG preamp. So does Mosky and a few others.

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

To be honest I listened thousands of demos between the two and loved the super symmetry, but then just decided Call76 on a whim as I like the punch that FET compressor gives. Then I ended up using fast attack with sustain settings, basically losing the punch. shag me. Good to know that it's nice though!
What you mean DemonFX AG? The clone is called Tone Mallet opposed to the original which is Tone Hammer. Which must boil down to some hippey sound bowl joke I know nothing about.

i have both the DemonFX Tone Mallet (Aguilar Tone Hammer) and DemonFX AG (Aguilar AG)

both are AGUILAR CLONES - sorry i wasn't clear enough. I assumed you knew the Aguilar product line and the DemonFX clones.

 

[DigMe]

After happily using the Call76 for a good while I finally got the real thing from Origin Effects. I like how it matches my Bassrig Super Vintage. I’ve thrown the Call76 up on EBay under same username as here if anyone wants to check one out.

 

[DigMe]

My thoughts:
Call76. Brilliant. I don't have the real deal to compare to, but it works very well. I use it to boost quite a bit to make the strings sound more balanced as I noodle quite a lot with the thinner strings. I find that mixing in 20-30% of the dry signal combined with fast attack (around 10:30) for huge sustain and hpf @ 14-15 o clock and ratio around 5 (9 o clock) works wonders and preserves transients while adding sustain and balancing the strings. I am running 9V, but going to test 18V soon as there's some (very) minor noise with extra makeup gain.
Strobotuner. Works very well. I just hate looking at it haha, should have checked how it works before buying. At least it is very accurate (verified against Ableton tuner).

Wish they had more offerings. Darkglass clones are not quite my cup of tea, but I plan to grab that mini chorus at some point. More interested in Flamma env filter and their flanger before though. Oh yeah, Tone Mallet is interesting. Might grab one if I grow bored of my SansAmp clone.

To me, they kinda feel like more premium brand from China. You often find other companies are just selling the same products. For example I can find my SansAmp clone from Caline and also with a different name from Ajihii (or something) and many more such cases, even with different casing but most likely the same innards (Mooer E-lady, Flamma flanger for example). With DemonFX, you don't find duplicates except that Fanmuzk they are advertising on their website.

I also kind of feel like they are more serious pedals designed by someone with a good ear and tech skills to match. They do have quite a lot of offerings now IMO when I look on Aliexpress.

 

[CamJazzBass]

If you like the CALL76 from DemonFx, let me tell you what I found. I had the CALL. It was good. Liked much better at 18v.

Now, in a smaller footprint, is the Sonicake Source Comp. I run it at 18v also. While not quite as good, this comes much closer to my Origin Effects Cali76 Bass Compressor than the Demon. And it costs less.

 

[InkCow]

I also kind of feel like they are more serious pedals designed by someone with a good ear and tech skills to match. They do have quite a lot of offerings now IMO when I look on Aliexpress.

I think this is attributing a little more to DemonFX than they deserve. They have clones at all ends of the spectrum: from TubeScreamers to the Call76, but let’s be realistic. They’re still tracing and copying existing designs. Copying higher end gear doesn’t make them more discerning, it just makes them more marketable at their price point.

I can appreciate what they do, while also acknowledging that their business model is parasitic.

 

[lowdrop]

I own several DemonFX Darkglass clones. I also have owned most of the originals at one point or another. To my ears, the Demons are indistinguishable from the Darkglass. I personally love all my DemonFX and highly recommend them over the originals.

 

[Giff]

I have a question for D7K owners. Do the EQ controls affect both sides of the blend? Or do they only work on the driven sound? In other words, do the EQ controls (and switches) still work when the blend is to the left, or is that simply a dry & unaffected sound from the bass? Thank you!

 

[Yahboy]

Own the DemonFX A7K several months , to me, she has both love and disappointment .

Overdrive quality sound quite nice, but still lacking that Darkglass grind . The knock off Joyo R28 nail about 85-90% of real glass B3K voice, meanwhile the Demon A7K maybe around 65-70% from the glass B7K. Notable not knock off the sound enough. The overdrive also shown some kind of weird "breathing noise" even the level set just around 9-10 o'clock.

