Boss MT-2 Metal Zone

OK here is bottom line on this pedal. I've lived with it for about a year now and have gotten to know it pretty well. Basically, it is a monster, but one that can be tamed. It is harder to use than most pedals because it has tiny adjustment knobs for "High" "Mid" "Low" and "Mid-frequency". You need to leave the distortion off and spend some time twirling those knobs back and forth until you find a setting that suits your ears, then leave them. Then you can start messing with the "Level" and the "Distortion" knobs. These have DRAMATIC effects on the sound. Little itty bitty adjustments produce huge differences in sound, so you just have to be careful. If you blindly start twisting knobs on this thing on a dark stage, you will be sorry.

I am in a cover band. We play mostly straight ahead rock with a few metal tunes thrown in, and I use the MT-2 to get that deep chunky crunch. My setup is Strat > Wah Wah > Metal Zone > Tubescreamer > Tube Amp (clean channel). This is one sensitive pedal. With the "Level" set at 8 o'clock and the "Distortion" at around 9 o'clock the MT-2 produces those deep, otherwordly metal tones that you can only get from other blues and distortion pedals when you crank the gain all the way up to maximum. At any settings higher than that the pedal is noisy, feedback-y, and basically useless - the sound turns to mush and has no character. Like I said, it is a monster.

The thing is a brick. I have had crowds of drunk people stomp on my Boss pedals with no damage.

Never dealt with Boss.

The reviewer who reminded people that this is a METAL ZONE, not a ROCK ZONE or a BLUES ZONE, etc... was right on. This pedal is for one thing - METAL - and it does metal just fine. If you use it through your dirty channel with the gain already at maximum you will be disappointed - the sound will be a mess. Hello? That is not what it the pedal is for. The MT-2 is supposed to be used through the clean channel. Get it? You stomp on it and it converts your clean sound and produces whatever thick, cruncy metal sound you have dialed in. Get it? The adjustments are sensitive, but if you play metal, this pedal has all the tone you need.

Very difficult to get a decent sound.

Never came close to getting the sounds of my favourite artists. Obviously they dont use this pedal.
I thought the distortion was excessively fizzy and the EQ very digital sounding.
Its noisey with the gain up yep.
The effect is weak unless you use it on extremely low gain settings to push an amp or other distortion... why bother - I use my OD2 instead now. I hoped it would give me some nice dark fat tones if I needed to charge up some black metal. Nah it can't do it. By the Line6 Uber metal.
I use it through an all tube amp.

Its boss so its made with nice metal but also has some cheap taiwanese parts to it.

never dealth with them.

Been playing all sorts of styles for 20 years. I have great distortion already and bought this pedal by mistake. I have seriously hardly used it and when I did it was to muck around or see 'just one more time' if it could produce anything decent. I wasted my money. I specifically wanted a pedal that could get my high gain tube amp a massive, dark, ballsy death metal sound through the clean channel. Nah...couldn't do it - it just fizzes away into fizzland :( Very dissapointed I must say. I would definately check out other pedals before spending money on this garbage... I know I should have instead of just buying it off the shelf because its Boss.

It's really not that difficult

I own this pedal for about 4 years now. I've been playing semi-pro for 10 years.
I learned that I get the very very best sound with the following settings. !!!note: at first it may seem strange, but wait and listen!!!
My set-up is: guitar > mt-2 > tube amp > boss ge-7 EQ (in return) > tube amp.

settings mt-2:
- level: 8
- high: 0
- low: 0 (with some guitars you should turn to about 3)
- middle: 0
- mid freq: 4
- dist: 7

On my tube amp (on clean channel) bass: 2, mid: 10, treble: 6.

On my EQ in effect return: adjust as desired, but turn the bass up a little.


I get a sound that is better and more tight that a good Marshall amp. At first your metalzone will sound like shit, but if you adjust your EQ in effect return you will be in heaven. It really really sounds great. (and yes, the mt-2 on it's own with these settings will sound like shit)

it's a tank

if you play death metal, these settings might be helpfull if you like a Marshall-tone

Pretty straight foward.mess with it for about an hour and you'll get the idea.

This is where the pedal lacks.Iv'e used the MT-2 for most of my guitar years(since they came out so I'm old lol)I swore by em up till now so I'm giving it a lower rating. I've found a pedal now that destroys this one tone wise and I realised how much better the MT-2 SOULD BE!Pass this pedal up and get the Line 6 Uber Metal.You won't reget it by any means!!The MT-2 is a good pedal but these days looks like other manufatuers are passing them up quality and sound wise.They might think about updating the product line.Maybe a noise gate and a wee bit less muddy distortion.It makes your speakers flutter.Trust me I thought this was the pedal of all pedals till now.

