Meshuggah made me seek out an affordable 8 string in the mid tier department. I hoped the schecter 8 demon would be just that, and have not been disappointed.
Featuring active pickups, I was a little worried that the sound would be too distorted or without dynamics. Surprisingly, with an (exclusively digital) effect chain including a tsb-1 boost pedal, the sound is pretty good. I'm still working on the tone but it is fun and rewarding.
Looking at the guitar, it's just gorgeous. The black satin finish with the yellow outlines and the cross inlays... I like to just look at it.
The neck is comfortable and after some adaption it makes the... girth... manageable. If you're used to 6 strings, this will be interesting.
Setup wise, you will have to fix intonation, across the board the thicker strings need more tension. It would probably pay off to tinker with the truss rod as well. Action was pretty tight but also lots of string buzz, had to make it quite a lot higher because it really messed with the tone. It's still not perfect but I think that's a setup issue, not quality. This is my biggest gripe with it.
All in all... worth the money? Hard to say, this is my 4th guitar and I'm rather beginner-ish. I love it though, how it sounds, how it feels, how it looks. And I love to put some effort into it to get to know it better.
You be the judge.
