Boss MT-2 Metal Zone

easy to use, seems to have a wde range of eq options.

yuck. sounds honky no matter how you set the eq on it. sounds very artificial.

reliable

i play rock music, 20 years. rock blues and heavy rock. i have Godin sdxt, ibanez rg 440, strat 62 reisuue

played it threw my peavey amp at home and also a marshal half stack in a reharsal studio. the other band members realy didnt like my sound with it, so did i.

get a different distortion, this one is just a bit above useless, i dont understand why would boss want to ruin their raputation with such crap. ive also revied a 2003 ds1 - also bad. im getting a tonebone trimode and donating these to the poor.

Although i spose you could consider this easy to use but not so easy to get a good sound since its quite sensitive and the controls are very interactive.

I didn't buy this, i borrowed it off a freind, who was actualy given it for free (and now i know why). Expect to see this on ebay soon.

I think this sounds awful no matter what setting you have IMO it sounds $%^&.

I'll be a bit more specific by saying that it is very harsh sounding, the tonal spectrum ranges from ear peircing to midless mush and white noise.

There is no point in rolling back the gain, it sounds exactly the same but just weaker and even more $%^& as it still sounds just as harsh and instead of giving you a lower gain sound it give you less attack. No matter how softly u hit the strings it will sound the same, when your pick hits the strings its almost as loud as fretted notes.

Notes do not standout with this and its hard to hear what you are playing as your riffs or solos are drowned out in white noise.

This would proably sound good to the uneducated ear, as i would proably see myself liking this pedal when i started out on guitar.

It seems sturdy enough

N/A

If you are searching for a high gain pedal with a good distortion sound for metal DONT BUY THIS, although some people like this, i know guitar tone is subjective but its just not very good at all. Also if you want your guitar to standout in the mix dont get this.

When trying to play metal on this its hard to actualy hear what you're playing, as you cant really hear the notes properly as there is this harsh trebly white noise that attacks your eardrums.

I can only think of one good use with this pedal, if you added some extreme corus, or maybe a flanger pedal and use it for noises and it will give you quite an interesting into/outro to a song so if you want something cheap that wil give u some noise (white noise can be used in cool ways ask tom morello) buy it.

Now i haven't used one but i'm sure the x series digitech metal master is far superior.

Also if you are after a good guitar sound stay away from the boss recording studios the amp modeling is awful.

It seems that some simpletons dont appreciate the difference between not understanding how to use the EQ controls and not LIKING the sound on any of the settings. The controls are easy enough to use and understand, its the basic sound of the of pedal thats at fault and that cant be salvaged in any way by 'tweaking'. If you think you can get a good sound out of this pedal then maybe its time to get your ears syringed.

I tried this with several guitars from Gibson, Jackson and ESP into Marshall and Hiwatt amps and its absolutely true that the MT2 makes 'em all sound the same. Anybody who says otherwise is lying or just plain stoopid. Dont believe all the garbage posted here about how 'This is the most brutal distortion ever'/ 'Its the only pedal you will ever need'/'Im always getting compliments on my sound' etc. etc. It doesnt add up when you actually hear the pedal in action.This has to be the worst, lamest excuse for a distortion pedal I ever heard (give or take some cheap Behringer units). Its thin, weak and fizzy at all possible setings and as far removed from a brutal, blistering metal sound as its possible to get. Bedroom players may disagree.

10/10 for Boss on that score.Sad to say, this pedal will never die. Except out of embarrasment if you stand it beside a Rocktron Rampage, DOD/Digitech Grunge or even a Line6 Ubermetal.

I dont own this pedal and wouldnt even consider it on the grounds of sound quality. If your some sheltered bedroom player who doesnt know any better, dont get upset and start telling lies because your belief system has been shattered by guys who know and recognize good sound. Just accept that there are better FX units out there and move on.

If you find a four band eq difficult to operate you do not have the skills required to get a decent sound from your amp.