Had it for years and no issues.

Dunno never dealt with them

Still sounds good,no issues with reliability and I sold it so that should answer the question if it were stolen would I buy it again.BUY THE UBER METAL!!!! It kills the MT-2!!!

Ease of use, erm, four knobs to twiddle & that's it?

Easy to get a good sound, well, the only thing that may take a bit of tweezing is the semiparametric mid control. You'll need to experiment to get a feel which mid frequency to cut/boost in order to get the desired sound.

Ampage: Hughes & Kettner TriAmp, Mesa Boogie Mark III, Laney 2x10 cab, Marshall 4x12 cab, Intellifex, Ensoniq DP/4. I play mostly indie/grunge/prog stuff now; this pedal was also part of my rig when I was playing in a Rush cover band.

Planks: Blade R4 (SSS, hard ash strat clone, Ref2/2/3 Ultrasonic pups), Blade California Standard (HSS, alder strat clone, Ref 2/2/5 Ultrasonic pups), PRS CE24 (alder body, Ref 5/6 Ultrasonic pups), Ibanez Jem (basswood, HSH, original DiMarzio pups).

Lemme put it this way, it's the only OD pedal I use now, retiring my trusty old Marshall Guv'nor & ProCo Rat. I don't quite agree with some reviews here that the MT2 is a 'metal only' one trick pony - I found it to be a remarkably flexible stomp box, thanks to its mids EQ. While it is probably not the best solution for 'just about overdriven' dirty clean / slight crunch in the SRV/Keef Richards vein, I've had no probs getting great Thin Lizzy, Zappa or even Santana sounds out of it. Just go easy on the gain & toy around with the mids EQ - this stomper can scream quite well, but sings equally nice when it's supposed to.

As far as "metal" sounds are concerned, using the PRS & Jem, I've had no problems nailing Metallica, Panthera, Alice in Chains or Sepultura crunch with it. Whether that's enough for dedicated Nu Metal or the like I can't say because I never needed those ultra-scooped, "dropped C & lower" downtuned tones anyway.

One gripe: The voicing of the treble EQ isn't optimal IMHO - it adds edge rather than bite or clarity. Can lead to problems with an intrinsically bright-sounding guitar - may sound shrill or harsh (backing off the treble will only help a bit here & make the overall sound dull, but still edgy). Depending on what you want the pedal to do, that may be just the thing you're after - and I have to admit, while your tone may sound harsh/edgy when you up the treble & play alone, you're practically guaranteed to produce a tone that will stand out in the mix.

Built like a tank, has seen dozens of gigs, never let me down.

No experience, my Boss stuff never broke, so I've never had the need to contact 'em.

Versatile, sturdy & good sound, charmin' package. Seeing as you can pick up used ones for half the street price of a new unit & the box is very robust, you can't really go wrong with the MT2, unless you're after a sound that one would normally not use a 'metal' distortion unit for anyway: It's neither a "100% tube tone" or "blues driver" pedal, but if you're shooting for rowdier stuff, chances are you'll like this one a lot.

This is a follow-up of my last review. Since I last wrote here I've tried this pedal through my new amp, and I must say it really stinks. Not very responsive pedal. The EQ is to scooped on the mid and the treble is horrible. There are to much muddy sound on the base and it gave no satisfaction useing this pedal. I also have a BOSS OD-20 as my main drive unit, and the modelling of the MT-2 on the OD-20 sound better than the real deal. If I'm gone use this pedal it have to get a mod, most likely a Keeley-mod. In stock version it's crap. Ok if you have a transistoramp, but for use with a tubeamp with 6L6 poweramp tubes, it's no good.

Tweak knobs to your prefered tonal preference. It's not complicated. If you really need it, download the manual from the boss/roland website.

It's a one trick pony. What it does, it does well. There are people out there with a pickier ear than mine, but I play metal so I'm losing my hearing anyway.

It's a Boss.

Never needed it.

It's never let me down. You won't get blues or funk out of it. That;s why it says Metal Zone on it.

This is a strait up metalzone that i bought off ebay a year ago.
it's hard to get a good sound out of it becuase for my style of music it just doesn't sound good

i can't get the sound of my favorite artists. this pedal focuses to much on the mid range which makes it good for marshalls but for me i like to play super heavy death metal and this just doesn't work. i have tried using it as an overdrive pedal with moderate success but it's a really noisey pedal by itself, imagine it on top of overdrive!
they EQ is pretty sensitive which is good but it just doesn't have the tone i was looking for. i use this with a marshall valvestate vs100 and randall rh250 head. 2 cheap marsha cabs but they sound good at low volumes. i use this with a jackson with emg hz's in it and a jackson V with a dimebucker in it. this sound would be alot better for black metal but it can't do super brutal like suffocation and vital remains, but it can do stuff like early deicide which has a pretty bad guitar tone to it. go with the line 6 uber metal. alot better imo.

