Arion SMM-1 Stereo Metal Master

This pedal is the"player"distortion,designed for everything from classic rock to very heavy metal and everything in between.It's easy to get a great sound out of it,but don't expect the holy grail,or it to sound like a tube amp,like some of these spoiled brats rip on it about.Remember,this pedal was designed in the '80's and it gives you the tone of "that" era.It has better tracking ,gain,and is more musical than a harmonically saturated"everybody's Marshall tone".It has it's own identity and that's what makes it stand out on it's own.

Now here's where this baby shines.It has very quiet bbe operating technology,and it does sound very tubular.Just not with the fuzzy over the top harmonic overtones that kill a guitars sound anyways.However,it does have good harmonics.It's like the late '80's G series Crates,the ones that sound far better than any of the '90's models.It's a hybrid type of tone that sounds pleasing to any one's ear.Listen to the guy who says it makes you sound"better"than you are.That's how good and smooth this pedal is.Consider it a 'smooth"metal pedal!

My first one i got in '87,and things still hold up.Look,the Simpson's have been on t.v. for almost 20 years,Gun's N' Roses are still the most talked about band,it's like the only thing thats changed are car designs,which look like Richard Simmons was behind the drawing board.I've used this pedal for tons of gigs,recorded and studio work,and i just got another one off of ebay becuse i traded mine in the early '90s in a deal swap for a Gibson flying V.More gain and sustain than any modeler i've tried and it doesn't sound junky like a Big Muff.Much smoother than a raspy Boss DS-1.

Not sure if Arion is still around..

Iam a professional guitarist(and i can safely say that because i have numerous guitar awards,one signed by Jim Marshall,plus they play my music on local radio,so you have to know what you're doing for that...)You have a bass and treble boost,which if you know what you are doing and are'nt tone deaf,you will find a reasonable comprimise.I'm not talking this pedal up because i have an endorsement or anything,it just sounds good period.

The design is straightforward - you won't mind that the manual is basically useless - but it can be tricky to get good sounds. The main controls are 4 knobs (Level, Low EQ, High EQ, Gain) but there is also a switch to set Out 2 either to direct sound or "Soft" distortion. I run this pedal in mono and usually use the regular distortion through Out 1, though I've occasionally used Soft through Out 2. Direct is basically useless because it also bypasses the Level knob, so if you're running this pedal in stereo you can't hear the direct sound over the distorted sound from Out 1.

Modified Squier Strat (Lace Sensor Gold/Silver, DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups) -> (some combination of the following) Boss DS-1, Arion Metal Master, DOD FX-25B, Cry Baby, Arion Analog Delay, Boss Flanger, Phaser and Chorus, Line 6 Echo Park -> Fender 15W amp.
The pedal is noisy with Gain turned past 9 o'clock, though in a distortion pedal that seems like a petty complaint. Generally this pedal gets really good metal tones, especially in dropped tunings. For that I usually set Low EQ and High EQ somewhere above 3 o'clock. I High EQ is a little higher than Low EQ, it goves more bite; if Low EQ is higher, you get a bit more drive on the bottom end.
The biggest problem with this pedal is that some settings can muddy up your tone and make it really indistinct. The pedal is also a bit better for chords than lead tone. I'm not sure what the mid response on this pedal is, but the 3 o'clock settings described above sound more or less like a scooped-mid sound (there is no Mid EQ knob, though, so it's hard to know if the pedal is actually scooping).
My favorite trick with this pedal is to set the Low EQ somewhere between 12 o'clock and 1 o'clock and the High EQ somewhere between 11 o'clock and 12 o'clock, and turn Gain all the way down - it gets a great bluesy overdrive tone, not metal at all but a sweet sound. I probably use that setting the most.

Plastic case worries me. Seems solid, though. Sometimes it just doesn't want to behave, though - it may be sensitive to temperature - and I definitely would not gig this without some other distortion pedal, just in case.

No idea.

I play many different styles, including metal and blues, which is what I use this pedal for. It can be a frustrating pedal to use sometimes, and I wish it had mid controls, but overall I like it and use it regularly.
If I ended up playing metal in a band, I'd probably move to a Boss Metal Zone but I don't know if a "real" metal distortion would give the light overdrive sounds I can get out of this, so I'd probably hang onto this in any event.