I have played a number of guitars (Fender tele, Flying V, several customs) through this pedal into a 100w Marshall JCM 800, through 1 4x12 JCM800 cab.
Contrary to other reports on this page I find that even using the distortion all the way up the tonal characteristics of each guitar remain intact.
I use an old Boss ME5 for the excellent noise reduction without tonal loss (if youre going to use a lot of gain and distortion you need to pay attention to your sound and then take care of the background noise).
My sound is crunchy and super compressed metal- not strictly old or nu- elements of both.
I play downtuned to A (not some gay drop tuning, this is all six super fat strings).
I use the metal zone live and have recorded with it over the last 6-7 years and constantly recieve compliments on my sound.
I dont need to model amp/ cab setups but I find the controls help me escape the 'one Marshall sound' syndrome and allow me to find my own sound without getting bogged down with equipment or controls.
If you want to play Metal but want to keep your setup simple this box does it all with maximum crunch.

Boss stuff is indestructable. My only critisism here is that your sound cant be saved with these live controls which is a real pain when youre gigging or transporting your gear- hense the lower score here.

never used em

I have been playing for twenty years and have tried loads of different distortion pedals but found that the Metal Zone was like a new beginning for me.
I havent yet tried any of the hip new units that have taken over from the MZ but dont want to fix such a core part of my kit.
I would definately replace it if it were lost/ stolen.
One other thing about it that is a bit of a pain in the ass is having to use an external power supply/ batteries.
I've used this site many times when buying kit- its quality
Metal!

You have to be a spastic if you cant operate this thing..Bought mine second hand without a manual. In comparison to its rival the Digitech Metal Master, they both have there strong and weak points. I think the metal master suits hardcore more than anything and doesnt seem as versitile as a Boss Metal zone from my experience anyway.

Marshall AVT150 head thru a 4*12 cabinet - Rocktron Nitro - Boss Equilizer - Boss Metal zone - Crybaby waawaa - BC rich NJ warlock with EMG's and a Jackson Fusion pro.

I was able to get a meaty tone with this setup. The Rocktron Nitro is a vital part because im able to boost my tone for solo's live. But ide be dead without my metalzone. Perfect for the Death metal - Black metal even to punk. Its so versitle. I play mostly Death/black/doom with some Opeth there somewhere. The AVT150 head was an upgrade from a Marshall MG100h solidstate head which isnt as great in my opinion.

My main sound come from the Metalzone and Equilizer combined, for solo's I upgraded from a Behringer Pre-amp booster to a Rocktron Nitro and waawaa for Arch Enemy type solo's. I de-tune 1 step down for all my songs and it sounds so good. Even with my old MG100 head the metalzone sounds kickass for any genre. Truly one of the best. I do Believe At The Gates used a metal zone on the Slaughter Of The Soul album (swedish death metal).

Solid pedal... Nothing can squash this thing.

Never dealt with them.

I play from death metal - Doom metal. If you cant get a good sound out of this thing your retarded no doubt. Or you just own a $^%& amp or something like that. OR your just as spastic as DAN about 6 reviews down ... retard.. lol

Sounds awesome for low end riffing and high happy melody's and harmony's. For solo's i had to by a Booster for a better tone(didnt much like the metalzone for soloing that much ) None the less its a trustworthy little box full for the heaviest tones ever.

I can't understand why it's so hard for some people to operate with this pedal! Well 4 EQ kobs - whatever. For me it was a pleasure.

Jackson DK27 (dimarzio DP100) - Boss Mt-2 into a 10W marshall practice amp. with the boss PSA adaptor it's not noisy at all. The pedal is pretty much the best metal compact pedal. I used to own a marshall jackhammer and a zoom 707II - they didn't even came closer to the MetalZone. I can get any metallica sound with my setup although it isn't my favorite band :) It's Judas Priest and I can't get their sound because I don't own a 5000$ marshall valvestate amp ;) Well you can get pretty close... It's a 9

It's alive so far..

I asked for info about boss' pedal board once...never got it..

I play NWBHM (that's new wave of brittish heavy metal and it's not quite new by now ;), blues, jazz, AOR. I've been playing for a couple of years. For me the MT-2 is a must-have, I'd buy another one if it were stolen.