But, impress me the Demon A7K has very nice transparent preamp EQ, any tweak on those 4 EQ knobs able instantly get satisfied result. Off cause the preamp sound on modern hifi side, but without sterile upper mid and hissy treble voicing compare to Joyo R26 i been own . Pretty low hiss notable from close distance to cabinet when treble knob dial pass 3 o'clock.

Been planning get the real D7K to replace the Demon A7K , but i don't want spend too much on pedal stuff, meanwhile i play P and Pj bass more than Ibanez multi scale bass , Caline Wine Cellar + Joyo R28 already my main pedal combo.

Until one day i found a TB member mention Fanmuzk Solar Finger pedal on knock off pedal club, so i get one myself for experience.

This Solar finger nail that real glass Microtube X sound more than the Demon X i try before. Match well with the Demon A7K transparent preamp , at least i can get around 80-85% of real stuff sound quality along with nice clarity of low end. Well done ,Fanmuzk !

Once setting done on both Solar finger + Demon A7K , through the voice toggle swift on ibanez bass onboard preamp , i can flip within dry/wet overdrive voice ( Alpha / Omega-ist ??? ) on the fly.

Happy with the spend .
Solar finger = $ 27 , Demon A7K = $ 48 , Joyo R28 = $ 38 , Caline CP60 = $ 24 , plus the Lekato pedal board with power supply = $ 27.
Overall spend = $ 164 . Far cheaper than a cheapest overdrive pedal ~ Darkglass B1K ( $ 229 )

 

[Giff]

I got the D7K pedal. I really like the clean side, but the distortion side sounds like hot garbage IMO. It hollows out the mids and just has a texture that I don’t care for. I found a decent sound with gain at 10 am, level at 1 pm, blend just barely cracked on. Also one of the two mini toggles (attack) is wired incorrectly-just have to listen to the changes and figure out what is actually happening with the sound. I have it switched to low pass.

 

[Giff]

I had the Harmonic Booster, and it was good. Ultimately, I moved it on. I just got the Tone Mallet, and I really like it! I can verify, however, that the AGS definitely gives a massive boost in volume - which mimics the Aguilar afaik. I have never played the Aguilar tho, so cannot offer a comparison.

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

 

[GTHintz]

View attachment 7497414

So what do you think about the tone of the ag? I’ve been eyeing it for a while now.

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

So what do you think about the tone of the ag? I’ve been eyeing it for a while now.

I’m really liking it.

I’d call it tight, warm, and mid-forward rather than transparent. In my chain it works best between a Broughton HPF and LPF — the HPF keeps the low end clean going in, and the LPF takes off the full-range DI edge after it.

With my passive Jazz/fretless it sounds fast, barky, and controlled. Not neutral, but very musical.

I don't see them on major marketplaces any more, except Ali and Etsy.

Grab one quickly.

 

[GTHintz]

I’m really liking it.

I’d call it tight, warm, and mid-forward rather than transparent. In my chain it works best between a Broughton HPF and LPF — the HPF keeps the low end clean going in, and the LPF takes off the full-range DI edge after it.

With my passive Jazz/fretless it sounds fast, barky, and controlled. Not neutral, but very musical.

I don't see them on major marketplaces any more, except Ali and Etsy.

Grab one quickly.

I could either get one of these or get the Aguilar one. The way you describe it is very much how I remember the tone hammer being. The main thing I’m thinking about is that it’s got headphones and aux in. That’s a big help for me.

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

I could either get one of these or get the Aguilar one. The way you describe it is very much how I remember the tone hammer being. The main thing I’m thinking about is that it’s got headphones and aux in. That’s a big help for me.

i like the ToneMallet as well.

But the AG has High and Low mids, which is crucial for my fretless chain.

 

[Giff]

i like the ToneMallet as well.

But the AG has High and Low mids, which is crucial for my fretless chain.

I think the Tone Mallet has a very nice drive sound as well! I might run it as such in front of my SGT-DI at some point.

 

[GTHintz]

I think the Tone Mallet has a very nice drive sound as well! I might run it as such in front of my SGT-DI at some point.

I have a tone mallet and the scrdi and I’ll have to try it and see how that goes. I’m interested in the ag preamp because of the headphones and aux as well as a new tonal palette. I’m a hoarder of preamp pedals.

 

[Giff]

I tried the Mosky Gamma, which is supposedly an AG. I thought it was nice, but I wanted something with drive capability.