hell yeah! if there is anything i can say about this pedal is that it is built to last. if i actually used this live i would use it without a backup.

i have never dealt with them

i play brutal high gain death metal and this is not a good match.
i have been playing 3 years and i own 5 guitars and 2 halfstacks, and to little combo amps. i also own a boss gt-8. if it were stolen i prolly wouldn't care becuase if i wanted that sound it's an option on the gt-8. i hate the tone. that's all there is to say about it. it's doesn't sound pleasing to my ears but it could be great for someone else. i would go with the ubermetal by line 6. i have it and i think it's great even at high volumes it doesn't break up and it has a noise gate so it never squeaks.

Very easy! Six knobs Level/Low/high/middle/mid freq/distortion

Mids are semi-parametric, so you can choose the mid freq but no the Q factor...ok ok...nevermind.

If you are:
Begginer: simple...set all knobs at 12 0'clock then add dist at taste--->low-->high-->move at 0% mid then mid frec from 0% to 100% that means you are cutting mids...with mid frec you select the freq to cut...with mid at 100% u r boosting mids...comprendo?

Average: u r bored? use it on the fx loop w/o dist just like a parametric EQ...or after/before other distortion...

Stars: u don't use it...take it...remove the dust and food from it...then make a gift to your son XD

U$S 80 used in good conditions

Many artist use this stomp...but a few guitar players hahaha

If this is your 1st distortion stomp, you will love it!
then you get used to it...and you find it great...then ok...is good
then (3 to 4 years before) you want some moooooorrrreeeee and you don't like it because it sounds little artificial!!!! guaaaaaaa tears

Is real complex to rating this, because it is only one variable on the entire equation. mics/wood/stings/cable/amp/other fx/you...

Excelent for Palm mute!
Good for solos (because on high notes sounds artificial due to the complex harmonix that MT-2 generates)
Bad for playing anything but heavy. if you want to sound like AC/DC you can??t get the sound of an overdrive stomp lowering the dist level.

Low noise*...check out your ground conection! (begginers first)
*(used with humbuckers, ground conection checked, clean/filtered AC adaptor)

Anyway there's no artist w/o Noise gate/Noise supressors (part of the magic silence)

I give an 8 (Just for heavy music...no versatility)

It??s a BOOS

...BooS

ok I play from Pantera/sepultura/soulfly/megadeth and that kind of music...
after 6 years of use I say: It's great! but no always...I mean playing palm muting, I love it, but you lost clarity as you add a picked sting or playing w/o palm mute. Very complex to explain...and
depens on your rig...
If you heard it every day...at the end of the week you will hate it...but you will find it great 5 days after...maybe Iam ciclotimic hahaha

About the versatility...you choose a Metal distortion...sorry

On this days...I recomend you (metal players) try this:
Digitech Metal Master (it's digital! but it??s a secret! shhhhhhh)
Boss Metal Zone (the semi parametric EQ is part of the magic)
EH metal muff (true by-pass and versatility)
Uber metal (noise gate inculded!!!)

Byes...good luck and sorry about my english
Nacho from argentina

The pedal is straight foreward. It got two pots for Level and Distortion and two dualpots for Treble, Bass, Middle and Mid freq. It also spots a 9V socket for adapteruse and a batterycomparment. Access to the batterycompartment is easy. Just unscrew the bolt and open the lid. The manual is easy to get around and it contains suggested settings for different sounds.

The setup I used it in was this:
Guitar -> Morley PWV-1 Wah/Volume -> Ibanez PH-7 Phaser -> BOSS DS-1 Distortion (japan made) -> BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone -> BOSS OD-20 Drive Zone -> Danelectro DC-1 Cool Cat Chorus (18V version) -> Marshall VT-1 VibraTrem -> Carl Martin Red Repeat -> Amp (Reverb)

Guitars: Cimar Les Paul Custom Black Beauty and Squire Standar Fat Tele

When used for metal and high gain sound, it's spot on, but if you want to use it for other styles, it gets harder. That's the reason for why I rated this at 6. The problem with other sounds than metal require a lot of tweaking of the EQ and distortion. So if you're looking for a versatile distortion-unit look some place else. As other have mentioned, this pedal works better with humbuckers then singlecoils.

It's like the other BOSS pedals. Built like a tank.

Haven't had contact with them.

For the style I play, wich is bluesrock and rock, this is not the pedal I need. I bought this pedal 10 years ago and I played metal back then. If it were stolen or lost, I would not buy this again, but rather go for the BD-2 or a Ibanez TS-9