It's easy to get a range of sounds but i don't know about the sound that you like? That's possibly not so easy.
I find it super easy, it reacts with my playing better than any other unit i own (this may be due to my accidental mod that occured!?)

american fender telecaster with delta tone > Arion SMM-1 > Boss PH-2 > Line 6 FM4 > Nobels delay> H&K Warp 7 100 watt head and 4x12 cab

It is slightly noisy but this is because I took the bottom off it to take a look how it was made and left the battery in, then I put it down to answer the phone, when i heard a noise and a smell of burning i realised i'd shorted a component out on a screw that i had lent it on which was on top of my old marshall amp,....... oopsie daisy!! well, I bought it for 10 quid second hand because it had no battery cover, when i bought it about 5 years ago it was great for a real bit of extra girth on top of my tone, then as i got older i only used it as a backup for my amp and JH-1. now i love the sound of it with the gain three quarters and the level far down - the level control hardly does anything now, it sounds brilliant!! I use it in my band who are a very proffessional and serious original band so it has to sound good, i know now that even before i dmaged it it was excellent for what i do, it provides a beautiful middle ground between my harsh attacking clean bridge tone, jangling neck tone, and my balls to the wall amplifier distortion. recently ive even been using it to just create massive sound scopes because it sounds so good with the rest of my pedals!

I have been gigging it for probably about 100 gigs now since it took over from my JH-1.
I'd love a backup or even another one so i could set it up differently but i darent try breaking a new one hehehe.
It has been fine so far touch wood.

never contacted them

I love this little beaut, it sounds awful on its own but once used in my setup its something else- i own other dist pedals such as marshall bb-2 and JH-1, i also have used much other amplifier distortions and overdrives. It helps my writing process because it has excellent dynamic qualities that other units dont, it is not just metal.
The band im in is rock based but we like to use a lot of dramatic dynamics, i have recently started using a lot more delay so i use this when i do,it cuts through like a beast.

some of the knobs need a lot of fiddling to get a killer sound, Any suggestions anyone? i say sounds good with low at 9:00, high at 3:00 and dist. at 12:00

sounds ok for a real heavy band like slipknot or korn, you can get sum nivarna-type sounds outta it aswell

i bought mine about 3 weeks ago, i;ve been using it nearly everyday, hasnt died or gone deaf on me yet

who teh hell r thay?

for real heavy, very distorted like slipknot or bloodbath its pretty good for the cheapness of it, but for metallica n mudvayne and nu-metal its no good, unless u like ur own style of the song

Very easy to get set up and going and you can dial into the general vicinity of your sound nice and quickly, although if you've got your heart set on a very select sound the somewhat variable pots (some seem delicate, others require a large amount of input) may mean you have to spend some time finding it.

It has quite a range. I've got everything from a soft bluesy sound to a heavy, crunching distortion. It sounds great with my Les Paul, less so with my friend's Strat, although some background noise creeps in the harder you set the sound.

It hasn't choked on me yet, but then again I haven't gigged with it. The plastic case isn't as reassuring as the metal ones on my Boss pedals, but it would probably stand gigging as long as you're not one of these people who likes to jump on their pedals from a height.

I'd consider giving it a case transplant for gigging.

I play a wide range of music. Whatever comes to me at the time, basically, from blues to cheesy rock riffs, but the pedal can adapt to fit whatever I like.

I prefer its sound to many of the more expensive alternatives and it's found a permanent place in my rig along with the Cry Baby (the two go very well together).

If it went walkies on me I'd probably try and track down another - it's great value at its current price, in my opinion. I only wish it felt a bit tougher.

extremely easy, just hook up, turn a few knobs(4) to your liking, and play!

i play a hohner sg lion with emg elect pickups threw a crate gx 80.
i haven`t done a cover tune in 17 years, i write all my own original material, been playin` over 24 years now.

This pedal is a piece of shit! i only bought it coz it was $20 brand new.
I normally use a digital processor made by zoom.
when the arion came in the mail i hooked right into it, played around with it for 3 minutes or so, and shook my head in shame! This box totally sucks balls bad! Whoever engineerd this thing is a moron, or they are straight outta the 60`s! Infact, the people at arion outta just give up, coz this box sounds like you are playing in a 3 oz glass, and the distortion it puts out sounds like a ford pinto running on 2 cylanders a few hundred 1000 miles later (if thats possible?) Anyhow, DON`T WASTE A PENNEY ON THIS PIECE OF SHIT,,,,,IF YOU TRIED TO GIVE ME THIS THING I`D THROW IN THE GARBAGE WHEN YOU TURNED YOUR BACK!

I don`t know? i only tried it for a few minutes! thats all it took for me!
If i said i would or wouldn`t i`d be lying like the other 90% of the guys in here who claim to be in a band, but there not!..they lye!
Im presently just a bedroom hero, like the rest of these liars who claim there in a band!

don`t know, and don`t care! Arion should be banned from the list they suck!