I'm a firm believer that you should be able to plug a pedal in, especially if it's distortion, and be able to get a good sound out. With this pedal, you can't do that. If I want to mess around with the EQ, I will use the equalizer on my amp, or an EQ pedal. I've had this pedal for about two years and everytime I decide to try it in my chain again, I always end up getting rid of it.

Not good. Maybe I have the wrong setup (Fender Powerhouse Strat, through a Fender amp). This might sound better if I had, say, an Ibanez through a Marshall stack. It could be my single coil pickups that are mucking the sound, but I just can't see the appeal for the people who like this pedal. It just sounds so tinny and thin, and destroys the bottom end of the signal no matter how high you set the low setting. I agree with a previous review when they said it would be the perfect pedal if all you're looking for is mean sounding power chords in drop-D. Bottom line, it just doesn't sound good to me.

It's Boss, so I know it's gonna be tough at the very least. I wouldn't gig with or without a backup because I would never gig with this pedal. I'll give it a 7 because it sucks batteries like no other.

OK I must admit that it is not a plug and play distortion, you'll have to spend some time to find the right sound. So if you are a bit lazy, this might not be the best distortion for you.

My setup is: Fender Statocaster american standard, Fender Twin Amp, Ibanez WD7 Wha, and a Boss ME-X looped with a Boss DS-1 a MT-2 Metalzone and an extra digital delay. The Pedal can be noisy at higher settings, but with the noisesurpressor set on one that is taken care of. It can sound great and even original, all you've got to do is find out how the equalizer works.

Like so many people said before, I still use my first pedal wich was also a Boss. I bought that pedal about 17 years ago. You could possibly drive a truck over it and brake the truck.

I play anything from soul and funk to Hendrix and Van Halen, it suits me just fine. It has got lots of drive and nice feedbacks and it can produce a fat rich sound(just make sure you don't take out all the mids).

easy to use i have no problem with the mid settings i don't even have the damn manual for it

this pedal only goes my wah...i use this pedal alone when i'm riffing or rhythm parts...i can pull of that lamb of god sound on a right setting....it is a bit noisy though i think it comes from the midrange...but weak point is when i do some solos it is a bit dry and dull so that is why i use my dunlop wah pedal to give color i use my pedal the way zakk wylde uses his

it is built like a tank i don't need a back up it doesn't fail

other that downloading the manual..i haven't dealt with them

i play purely metal which is a good match for this pedal...if this pedal were to be stolen i would get the same thing....i love the crunch and balls in this little box but i really don't like using it on my solos and i wouldn't use it on recording also

Not much to it, it's a distortion pedal. You twiddle the knobs until you get a sound you like and step on it.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz, fisssssssssssssss, buzzzzzzzzzz, squueeeel. I hate this pedal, fine at low volume if you want lots of saturated metal distortion, but usless if you turn up. This is the noisiest pedal i have ever used, it even makes a horrendous hissing noise when you turn the volume down to zero on the guitar.

I also find when using this pedal that it exagerates the sound of my pick hitting the strings until it's almost as loud as the note itself, which is pretty crap when doing fast alternate picked runs etc. this gets worse the louder it goes, and believe me, if you want to cut through the mix with this pedal you need to turn it up LOUD (i assume cos it scoops all the mids).

This pedal is probably fine if you wear your guitar round your knees and play 'chugga, chugga' type power chords in a new metal band or only play at bedroom volume. Otherwise I'd give it as wide a berth as possible.

It's a boss pedal, you could probably set fire to it and throw it off a tall building (and believe me it occurred to me) and it'd still work. It was very, very reliable and the batteries lasted well.

na

I play a bit of everything, but mostly hard rock - it certainly wasn't suitable for me. In the shop i liked the thick saturated distortion, it sounded great for playing solo's etc. but unfortunately it can't cut through the mix and the louder it goes, the worse it sounds. At gig volume it sounds lifeless, hisses constantly and produces difficult to control feedback.

I eventually sold this pedal enough on ebay and haven't regretted the discision. I've replaced it with a POD, which cost about #20 more, has many more effects, can plug direct to a PC for recording and can produce a similar sounding distortion without the inherent issues of the MT2.