I play all my own original heavy rock,...Maidenish,,,Dio`ish,,,Sabbathish style, yet quite original! specialty is soloing though:-)) Been playin since age 8, i`m now 32
If it were stolen, i`d pitty the fool who went threw my dogs and a 38 to take that piece of shit!
I only bought it coz it was cheap, and free shipping.

Yeah, i wish it were something else!
It sits in a junk pile now, its no use to me.
DON`T BUY THIS PIECE OF SHIT! SPEND THE EXTRA COUPLE BUCKS AND BUY A ZOOM OR DIGITECH DIGTAL PROCESSOR!

Very easy to use, finding your own sound is just a matter of time and taste. For the price, it is a great little pedal. The manual is badly translated and doesn't include any patches to get you started, but this is forgivable as it is such a versatile pedal.

I use this with an Ibanez Gio, a Fender Deluxe 85 and a few other pedals. The sound you can get out of it is really nice if you play about with it, though it is quite noisy when it comes to background hum. I find it depends on how much bass you are using on the tone control.

I had this pedal for a few months, in which it was bashed around a bit, but treated fairly well. However, I found it had bottomed out at the beginning of last band practice and I couldnt get a sound from it. The clean channel was fine, but as soon as the check light came on, the sound cut out, on both direct and soft distortion. (That taught me to carry spares..) If you have any suggestions, please email me.

I havent been able to find ANY kind of Arion support, apart from a couple of dealers in the UK. This is probably because they are a japanese company.

I really enjoyed using this pedal, for all its noise and fiddling, it was a durable and versatile little unit. I was pretty upset when it crashed, (not only because I had a big gig the week after..). If you are going to use it a lot, therefore, I would recommend carrying a spare or buying a more solidly built pedal.

I find it easy to use this pedal. Plug in and away you go. Only one thing, the manual has been translated directly from Japanese(as Arion are a Japanese company)into a very poor standard of English which is very hard to make sense of in some parts. However, most people won't need to use the manual.

I use a Jackson ps2 guitar, through my pedalboard and into a Marshall Valvestate 80V. I use this pedal in my pedalboard when I'm gigging and I love the variety of sounds it can produce. Anything from Metallica to Blink 182. This pedal is very versatile and so under-rated. I think if you take time to tweak the controls, you can get a very good sound from it.

I belive I could depend on this pedal and it has never let me down yet. I power it with the DC Brick on my pedalboard and it is a slight battery muncher. It is also made out of plastic, but seems solid enough.

I don't speak Japanese.

This is great for any type of distorted sound. Don't be put off by 'Metal' in the name. I can imitate the sound of my Marshall Guv'nor with this pedal. I would probably buy another one if it was stolen. This is a great pedal for the money and an indispensible member of my pedal collection.

Level / Low Freq / High Freq / Distortion = pretty straightforward...

I loved this pedal when I first bought it. Maybe my musical taste is changing, but I'm finding it very difficult to get a sound that I like out of it anymore.

The distortion gets real raspy almost immediately when you turn the knob just a little past "MIN". Same with the level- too hot, way to soon; no real ease-in. Setting the FREQ knobs anywhere outside 11 and 1 O'Clock tends to completely eliminate the midrange so I usually leave them right around 12:00- therefore, no cut, no boost; pretty worthless.

Although it is all-plastic this pedal is strong. I've noticed a bit of play in the knobs lately, but after 17 years, what do you expect?

N/A

I am looking to replace this with a warmer sounding distortion pedal. Like I said- maybe my taste has changed, but I need something a bit more versatile these days.

i'm in guangzhou china ,it is easy to get the good wild distorted sound out of smm, i had gotten 5 piece of arion odle effector, and no problem to editing patches,and every pick or cut from my elegitar seemed powerful,the manual was no use to me at all,no,i don't know the number,never upgraded.

franda gitar and 2 daphone amp speaker,of couse it's very noisy,they lied in my doorm,at first is sound great,but now i feel (just feel)it was come down a little. yes,it's paul H.k.,and other is good.

yes.i can,no it isn't enought.

not any helpful,you know in china all laws doesn't seem completed,assolutely try try try.hm!

i'v play roles(maybe not talk as the word),that means through every & any song's rythm to keep high speed and high fluent and pick the gitar in my feel control.5 years.not anymore.no no no,the other noise should be clean in some way,yes,yes.oh yeah,i want some pictures and technology from the arion effectors, thk u verymuch.